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.

Horseshoe, Yellowhead, and Moose Lakes, Jasper

Last Thanksgiving, we headed to Jasper sans kayaks for a family vacation. The weather took a turn and we spent part of one day scouting out three lakes for 2026.

Horseshoe Lake

We've paddled Horseshoe Lake a bunch of times over the years but the 2024 burned through this area. The lake wasn't open when we were here in the spring of 2025. We were delighted to find it open and ready to go for next year.

The lake is located about 30km SE of Jasper, down the Icefield Parkway. It is shaped like a horseshoe and has about a 2.5km perimeter. There is a pit toilet in the parking lot and room for maybe 12 cars.

Access requires carrying down a steep slope from the parking area. The picture below is shot looking west towards the parking area. The two people in it give you a sense of the scale.

You have two main options for entry. The green arrow is probably the easiest. As you approach the bottom of the hill, hang left up the western edge of the western reach. This trek should be easier since the fire burned out a lot of the vegetation. You need to get far enough up the lake to get clear of the downed logs (picture below) in order to launch.

This takes you into the narrow chute (below) with great cliff photos and then into the rest of the lake. This is, honestly, all worth the effort because the lake is wonderful.

The other option is to trek to the orange arrow and work your way down the rocks to the lake. This is a bear of a trip with a hard-sided boat. It is easier with an inflatable. Again, the burn has cleared out a lot of the vegetation so this is an easier trip than in the past.

We'll have to wait until spring to see what the place looks like in better light and with the vegetation regrowing.

Yellowhead Lake

About 35km west of Jasper on Highway 16 is Yellowhead Lake. It runs approximately east-west for about 3.5km and is about 500m wide (though it pinches about half way down.

The best access option looks to be the Mount Fitzwilliam Trail parking lot on the north side of the highway. If you are coming from Jasper, you will pass a rest area and then there is one sign about 400m before you have have to make a sharp turn down into the parking area.

The parking area has lots of space and a pit toilet. You could carry down from here along a dirt trail (orange arrow above). The trail is pretty challenging.

But then you get to this lovely beach.

The better option is to drivey to the boat launch (green arrow), unload and then go park back at the orange arrow. The grave-sand launch is very nice and seems to have a bit of shelter from the west wind.

I am super keen to paddle here next summer.

Moose Lake

Another 25km west of Yellowhead Lake is Moose Lake. Moose Lake runs roughly NW to SE and is 12km long and up to 2km wide. There is a boat launch on the very east end.

The launch is a bit tricky to hit coming from the east. You get two chances to enter, about 30m apart, but both require a left across ongoing traffic and that can be hard if traffic is thick.

The launch itself has a small parking spot, a pit toilet and a cement ramp down into the water.

 

There is also a small gravel beach on the right side of the launch in the picture below.

The east end of the lake offers access to the Fraser River and is probably the most interesting part. 

Mostly, this lake looks too big for me and likely prone to some good waves in any kind of wind. 

Griffin, Victor, and Clanwilliam Lakes, near Three Valley Gap

Last September, I made three stops on my way back from the Okanagan to check out possible paddling sites along Highway 1 around Three Valley Gap. I was keeping the boats dry so we could paddle in Banff so we didn't paddle any of these--just scouted them.

Griffin Lake

Griffin Lake is about 3km west of Three Valley Gap and is best accessed coming from the west. The lake runs NW to SE and is about 1.5km long and maybe 400m across.

While it looks like you might be able to sneak boat in at the west end of the lake by the rental cabins, this access has been quite aggressively sealed off. The best option is halfway down the lake (green arrow) at the pullout in the first set of trees after you can see the lake. This pullout comes up fast and you have to be prepared to aggressively decelerate off the highway.

There is lots of room to park but no other facilities. Access is down a little trail towards the lake (which is obvious), shown below. While the carry is only about 20m, the trail drops quite steeply.

This is the drop.

This is the reverse. It is very steep and would suck if it was at all wet. You might be able to wind your way through the trees on a gentler path, minding where you put your feet (note to BC Parks: when there is no public toilet, everywhere becomes a public toilet).

The launch is shallow and easy and reasonably clean.

Despite the overcast day, the lake was quite pretty, with the train track running down the other side. This is the look east.

And this is the look west. 

One day, when we're coming back from BC and I'm not trying to keep the boats dry so we can paddle in Banff, we will put in here.

Victor Lake

Victor Lake is located 5km east of Three Valley Gap and is best approached from the west. The lake runs roughly east-west and is about 600m long and 100m wide. 

While officially a provincial park (which is weird), this is basically just a roadside pull out with no services. It gets rave reviews online even though it was full of garbage when we were there. You have basically two options to get off the road: the official pullout (green arrow) or a gravel pullout (orange arrow).

The official pullout has lots of room but zero realistic lake access. You are about 4 or 5 meters above the lake and the drop is very sharp, rocky, with no real lip at the bottom to stand on.

You could lower your boat down this rain gulley (there is a 1.5m drop before the slope starts). Getting in and out at the bottom would be tricky.

I also pulled out at the gravel pullout but seem to have not taken any pictures. Basically the same issue of a steep slope. Maybe you could walk your boat 100-200m to the east edge of the lake along the highway and bushwhack an entry. I'm just gonna write this lake off.

Clanwilliam Lake

Clanwilliam Lake is located 6km east of Three Valley Gap and is best approached from the east. The lake runs roughly east-west and is about 1km long and 100m wide. This was quite a pretty little lake that looked like something out of a model railway diorama.

Again, for whatever reason, I didn't take any pictures. Your best access is a small parking lot on the west end (green arrow). There is a sign here about unexploded avalanche ordinance (!) so don't pick up any garbage you find. The lake itself looked doable (if small) if you were so inclined. Three Valley Lake is just down the road about 5 minutes and offers a much better paddle.