When the North and South Thompson Rivers rise from the spring melt, the boat launch at McArthur Island can be used to access the Thompson River.
During freshet, the volume of watyer increases and the current is stronger. Once we enter the river, we look for slower water to progress upstream. The north side shoreline can be followed towards Overlander Bridge, a good workout. We enter the main flow and go across the river to come down the channel on the south side of Rabbit Island. The current is slowest next to the island.
At the west end of Rabbit Island, we turn the corner to come back up the shoreline. The current is slower right next to the island, although the water is quite shallow. We enjoy paddling right around the island. When the river is very high, some of the interior channels of the island fill with water and we can explore them (article).
The Rabbit Island Circuit is about 6 km. We could do an extra lap around the island or go downstream farther and could easily extend the paddle to 10km. The upstream sections add a good strength and endurance workout.
On a windy day, Kamloops Lake is not the best choice for paddlers, but on a nice day, a tour of the east end of the lake is a rewarding outing. Launch from the parking area at the end of Tranquille Road. The road to Tranquille on the Lake goes past the entrance and continues on to the edge of Cooney Bay. Padders will have to carry their boats down to the beach and launch near the river’s mouth. Once in the water, turn the corner to Cooney Bay, then follow the shoreline.
There are some gravelly beaches on the way to Battle Bluff. If you land, be careful of poison ivy above the high water mark. The sheer face of the bluff rises above as you round the point. Look for a smaller tunnel next to the train tunnel. This is an escape tunnel that goes from deep within the main tunnel out to the east end of the tunnel. It has recently been partly stopped up with rocks. Watch for swallows nests high in the rocky bluffs as you round the point. There are no landing spots at Battle Bluff or on the far side, but there is a pictograph on the west side in an alcove now covered with shrubs. The shoreline past Battle Bluff is mostly rocky shoreline all the way to Frederick.
Frederick is a small community on the shoreline that is linked by the Dewdrop Road. The whole lake here is surrounded by rocky bluffs with a few trees found in gullies. The Cherry Bluffs run from Cherry Creek east to the head of the lake. Along the shoreline is the Salmon Beach, the location where some salmon fossils have been found. We were on this beach twice this year searching for the oval mudstones that can be broken open, but found no fossils. Read this article for more information – link.
On the way back on the south shore are some stoneworks built for the CPR line in 1885 and reinforced several times in the last 129 years. The large arch is made from quarried blocks transported by rail.
Where the river meets the lake, there are extensive sandbars running from south to north, leaving only a narrow channel in late fall and winter. In summer, we can paddle across the shallows. They are a feeding ground for visiting pelicans, returning seagulls, ospreys, loons, and ducks in late summer. We can paddle across the submerged sandbars in summer back to our starting point, a total of about 16 km of paddling (about 3 hours at a steady pace). Pick some good weather enjoy Kamloops Lake.
Every spring the snows melt from distant mountain ranges and the lands at the head of Kamloops Lake are flooded. We can paddle in the bays and channels, and enjoy the views, especially on a calm day.
Reflections from the hills and the sky blend with tones of filtered light.
Cloud shapes contrast with the colors of the hills, reflected on the lake.
As the clouds change in the sky, the new effects are displayed on the waters.
Double C’s are created with the reflections:
We paddle into the floodlands to immerse ourselves in Nature’s Art Gallery.
In June each year, we can launch our boats from the Tranquille Wildlife Management area and paddle out into the flooded lands at the head of Kamloops Lake. We have a 10km circuit that we can do, but each time a different channel is taken. At the peak of the freshet, all the channels are connected, but as the water recedes, many of them are dead ends, requiring some back-paddling. The area is full of birds. This year we have spotted bald eagles, golden eagles, great blue herons, ducks, geese, marsh wrens, yellow-headed blackbirds, and a number of smaller birds. The cottonwoods, willows, and dogwoods stand in deep water for a few weeks, but still seem to thrive. Groups of trees/shrubs look like floating islands in the bays.
Past the last of these “islets” is the river, slow-moving as it runs into the lake. The crossing is 1km to the far shore. The channel mouth starts to the left of the gully ahead. This image was probably taken in May before the area was fully flooded.
Any series of channels can be taken, but we usually paddle the one closest to the far shore and return back through the middle. Views extend down the lake past Battle Bluff and up the river toward Mt. Paul. Mount Mara overlooks Tranquille Bay and the rocky hills along the south shore rise steeply above the floodlands.
This is one of the yearly great wonders of the region and just a few of us venture out in our kayaks to experience the sights of this wet wilderness each June.
The floodlands out from Tranquille invite paddlers an opportunity to paddle for about 10 km through channels, bays, and lagoon-like mazes of wetland vegetation. Launching out of Tranquille, both sides of the river await exploration.
As the freshet approaches in June, the wildlife also moves in. The earliest residents are ducks, geese, blackbirds, and other nesting waterfowl and wetland birds. Under the water, fish and aquatic invertebrates proliferate and the larger birds like great blue herons and pelicans also move in. With the abundance of life also come the predators. Bald and golden eagles, ospreys, red-tailed hawks, and even kites and peregrines can be spotted. Painted turtles sun themselves on logs. All are best seen while drifting quietly.
Paddling requires both hands and attention to balance, so calm conditions and a slow approach facilitate seeing and photographing wildlife. When we paddle out into this area in June and July, we try to take our time and keep the focus on exploration. On the last venture, a number of dead-end channels were found. As the river recedes at the end of freshet, through channels start to disappear, but new surprises can still be found – wild asparagus, knotweed in flower, amphibians, and wading birds.
Framing all of this are the hills and skies of the Thompson River Valley, a favorite place.
As the rivers reach freshet, the floodlands near the mouth of the Thompson River can be paddled. A small launch spot next to the Y in the road provides parking and a hand launch spot for one boat at a time, suitable for kayaks and canoes only. From this spot, paddlers can paddle through the Tranquille Wildlife Management Area (Tranquille Bay) or out towards Cooney Bay, across the river to the wetlands, or up river along the shoreline.
Paddling conditions inside the bay, in the wetlands and in Cooney Bay are protected. Crossing the river is not too difficult, but has one kilometer of open water. Paddling from Cooney Bay to Battle Bluff can follow the shoreline for protection, but winds around Battle Bluff are probable. On a calm day, paddlers can go beyond or across the lake. Wide views are available from the middle of the valley.
On a day with no wind, the reflections in the water provide optical illusions which can only be seen from the water.
Mount Mara provides a scenic backdrop to the calm waters of the bay.
Ducks and geese use the wetland habitat from May to July. Predators move in soon afterwards. On this day, ospreys and eagles roamed the shorelines. Painted turtles sunned themselves on logs. Fish jumped with a fresh hatch on the water. If you go to the wetlands, go quietly, bring your binoculars and your camera, glide unobtrusively among the “floating islands.” This is place of peace. Paddle in synch with the rhythm of the wetlands.
When the Thompson River is in flood, the flat lands near Kamloops Lake become part of the river. The Wildlife Management area on the north side is part of Lac du Bois Provincial Park. A parking area there can be used to do a hand launch at the end of the fence, just short of Tranquille on the Lake.
The flooded land is full of nesting birds and new families of ducks and geese. Small islets of shrubs and debris dot the bay. The river is at its widest here but the current is slow. It is a 2 km crossing to the south shore. A backwater channel starts at the west end of the green space and continues upstream for 2.6 km. The channel has lots of water for canoes or kayaks, but is not suitable for power boats. On the paddle upstream, I spotted a beaver lodge, a deer on an island, numerous ducks and geese, and a muskrat crossing a side channel. At a particularly narrow spot, a big black bear didn’t see my kayak and started to swim across the channel just meters in front of me, but slowly backed up as I back-paddled too. He watched me from the shoreline farther up, not quite sure what to make of the intrusion.
A full tour of both sides of the river is a 10 km journey. It is best done at full flood, before the mosquitoes hatch. There were no bugs now (mid-June), but they are due any day now. You will likely be the only one there (except for the beavers, bears, deer, muskrats, ducks, and geese)….
We have a green corridor right down the middle of Kamloops Whenever we get out to paddle the South Thompson River, we are amazed by the amount of wildlife, and the relative quiet of waterway. We launch most often at the Pioneer Park boat launch and paddle up river, cross under the Yellowhead Highway and go past the Kamloops Indian Band (TIB) buildings to the shores below the Gregson Trail and back. The paddle upstream is hard work, although less so in April. As the river takes a turn around the point near TIB, it narrows and we find ourselves going very slowly. We keep our eyes on the red and green river buoys to avoid shallows. Once we have passed the end of the Gregson Trail, we turn and enjoy the downstream paddle back. Along the way,, we have spotted many geese, ducks, muskrats, a beaver, bears, coyotes, hawks, and eagles. People come down to the river to walk, fish, and suntan. There is always something to see. We paddle this route up the river in April and May, then we leave the river to the powerboats and come back in mid-September. We start with this route to build up our strength and endurance since it is an easy launch spot with lots to see.
We enjoy the river upstream and downstream too. The North Thompson offers a different experience. As the upland lakes thaw, we will go higher up too, but when we are looking for an hour of exercise, this route is our home base.
When the North and South Thompson Rivers reach their peak from mid May to mid-July, islands are flooded and new channels open up, providing opportunities to paddle into the channels and explore areas that motorized boats can’t get into. Two channels worth exploring are accessed from the McArthur Island boat launch. By late-July the boat launch becomes too shallow and the channels can’t be paddled. The challenge in going out into the Thompson River in flood is that the river runs quickly with the combined weight of the two rivers. Any upstream paddling west of Overlander Bridge is a slow paddle requiring strength and endurance. If you can find a back eddy or a slower part of the river, choose it.
Paddle 1.3 km downriver to the west entrance to the McArthur Island. Turn into the channel and paddle the still waters up to the bridge. On my last trip, the waters were too high to allow a kayak to get under the bridge so I turned around there. There were many ducks and blackbirds in the channel and its an interesting side trip away from the river’s currents. On the way back out, turn upstream and paddle hard upstream to the end of Rabbit Island. This upstream paddle will be the most challenging part of the route. Once around the point of the island, the current is a little less, then a back eddy can be entered, allowing an easier paddle on the south side of the island. To return back downriver, paddle out of the eddy into the current to return downstream to the west tip of the island. Steer close to shore and enjoy a lesser current up the north side of Rabbit Island. There is a small channel at the west end of the island to explore.
Continue up the north side of the island and look for the deep channel into the interior of the island. There is a bit of a current in here, but you can enjoy exploring the channel all the way to the end and back. Continue upstream along the shore of the island to avoid the main current of the river. I find it easier to go past McArthur Island, then angle back down to the boat launch..
We have wilderness and wildlife corridors right through the middle of our City. The North and South Thompson Rivers are transformed as the waters rise and flood the rock shorelines and sandbars. The rivers expand right into the vegetation zones on either side. While paddling on the river this week, the following can be seen by other observant outdoors people:
Nesting ducks and geese along shorelines, in tree caverns, and on shelves above the water line.
Loons are not normally seen on the river near town except in May-June. Loons were diving in the wide section of the river east of the Yellowhead bridge.
A muskrat home can be seen close to the shore on the Reserve side upriver.
Beaver activity can also be seen on the shoreline.
Two Canada goose mothers each had three fledglings on the shoreline.
Shrubs and trees adapted to the flooded riparian zone dominate the shoreline. In the Kamloops area, the shoreline it is often hardhack spirea, red osier dogwood, shrub willow, and black cottonwood.
Spirea was in flower, even with its feet in the water. Catkins have not yet swelled.
Shrubs and trees make hollows, tree-caves, and alcoves for wildlife. We area usually only aware of the rustlings.
Eagles and ospreys perch on high spots looking down at the river.
Gulls and crows scavenging along shorelines.
Shore debris that is lifted by the rising river.
The whole river channel changes with new eddies, small whirlpools, and rebound waves appearing over what had been shoreline a few weeks ago. Rippled water covers rock bars and sandbars.
On the claybanks, small birds nest in burrowed holes. We saw mountain bluebirds and swallows flitting to the nests and back over the river.
During freshet, the volume of watyer increases and the current is stronger. Once we enter the river, we look for slower water to progress upstream. The north side shoreline can be followed towards Overlander Bridge, a good workout. We enter the main flow and go across the river to come down the channel on the south side of Rabbit Island. The current is slowest next to the island.
At the west end of Rabbit Island, we turn the corner to come back up the shoreline. The current is slower right next to the island, although the water is quite shallow. We enjoy paddling right around the island. When the river is very high, some of the interior channels of the island fill with water and we can explore them (article).
The Rabbit Island Circuit is about 6 km. We could do an extra lap around the island or go downstream farther and could easily extend the paddle to 10km. The upstream sections add a good strength and endurance workout.
