Minnie, Douglas, and Weyman – Kamloops Trails
My plan was to paddle Minnie Lake (and possibly Stoney Lake) on the Pennask Lake Road, then tour through the Douglas Plateau on the way back, but winds picked up and by the time I reached Minnie Lake, there were whitecaps on the larger open lake.
Minnie Lake
I decided to drive through to the Douglas Lake area and evaluate the winds on other lakes (Douglas, Chapperon, Rush, Salmon or possibly Glimpse Lake). I turned off the Pennask Lake Road and headed over the hills to Douglas Lake. The secondary backroad was a bit rougher in spots, but was fine for a truck or any high clearance vehicle.
The whole area is a large and beautiful grassland with forested slopes on the higher slopes.
An old abandoned homestead stood off the main road where the Douglas Lake Ranchlands give way to the Upper Nicola Douglas Lake Reserve (#3).
Along the Douglas Lake Road I spotted a rocky beach just below so I parked and hauled my kayak down to the shoreline. I paddled the south shoreline in strong winds, avoiding the open lake where more whitecaps were cresting from winds blowing from the southwest.
I decided to follow the road east past Chapperon Lake, Rush Lake, and Salmon Lake, then over the hills and down into the Salmon River Canyon. The winding and sometimes narrow road crosses the Salmon River then not far ahead is another bridge over Weyman Creek. There is a small parking area on the north side and a hard-to-see trail climbs the hill following the creek into a canyon. The trail ends at a spot overlooking Weyman Falls, but I had been there before and this time I scrambled down to a lower viewpoint of the 100 foot falls.
I hiked back out to my truck then finished the tour by going through Westwold to loop back to Kamloops on Highway 97. I didn’t get to paddle Minnie Lake, but I had done that in the previous year (link – Minnie Lake), I did get to do a shorter paddle on Douglas Lake (a first for me), and I got to see Weyman Falls from the low end at full flow. Another good day exploring the hills, waterways, and backroads of the Interior.
Doug Smith
Doug writes for Kamloops Trails, a not-for-profit (and ad free) website, offering information on trails, waterways, routes, featured spots, viewpoints, and explorations in the outdoors in the Kamloops area (and beyond).
Doug started exploring this area in 1976 and continues to follow tracks and routes wherever they lead, with the aid of map, compass, GPSr and camera. After many dead-ends, but also many discoveries, he chose to share this information.
The Kamloops Trails website has a massive number of interesting posts and would be of interest to anyone in Kamloops who enjoys the outdoors. Visit the Kamloops Trails website at: http://www.kamloopstrails.ca/
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