On a sunny and calm morning. I drove south on Highway 5A down past a chain of lakes to the north end of Nicola Lake.    At a rest stop/boat launch below the highway I parked and unloaded my kayak and gear for a loop route around the north end of the lake.    This ended up being a 5.7 km route, taking about 80 minutes.    There was no wind, a prerequisite for paddling Nicola Lake.

The launch area has a gravel beach, providing good access for kayaks.    I launched and headed south along the shoreline.

There are a number of small bays below the highway.    At the narrowest part of the lake, I turned west to cross the lake.

Much of the northwest west side of the lake has vertical cliffs of granite, a scenic section of the paddle.   I looked up to see if I could see a way to the top of the cliffs.    As I continued north I found a good spot to land for a future exploration of the hills above the lake.

The north end of the lake is flatter, adjacent to grazing lands, with cottonwood trees on the shoreline.   A bald eagle had a nest in the trees.   There were many ducks in the shallow bay at the north end of the lake.  I turned the corner at the northeast end of the lake and paddled back down to the start.   There was almost no wind for the whole route, a rare experience on Nicola Lake.

This was an outstanding paddle route, one I do every April on a day which forecasts light wind.    I plan to paddle the lake later in summer, launching from Monck Park, followed by a hike on the trails.