Tag Archives: Kamloops Lake

Cooney Bay Winter Hike

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On a cool and greyish day at the end of January I drove to Cooney Bay to hike along the beach and up the bluffs.    the road was very bumpy with deep puddles, but with slow driving I arrived at the parking area.     My hike was along the shoreline on sandy, then gravel, and then rocky shingle along the lakefront.    Tranquille River was frozen over with water running under the ice making the crossing difficult.    I got my feet wet going both ways.

There was a steady wind out of the southeast, but there were geese and ducks on the water.    The shoreline is sandy near the outlet of the Thompson River, but size of the rocks gets larger as you hike around the bay, a bit demanding on the ankles.

I scrambled up the bluff.    From the top, the view looking west followed the lake shoreline to Battle Bluff and beyond.

From the eastern edge of the bluffs the views showed all of Cooney Bay, Tranquille, and the Thompson River Estuary.

The hike out and back was about 3.2 km, but its a slow hike with uneven footing and a rough route up the bluffs.    An upcoming hike will start farther east and follow the river shoreline down through the Estuary to the lake, then back on the road.

Saltwort Pond Hike

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On a sunny November day we hiked tracks and routes in the hills above Kamloops Lake.    We started from Abbey Road, parking near the gate, then followed the gravel road as it angled toward the Cherry Bluffs area.   We turned onto a side track and followed it up, then downhill all the way to Saltwort Pond, an alkali dry lake on the benchland.   A series of hills lies between the pond and Kamloops Lake so we hiked up a steep hill off-trail to a viewpoint over the lake, and for a lunch break. From the top of the hill we had open views down Kamloops Lake and over to the Dewdrop Range. We angled down to the lake and … Continue reading →

Painted Bluffs Hike

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On a sunny morning at the end of April, we drove west past Savona, then up the Sabiston Creek Road to Copper Creek Road and we parked above the gate, not far above the lake.   We hiked over the hills and gullies to a spot above the Painted Bluffs Provincial Park, then we followed a rough track down to the base of lower end of the bluffs. The “trail” in is just a rough track, not always easy to follow, winding down into and out of gullies and around steep bluffs, bearing east, for a 2 km hike each way From the base area at the bottom of the bluffs, we explored the lower slopes, going over some of the … Continue reading →

Kayaking Kamloops Lake from Savona

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At the end of March, the weather was cool, windy and rainy, but I drove to Savona and parked at the boat launch at the end of Tingley Street (down from the Community Hall, Library, and School).   The launch area was in good shape for unloading, parking, and launching, but the winds were stronger than expected, coming down the lake from the northeast.    I chose to paddle through some sheltered bays and down to the lake outlet, then a short paddle up the north shore of Kamloops Lake, and back. For the first two-thirds of the paddle, I kept my eye on the waves, rolling across the hull as I went to the west end of lake, past Steelhead … Continue reading →

Battle Bluff Hike

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On a cool day in the second week of March, the Battle Bluff Trail was the hike for the day.    The trailhead (N50 44.791 W120 33.921) is signed and the trail heads south, crossing the flats before going up a shallow gully.    The trail then winds up through open forest between low hills before emerging into the grasslands that slope down toward Kamloops Lake.   At 1.1 km, the trail starts the descent to the foot of Battle Bluff, and then crosses a flat grassy area before winding up the bluff. As hikers go up the ridge, the view to the north is of sets of basalt columns on Dewdrop Ridge. There are several possible routes up the rugged … Continue reading →

Savona to Sabiston Beach Hike

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On a grey cool day in early March we drove to Savona to hike the Savona to Sabiston Beach route.    This is an open (no trees) south-facing sloped area above Kamloops Lake that is one of the first trails to dry out in late winter.  The trailhead is at the end of the Savona Cemetary Road.    The turn is past Savona on the west side of the bridge over the Thompson River.   The trail starts as a double track, then continues east as a rugged single track on the sideslopes above the railway, above the lake. All along the trail we had open views of Kamloops Lake and the hills above.    This view is looking southwest to … Continue reading →