Tag Archives: South Thompson

Downriver: Pritchard to Lafarge

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The South Thompson River is a great paddling destination, breaking the distance from Chase to Kamloops into three 21 km sections.   We launched our kayaks from the Pritchard Bridge (NW side) on a sunny morning and paddled downstream for 3 hours.

Downriver Pritchard to LafargeDuring freshet, the river swells to cover all the gravel bars and so parts of the journey west feels like paddling through a big calm lake, but the current continues to move the boats along at about 7.5 km/hour.

IMG_1284rThe route passes a series of silt cliffs, eroded remnants of a glacial lake in the valley.

IMG_1290rIt is best to paddle downriver in the morning before afternoon winds pick up.   A headwind makes the paddle journey longer and more difficult.  Also, power boats start to use the river in the late morning so we can avoid the noise and the river-wide wakes by getting an earlier start.

IMG_1291rWe pass by Monte Creek Winery, Rivershore Golf Course, the South Thompson Inn, and a number of farms and homes along the route.

IMG_1294rThere is a small beach/boat launch on the NE side of the Lafarge Bridge.   We left vehicles there to shuttle our drivers back to the launch spot.  It takes a bit of coordination to do downriver paddles, but both of our rivers are worth the effort.   The South Thompson River is a relatively easy paddling route, especially in the spring with a wide river that moves us quickly downstream.

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South Thompson River in the Fall

Kamloops Kayak Posted on by

The South Thompson River is a well-used and busy river from June through mid-September, but there is very little activity on the river after October 1st.   The river is lower and has a number of shallow areas, troublesome for power boats, but these pose no problem for canoes and kayaks.  We launched our kayaks at the Lafarge Bridge (NE side of the river) and paddled down to the Valleyview Boat Launch.

Sthompson lafarge

This section of the river is 14km long which takes about 2.5 hours of paddling.   There are a number of homes on both sides of the river along the way, but it is a quiet area on a weekday morning, late in October.  Fall colors lined the banks and there were lots of geese, ducks, eagles, and a variety of smaller birds in the riparian zone.

 

Even though the air and the water are cooler in the spring and the fall, those months invite us for a day of quiet paddling downstream.

 

Paddling the South Thompson River

Kamloops Kayak Posted on by

One of the easiest put-in points is at the Pioneer Park boat launch.  There is lots of parking, a good launch site, and easy access into the river but there is one drawback.   In the warm weather it is a crowded and noisy spot – not a great launch site with power boats, jetskis, and way too many vehicles.   Except in full flood, the river can be paddled upstream fairly easily, especially if you stay on the south side.   Up the river to the end of the Gregson Trail and back is a good paddle.   Another good launch spot is the Valleyview Boat Launch just on the west end of Thompson Drive.   Again you can paddle upstream and back, or if you have a two-vehicle system, you can paddle one way down the river to Pioneer Park, or beyond to McArthur Island or even the airport seaplane port.    An enjoyable paddle is to launch at either the Lafarge Bridge on the north side or even the Pritchard bridge (north side) and paddle downstream to any of the points noted.    On my last three paddles, lots of geese and ducks were nesting on the shoreline, eagles perched on tree branches watching the river, swallows soared over the banks and I enjoyed seeing all of the riverfront homes on the river.