Clearwater-Azure Lakes
This
trip is in Wells Gray Prov. Park which is in British Columbia just west
of Jasper Provincial Park. The trip to the Azure Lake and Rainbow Falls
takes you 20km up Clearwater Lake, up the Clearwater River and into the
less visited and beautiful Azure Lake. Azure Lake is in the Cariboo
Mountains while Clearwater is more in the foothills. The mountains rise
dramatically out of Azure and many waterfalls drop right into the lake.
It reminded us of Isaac Lake on the Bowron Loop. The Rainbow Falls are
at the far east end of Azure Lake and the camp has a wonderful white
sand beach. This would be a nice place to spend an extra day if you have
time.
This is a beautiful trip, but be aware that Clearwater Lake is quite popular and has powerboat traffic. So Clearwater Lake does not feel isolated at all. However Clearwater has many many sandy beaches, so it is a nice place for the kids. Azure Lake feels much more remote and has much less traffic since it takes 2 days paddling to get there. Unfortunately, it does get regular boat traffic from the day trips that Clearwater Lake Tours does to Rainbow Falls. However, the most regular boat traffic (3-4 times a day) were the park rangers. That was a bit much and did not help the ambiance. That said, it was a fun trip and is a good non-wilderness trip for someone just getting into canoe-tripping.
Logistics:
Rent canoes lake side from Clearwater Lake Tours (CLT)
In 2009, canoe rental was $200 for a week + $1/person/day CLT fee
Park fee was $5/adult/night (Make sure to take your receipt because the rangers will come by on the water and check.)
Maps:
No need for detailed maps for this trip. You can use the one on the BC Parks website or if you rent from CLT, they will give you a map.
Camp info:
The camps are very nice with sandy beaches, tables, fire rings, bear bins, and privies. The camps are well marked with red square markers.
Diver's Bluff -- nice swimming, tent spots in woods close together, lots of day traffic from boaters. There is a long trail that leaves the camp and goes up to a viewpoint. Here's our notes on camps from our trip:
Bay View -- nice beach with camping on either side of point (so can be secluded even with another party)
Huckleberry Beach -- nice beach, seems popular so is probably nice
Ivor's -- canoe only, small beach, has creek to explore
Archer Creek -- smaller beach, nice tent spots up in woods but all spots fairly close togther (no seclusion)
Barella Creek -- would be mosquito haven if bugs are out, nice beach, tents spots in woods are a bit muggy
Indian Point -- didn't see it
Four and a Half Mile -- nice beach, morning sun, had parties every day we passed it so might be popular
Osprey -- canoe only, small beach, 3 tent spots, dark in the morning but it's a nice secluded spot
Rainbow Falls -- beautiful! huge beach, many spots, lots of opportunities for seclusion, shelter (old cabin). The falls are a 5min walk from camp.
Clearwater River:
We did our trip in late August when the river was quite low. With the help of my 11-yr old in the bow, I was able to paddle upriver without working too hard but I did get tired. We paddled up until we could sneak by on the left and then crossed the river back right above the portage and dropped back down to the portage. We didn't know it at the time, but it would have been easy to continue up river and avoid the portage. The boats stay in the main channel on the left, but there is a small channel on the right that we could have used. There might have been a little lining of the boats, but I think it would have been easier than the portage -- at least when we were there. At higher, faster water, this might not be the case. But you might want to walk along the bank up river before committing to the portage. On the way back, we dropped the kids at the portage and Karel and I paddled the canoes with me in the bow and Karel in the stern. In retrospect, we could have gone down the river just fine with the kids. The current wasn't too strong and the snags were cleared. Obviously conditions change year to year and week to week, but I would suggest taking some time to scout up river before doing the portage. Even if you do the portage on the way up, you'll know what the river is like in case you want to paddle it on the way out (as we did). Note that in addition to it being low (and slow) water during our trip, there were very few boats on the river. If there is a lot of boat traffic, the river might be dangerous for canoes to go down.
Portage:
The portage is short (1/2 km) but is not suitable for canoe carts due to the steps along the trail (see photos).
Bears:
Wells Gray is known for its healthy black bear population, however we saw no sign of bear (scat or tracks) during our trip. The park provides bear bins at all the camps.
Dogs:
Dogs are allowed though BC Parks discourages them. We had our dog with us but we kept her leashed as she is an avid hunter.
My thoughts:
This is a good first-timers canoe trip. The logistics are easy, the portage short and the river short. You can easily make the trip shorter or longer. However, this is not a "wilderness" trip. There is quite a lot of boat traffic, even on Azure. Best to go in the shoulder season (September) to avoid the crowds if you can.
This
trip is in Wells Gray Prov. Park which is in British Columbia just west
of Jasper Provincial Park. The trip to the Azure Lake and Rainbow Falls
takes you 20km up Clearwater Lake, up the Clearwater River and into the
less visited and beautiful Azure Lake. Azure Lake is in the Cariboo
Mountains while Clearwater is more in the foothills. The mountains rise
dramatically out of Azure and many waterfalls drop right into the lake.
It reminded us of Isaac Lake on the Bowron Loop. The Rainbow Falls are
at the far east end of Azure Lake and the camp has a wonderful white
sand beach. This would be a nice place to spend an extra day if you have
time. This is a beautiful trip, but be aware that Clearwater Lake is quite popular and has powerboat traffic. So Clearwater Lake does not feel isolated at all. However Clearwater has many many sandy beaches, so it is a nice place for the kids. Azure Lake feels much more remote and has much less traffic since it takes 2 days paddling to get there. Unfortunately, it does get regular boat traffic from the day trips that Clearwater Lake Tours does to Rainbow Falls. However, the most regular boat traffic (3-4 times a day) were the park rangers. That was a bit much and did not help the ambiance. That said, it was a fun trip and is a good non-wilderness trip for someone just getting into canoe-tripping.
Logistics:
Rent canoes lake side from Clearwater Lake Tours (CLT)
In 2009, canoe rental was $200 for a week + $1/person/day CLT fee
Park fee was $5/adult/night (Make sure to take your receipt because the rangers will come by on the water and check.)
Maps:
No need for detailed maps for this trip. You can use the one on the BC Parks website or if you rent from CLT, they will give you a map.
Camp info:
The camps are very nice with sandy beaches, tables, fire rings, bear bins, and privies. The camps are well marked with red square markers.
Diver's Bluff -- nice swimming, tent spots in woods close together, lots of day traffic from boaters. There is a long trail that leaves the camp and goes up to a viewpoint. Here's our notes on camps from our trip:
Bay View -- nice beach with camping on either side of point (so can be secluded even with another party)
Huckleberry Beach -- nice beach, seems popular so is probably nice
Ivor's -- canoe only, small beach, has creek to explore
Archer Creek -- smaller beach, nice tent spots up in woods but all spots fairly close togther (no seclusion)
Barella Creek -- would be mosquito haven if bugs are out, nice beach, tents spots in woods are a bit muggy
Indian Point -- didn't see it
Four and a Half Mile -- nice beach, morning sun, had parties every day we passed it so might be popular
Osprey -- canoe only, small beach, 3 tent spots, dark in the morning but it's a nice secluded spot
Rainbow Falls -- beautiful! huge beach, many spots, lots of opportunities for seclusion, shelter (old cabin). The falls are a 5min walk from camp.
Clearwater River:
We did our trip in late August when the river was quite low. With the help of my 11-yr old in the bow, I was able to paddle upriver without working too hard but I did get tired. We paddled up until we could sneak by on the left and then crossed the river back right above the portage and dropped back down to the portage. We didn't know it at the time, but it would have been easy to continue up river and avoid the portage. The boats stay in the main channel on the left, but there is a small channel on the right that we could have used. There might have been a little lining of the boats, but I think it would have been easier than the portage -- at least when we were there. At higher, faster water, this might not be the case. But you might want to walk along the bank up river before committing to the portage. On the way back, we dropped the kids at the portage and Karel and I paddled the canoes with me in the bow and Karel in the stern. In retrospect, we could have gone down the river just fine with the kids. The current wasn't too strong and the snags were cleared. Obviously conditions change year to year and week to week, but I would suggest taking some time to scout up river before doing the portage. Even if you do the portage on the way up, you'll know what the river is like in case you want to paddle it on the way out (as we did). Note that in addition to it being low (and slow) water during our trip, there were very few boats on the river. If there is a lot of boat traffic, the river might be dangerous for canoes to go down.
Portage:
The portage is short (1/2 km) but is not suitable for canoe carts due to the steps along the trail (see photos).
Bears:
Wells Gray is known for its healthy black bear population, however we saw no sign of bear (scat or tracks) during our trip. The park provides bear bins at all the camps.
Dogs:
Dogs are allowed though BC Parks discourages them. We had our dog with us but we kept her leashed as she is an avid hunter.
My thoughts:
This is a good first-timers canoe trip. The logistics are easy, the portage short and the river short. You can easily make the trip shorter or longer. However, this is not a "wilderness" trip. There is quite a lot of boat traffic, even on Azure. Best to go in the shoulder season (September) to avoid the crowds if you can.
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