Pillar Lake is a long and narrow lake which lies in a valley between Falkland and Chase. Most of the Falkland – Chase Road is paved. There is a small day-use Rec Site on the lake with lake access, a boat launch, and adequate parking. Pillar Lake Resort is located on the east shore above the lake. The rest of the lake is surrounded … Continue reading →
Surrey Lake is located on the high plateau adjacent to the Surrey Summit on the Coquihalla Highway (4600 ft). Access is on good backroads – Meadow Creek Road (Logan Lake) > Surrey Lake Forest Service Road > Surrey Resort Road > Surrey Sussex Branch Road. The Surrey Lake Resort has been sold and is now privately owned, but the narrow gravel road that goes around … Continue reading →
On a summer morning I drove to Pinantan Lake, continued on the Pinantan – Pritchard Road, then turned up the Hyas Lake Road. This backroad climbs steadily up into the hills and there are a number of unsigned side roads to ignore. The final section is mostly unsigned, a short rough road to the side of Hyas Lake. It arrives at a small … Continue reading →
We have twice hiked into Tsintsunko Lake. It is located in a remote area of the Bonaparte Plateau. The driving route requires some navigation – Westyde Road > Jamieson Creek Road to Whitewood Lake (27 km) > Beaverhut/Cabin FSR (12.5 km) > Branch Road. There are some rough trails/routes in to the lake. On our first trip, we took the signed trail from … Continue reading →
Dunn Lake is located near Little Fort in a valley on the west side of the Dunn Range, under Baldy Mountain. We can get there from Barriere or Clearwater on gravel roads, but the shortest route is to take the reaction ferry at Little Fort then drive the Windpass – Dunn Lake Road to the end of Dunn Lake. There is a small Rec … Continue reading →
McGillivray Lake is located in the Sun Peaks backcountry area, 6 km to the southeast, accessible by the McGillivray Forest Service Road. There is a good boat launch at the McGillivray Outpost, but there is also a Rec Site with a hand launch 1 km south. On a calm July weekday morning, I parked at the Outpost and launched into the lake to paddle … Continue reading →
On a sunny weekday morning I headed out early to paddle Lodgepole Lake and then hike around the Lake Trail. From the Lac le Jeune Road, I followed the Chuwhels Mountain Road up to the Lodgepole Lake Rec Site. The campground was mostly full but I arrived early and so there was no one on the lake and it was quiet in the camping … Continue reading →
Scuitto Lake is located in the Campbell Range area southeast of Kamloops and is accessed by the gravel Scuitto Lake Road from Barnhartvale. The road continues on to Campbell Lake. To launch a kayak onto Scuitto Lake we can use one of two boat launches on the north side of the lake. There is a BC Rec Site nearby. On this day, … Continue reading →
An interactive Google Map showing many of the kayaking spots in the Greater Kamloops area (which I have paddled) is provided here. Locations and images are included and links to posts/articles with more specific information on the spot are provided if a post is published on KamloopsTrails.com or RambleOn.ca. As new posts and news are added, the map will also be updated. An embedded map is … Continue reading →
At the end of June I returned to Stake Lake to do three loops, two on the lake and one on the trails. I got an early start since it was the long July 1st weekend. I launched my kayak at 7:15 am and paddled twice around the lake, once in each direction. There were other boats on the water, quietly fishing. Two … Continue reading →
