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)….