We took the chase in mid-September, to visit the cave on the southeastern shore of Kalamalka Lake, just south of Vernon. The easiest way to get there is to launch from Kaloya Regional Park on the south end of the lake. You can launch off the west or east side of the peninsula that houses the park. We chose the eastern, sandier beach to avoid the wind. This entailed a 30m carry past the pit toilets and down to the water.
The bottom is sandy but soft. It is firmer over to the left side of the photo below. The water is crystal clear and a lovely emerald green. Lots of folks were SUPping in the sheltered bay when we got back from our paddle.
We paddled north out of the bay and up the eastern shore, to the second point of land.
The entrance to the cave is below the tree hanging over the water (far left) in the picture below. You can't really miss it due to the graffiti on the rocks around it.
The cave itself isn't very deep. You can get one boat inside.
Inside there was a nest (maybe a loon? or a goose? something big anyhow).
Looking back out to the lake is interesting.
There is also a chimney above.
We then paddle back as the wind was starting to come up from the north.
It is hard to overstate how beautiful this lake is.
Round trip was about 7km and took under two hours. We then had a walk around the peninsular on the trail (which was lousy with Oregon grape) and sat on the western beach to have lunch.
Overall, this is a nice park with a playground, change rooms, pit toilets, and picnic tables. The lake is also lovely, if maybe a bit prone to wind in the afternoon.
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