City of Kamloops River Access

The city of Kamloops has some of the best river access points and some of the worst. Several of our city parks are exemplary, with excellent parking, good trails, washrooms, boat launches and other amenities. Other places in the city though are gated, fenced off, and neglected. Our rivers are some of our greatest assets and we need to show them off to the world and open them up for us to use, not silo them off like some natural disaster. Our city has accomplished a great deal thanks to our hard working City Councillors and the work of public service groups and volunteers, but there's a lot left to do. Let's put our money where our mouth is and "Make Kamloops Shine".

Pioneer Park

• Priority for improvement: Low
• Best Feature: Fantastic river access in every way! This spot is exemplary.
• Special Concerns: A public washroom would be useful because of the heavy use.
• Parking: Good
• Access to Water: Good
• Signage: Good

Riverside Park

• Priority for improvement: Low
• Best Feature: The River access here is also excellent but a longer carry to the water
• Special Concerns: None.
• Parking: Good
• Access to Water: Good
• Signage: Good

Overlander Park

• Priority for improvement: low
• Best Feature: This huge beach is a fantastic spot for walking and sunbathing
• Special Concerns: The connectivity to the River Trail to the north is less than ideal
• Parking: Good
• Access to Water: Good
• Signage: Fair

Aviation Way

• Priority for improvement: Moderate
• Best Feature: This offers good access for Brock residents and paddling to the Lake
• Special Concerns: There is currently no easy access to the water.

NOTE: The city is considering developing this site as a new boat ramp.

• Parking: Fair
• Access to Water: Poor
• Signage: Poor

MacArthur Island Park

• Priority for improvement: High
• Best Feature: Excellent access to the most interesting part of the river in Kamloops
• Special Concerns: The current boat launch is dry most of the time. A secondary hand launch or two for canoes and kayaks would be ideal.

NOTE: The city is considering dredging the channel to the current boat ramp

• Parking: Good
• Access to Water: Fair
• Signage: Good

Rabbit Island

• Priority for improvement: Low
• Best Feature: Amazing ecologically rich island within Kamloops
• Special Concerns: The island (above high water line) is privately owned by pulp mill
• Parking: N/A
• Access to Water: Good
• Signage: Poor.

Mission Flats

• Priority for improvement: Moderate
• Best Feature: Huge sandy beachs at low water and access to Kamloops Lake wetlands for paddlers
• Special Concerns: There are few spots to park and launch canoes and kayaks easily. Gates and other barriers because of illegal activities here like garbage dumping.
• Parking: Poor
• Access to Water: Poor
• Signage: Poor

Westsyde Park

• Priority for improvement: High
• Best Feature: A great distance from Kamloops for a paddle down the river. Also provides important access for the large neighborhood of Westsyde
• Special Concerns: The parking is too far from the water for launching canoes and kayaks. You must carry up over a dyke for several hundred feet!
• Parking: Fair
• Access to Water: Fair
• Signage: Fair

Ramore Park (Rayleigh)

• Priority for improvement: High
• Best Feature: Access to a really beautiful section of the river for paddling with interesting natural and human made features.
• Special Concerns: The trail to the beach is steep and the parking is far from the water.
• Parking: Fair
• Access to Water: Poor
• Signage: Poor

Various Public Right of Ways

• Priority for improvement: Moderate
• Best Feature: Offers access points a walking distance form many Kamloopsians
• Special Concerns: A number of these points are fenced off or have no parking. Opening up these right of ways within the city are key to better public access.
• Parking: Poor
• Access to Water: Poor
• Signage: Poor