Postill Lake, east of Kelowna

In late June, we spent a few days at a lodge on a lake in the hills up above Kelowna. Postill Lake offers a nice, isolated boreal paddling experience.

We launched from the sand-gravel beach of the lodge. 

You  can also access the lake from the Postill Lake Recreation Area (which is a few hundred meters away).

The lake is about 2km long and, at its widest, is about 800m across. It winds with lots of bays and inlets and took us about 2.5 hours to paddle the perimeter (so 8km of shoreline, I'd guess).

Basically, these shots are representative of a reedy shore with a coniferous forest behind.

 

In other places, the shore line is stonier.

The water is clear but has a reddy-yellow tinge (the picture below gives you an idea but the red is mostly sediment on the bottom). 

There were lots of fish jumping and the boats seems to have only electric motors on them (no idea if that is a rule or just a convention).

We paddled for three days here and saw deer, eagles, and osprey.

At one point, we had four eagles circling above us and we watched the eagles chase the osprey around a small bay each day.

There were also waterfowl, including nesting loons, and a huge number of robins.

On the northwest corner, there is a dam.

Several of the online reviews comment on the road, which is gravel and steep and probably not for you if you'd describe yourself as a nervous driver. I'm in no way an off-road guy and I didn't find it too bad (it likely varies over time). We averaged about 40kph. There is a significant elevation gain (I think the lake elevation is 4500 feet while Kelowna is about 1200 feet above sea level) and there are some places where the drop off the side of the road is a couple of hundred feet. Meh, no big deal.

Overall, a nice paddle away from the crowds down in the valley. It was markedly cooler this high (like 5-10 degrees less than the valley) and the lake did get a bit windy at times. Overall, a very nice paddle with basically no one around.

Shunda Lake and Twin Lakes near Rocky Mountain House

In late June, we popped in to try our luck at Shunda Lake, just west of Nordegg. Access is through the day-use area and there was a kayakomat on site if you want to rent. You can drop right beside the water and then go park about 50 meters away where there are pit toilets. 

The parking area also has a dock and some DIY launch sites, but the boat launch is the easiest option.

It was bright and sunny when we arrived. By the time we got the boats off, it had clouded over.

The shoreline mostly looks like this. We got about 100m from the launch and the lightening and thunder started so that was that for the day.

We adjourned to the Miners Cafe in Nordegg for pie. I was disappointed to not get to paddle this lake (it has been on my list for several years) but I'll plan to make another trip out here later in the summer.

Twin Lakes

After abandoning Shunda, we drove to Rocky Mountain House for the night. The storm passed over after dinner so we decided to do an evening paddle at Twin Lakes, just west of Rocky. This is a lovely fishing pond.

You can get in on the west end but there are stairs involved. If you drive around to the east end, there is a very nice boat launch. You can either beach launch or use the kayak launch on the dock. There are picnic tables, fire pits, and a pit toilet up by the parking area.

The lake is small (maybe 800 by 400m) but is a great paddle and nice for SUP.

The shore line is a mixture of fir trees and swampy grass. There are multiple docks for fishing and the lake is stocked with rainbow trout and infested with yellow perch.

The water is super clear.

In the SE corner, there is a small channel that goes through the the twin lake to the south. We tried it again this year since the water looked high. We made it quite a ways (about 50m of the 120m channel, much further than last year) before chunks of firewood blocked forward passage.

There were lots of birds, including loons, heron and osprey as well as endless ducks.

Overall, a nice plan B after Shunda did not work out and a lovely twofer with nearby Crimson Lake.

Gardom Lake near Salmon Arm and Swan Lake near Vernon

In late June, we visited Gardom Lake, just south of Salmon Arm. We looked at two access points: Gardom Lake Community Park and the Musgrave Road boat launch. The community park has pit toilets, a swing set, picnic tables, a nice beach, and swim platforms.

The carry from the parking lot was about 80m down a steep trail to a nice beach. 

My wife was nursing a lightly sprained knee so we opted for the hand launch down at the end of the lake. The hand launch has lots of parking, a pit toilet, and about a 10m carry down a good slope.

My wife made it down with a cane and a knee brace and the launch was sand-gravel and the water was clear.

The lake itself runs about 1.5km SW-NE and is maybe 600m wide. I recollect this being an electric-only lake so there were no power boats roaring around. There are also two islands. There may be some small inflows but I would guess this is spring fed from the formations on the bottom.

The shoreline is rocky or reedy with a mostly fir forest behind.

The coolest part were the turtles. There were hundreds of painted turtles sunning themselves on every log.

They were also hanging out on the bottom or swimming around.

Anyhow, we lost probably two hours checking out the turtles. There were also the usual birds and such.

The two islands are worth a paddle around. Main island has a picnic shelter and pit toilets! Turtle Island is a bit more rustic and slightly harder to get ashore.

Overall, this was a great paddle and we really enjoyed ourselves. There are turtles in Alberta but the sheer number here was staggering here.

Swan Lake
On our way through Vernon, we stopped to scout access to Swan Lake, which is just north of town. We looked at two access points off Highway 97.

The Vernon Rowinga nd Dragon Boat Club (blue arrow) has public access and good parking. The launch is off a dock or from the shore at the end of the dock.

A second option is off the public boat launch off Meadowlark Road (red arrow). TIhere is lots of parking and it is a gentle sand-gravel launch. For my money, this is the easier option with a shorter carry and easier entry.

If we pass through here again, we'll definitely give Swan Lake a go.