Kamloops Lake

Located in the beautiful Thompson Valley in the interior of British Columbia, Kamloops Lake is the ideal place for paddleboarders, canoeists, and kayakers, especially in the summer months when the cool waters beckon while the sun is shining and temperatures in the semi-arid valley hover around 30°C.

There is a lot of Indigenous history in this area and paddling tours are offered by Moccasin Trails that go into detail about the vast heritage of the region. It is also recommended paddlers visit the unique Painted Bluffs Provincial park on the north shore of the lake, which can only be accessed by water. There you’ll find distinctive multi-coloured rocks and soils on an igneous intrusion that form a stunning rainbow of colour.

Kamloops Lake stretches west from the interior city of Kamloops for 29 kilometres and is 1.6 kilometres at its widest point. It’s surrounded by what’s referred to as a semi-arid desert, meaning there are plenty of rolling hills of bunch grass and sagebrush in between the irrigated grounds of the ranches and wineries. In certain sections it’s also surrounded by cliffs topped by eagle aeries and clay hoodoos, which are towering structures of rock left over from prehistoric times when the lake levels were much higher. The lake is home to rainbow trout and paddlers can expect to see a variety of birdlife, deer, otters, as well as a high concentration of California bighorn sheep.