Surrey and Sussex Lake Snowshoe

Surrey and Sussex Lake Snowshoe

Doug Smith  February 29, 2020 at 8:47 am

The road up to Surrey Lake starts at a turn off the Logan Lake Road and climbs through the hills for 9km.   The snow-covered frost service road is kept open by the Surrey Lake Resort.   Just before the entrance into the resort area there is another Forest Service Road that goes around the lake and continues on to the shores of Sussex Lake.   I parked at the junction and snowshoed in, following snowmobile tracks.

The Sussex Lake Recreation Site is a rustic camping spot on the north shore of the lake.   The road in is narrow and rough.   I have driven it to kayak the lake (link), but requires high clearance and in shoulder season 4WD.   It is, though, a pleasant snowshoe route.

The double track winds through lodgepole pine, bearing south.

After going to the end of Surrey Lake (1.7 km), the access road climbs over a ridge and through a replanted cutblock, marked by stumps.

At the edge of Sussex Lake a few camping sites overlook the lake which is 1.2 km long.   Surrey Lake drains into Sussex Lake which then drains into Helmer Lake then Clapperton Creek which flows down to Nicola Lake.

There is a tract of sticky lodgepole pine forest between the two lakes.

I followed a snowmobile track which had crossed Surrey Lake on the way back.   Some ice was already showing so the shortcut will not be suitable as the weather warms up.

Some patches of blue sky showed in the east over Frogmoore Lakes, a favorite spot to paddle.   There were no tracks in that direction so the next outing into that destination (link) will have to be when the snows are gone.

We hope to snowshoe more route in the High Country this winter, including Bob Lake, Helmer, and Rey Lake if the conditions allow access.

View the original source

No conversations yet

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/

My Blog Posts