Murtle Lake, B.C., 7-12 September 2025

Trip coordinator: Frank G.

Photos: Frank G.

I’ve always wanted to go deep into Murtle Lake to explore its north arm. In two past trips, I’ve only been in the more popular west arm with its hiking opportunities and abundance of campsites. But the north arm has eluded me. So, I set my sights on a trip in September when the weather is usually good but the crowds have thinned. First one, then three, then five other people were interested in a club trip, so we were on.

Initially, the plan was to go at the end of the Labour Day weekend just as school was back in session. But a glitch in my schedule had us postponing it by a week, leaving Edmonton on Sunday, 7 September and coming out of the lake on Friday the 12th. Good thing: in the end, we found that school started a week later in B.C., so campsites might have been hard to find.

We were all set with me (Frank G.) and Alan S. in one canoe, John B. and Christine O. in a second, and a third couple in another, but a family situation caused the latter to reluctantly bow out. With Alan’s home-made canoe cart and a rental from Totem (a good deal!), we embarked with two vehicles and two canoes on Sunday. Alan had previously reconnoitered a gem of a camping spot for our first night off the highway so that we could head up to the lake relatively early on Monday.

We coincidentally met in Jasper, then drove together to the Tete Jaune Spawning Grounds Recreation Site along the McLennan River east of Valemount. It’s a very basic spot in the woods with a couple of picnic tables, fire pits and a pit toilet, all maintained by the Yellowhead Outdoor Recreation Association. There’s no fee to camp there, but it’s first come, first served, so you could be out of luck if others are there. As it was, we were the only campers when we arrived; another couple, from Jasper, had simply parked there and walked along the river to see the salmon spawning. John surprised us with a gift of Coors beer that he had purchased along the way; he’s now invited on all future trips! After setting up our tents, we hiked along the river to the spawning grounds. We were a bit late in the day for the spawning, as it was getting dark, but we did see the tail end of it as eagles were swooping down on the spawning salmon as we approached. We were told by the Jasper couple that most of the spawning, such as at Swift Creek in Valemount, had ended two weeks earlier.

It was on Blackman Road between the spawning campsite and Valemount on Monday that we realized the school year had just started. We stopped behind the red flashing lights of a school bus as a little boy, about 5 years old, got on with a little knapsack while his young parents were proudly taking pictures. When the school bus left, we moved up and I asked if this was first day. “Yup” they replied, beaming as their boy was beginning his long journey.

At Blue River, we gassed up and began the 27-km tortuous gravel road up to Wells Gray Provincial Park and the Murtle Lake staging area. The road was in better shape than I’ve seen it before, perhaps because of the dry summer. But so much for thinning crowds after the summer school break: the parking lot was at capacity! However, many people were coming out, so we loaded up and started the 2.5-km portage with glad hearts. The trail was good, taking us about an hour. At the lagoon, we arranged the gear in our canoes, locked up our carts, and pushed off.

Once on the main lake, we were a bit more than an hour’s paddle to Strait Creek, the main campsite along the east side of the lake. All camp spots were taken, but we found some sandy beach for our tents just shy of the sign showing the limit of the camping area. It was a long hike to the bear bins and toilet, but peaceful and quiet. At the creek, we watched small salmon wiggling and jiggling in the shallow gravelly streambed of their spawning grounds. Another canoe couple came in after dark, a bit confused as to whether it was an official campsite, so I got up and showed them a nearby spot that we had identified in the daylight. They rewarded us the next morning by taking our pictures as we were leaving.

On Tuesday, we paddled the east side of the lake toward the north arm, stopping at Eagle Point campsite for lunch. From there, we had a stiff tail wind, so we made good time. Murtle Beach at the north end was a bit disappointing as it was a shallow, wood-strewn bay with silvery, mucky bottom from the mica deposits of this area. But the camp spots were okay, and there was an old beaver dam with a good stream for filtering water at the northwest end.

We were off on Wednesday to camp at Wavy View, but we overshot it and found a couple at the only camp spot at Sunshine Cove, so we doubled back and set up for night three on the lake. We were visited by the resident Murtle Lake operator and two visiting Park Rangers. They were quite friendly, especially as we had all put our money in the self-registration box at the lagoon, and we weren’t fishing illegally.

It was a bit of an operation to find the Sandy Point campsite on Thursday. Our two canoes took different routes, although from the opinions voiced, it’s amazing that we didn’t split into four directions. But we reached the site around the same time early in the day and set up camp before heading out for a reconnaissance of the west arm.

Throughout our trip, there had been widespread forest fire haze that kept the sun from blazing but was not noticeable to our noses. However, the west arm had different ideas. There, the smoke was heavy, especially to the west where the park operator had said that we might find suitable camp spots.

It was not pleasant to smell or look at, so we circumnavigated Leo Island where others were camped and beat a hasty retreat to our chosen spot. The park operator and rangers came by again to check our pfds and required canoe gear, being quite pleased that the Northwest Voyageurs are experienced and conscientious paddlers.

Sandy Point is a great during mosquito season because the peninsula gets a good breeze. It’s also a good spot for the last night because it’s within an easy strike of the exit to the lagoon. So, we headed out on Friday morning to retrieve our carts, load them up, and begin the haul out to the parking lot. Alan and I found some beer and tortilla chips/salsa in Blue River, then repaired to the Meadows campground at Mount Robson for a shower and another good night of camping, while John and Christine soldiered on to Edmonton.

The weather the week before our trip (our original plan) had been about 30 degrees during the day, while the forecast for our week was for 70% chance of showers the first day, diminishing to 30% over a few days. As it turned out, we got no showers at all, and the smoke from the distant fires kept us at a nice temperature near 20 in the day. As we heard from the earlier paddlers, the previous week was too hot, especially for the portage.

The forest fire situation in B.C. meant that we were not allowed campfires—not that we needed them, nor that the $5 per night per person camping fee was excessive. But hiking to some of the summits, such as Central Mountain, for a good view was not really feasible, and the heavy smoke at the end of the west arm precluded any hike to the falls.

So, I finally got my trip to the north end. It’s 20 km up the north arm, and 20 km up the west arm, as Murtle Lake is the largest lake in North America that is paddle only. There’s lots to explore, by canoe, kayak, and SUP. (In fact, as we were leaving the lagoon to go in, we came across a young woman who had just paddled solo with minimal gear up to the north end and back on her SUP!)

I’d go back again next year. And with the same people. Think about joining us.