Murtle Lake Canoe Trip, Wells Gray Provincial Park: A Detailed, And Cautionary Review Of A Beautiful Lake
A stunning lake. A dangerous tale. A true backcountry adventure.
I’ve just arrived home from quite the adventure canoeing the popular Canadian destination of Murtle Lake, BC . It was not only a STUNNING lake, but definitely one of my more eventful explorations. It had beauty, friendship, suspense, even danger 😱… and if you’re looking for a thorough and honest review, you’ve come to the right place!
First, a little background info. Late last year, after canoeing the North Saskatchewan, I decided it was time to purchase my very own canoe so I could head out on epic journeys without having to rent or tag along. It is a little gem, a 14 ft sportspal I found on kijiji, that had been sitting on some farm land. After I tested it, and found it water worthy, it still needed a little love. So I spent the winter researching where to find replacement parts, how-to videos, and with Covid hitting earlier this year, it became a great project the last few weeks. Sportspal is actually not a paddling/portaging canoe, it is considered more of a fishing canoe. However, it is one of the most stable canoes on the market. The liner itself is buoyant and will float, and the broad middle makes it great for holding a couple packs. It can carry up to 500lbs but as an aluminum canoe, only weighs a fraction and is easily carried by tiny little me lol. I love it, and while some might argue my choice, it served us extremely well on this journey. I would caution the aluminum is very thin and so extra vigilance must be given to anything that can puncture it. It will not fair well with rough treatment as a fibre glass or royalex one might.
There are 2 companies that produce Sportspals, one in the United States called Meyers, and another in Ontario, Canada called BW Marine. After initially calling Meyers, the staff there explained while both models are very similar, the US version is a single sheet of aluminum, while the Canadian version is two pieces riveted along the bottom. Mine is a Canadian version and after calling BW, the wonderfully helpful Jarod in their sales section helped me order a new liner, replacement rib and decals (which I’ll apply after I repaint it later this year). His help was invaluable, so I need to give them a shoutout here because this trip couldn’t have happened without him (Thanks Jarod!!).
A Ready To Go Canoe And Heading To Murtle!
Murtle Lake (click here for maps, brochures and further info) is located in the amazing natural area of Wells Gray Provincial Park, located nearest the town of Blue River, British Columbia off highway 5. It is about a 6 hour trip from Edmonton, Ab and is world famous as the largest canoe-only lake in North America, all campsites are accessible solely by canoe. The only motorized boat on the lake belongs to the Park Ranger, which has a permanent residence located on the lake and stationed there through the open canoe season. Fishing is also allowed on the lake and we overheard avid fly fisherman boasting 25lb catches. Fish cleaning is not allowed at the launch site as it is a bear hazard.
The lake has 2 approximately 20 km long arms, one pointing north and another south-west. They are positioned like hands of a clock at roughly about 9 o’clock and each is, on average, about 3 km wide. Each offers very different scenery and challenges. We met a few groups that took about a week and did both arms. Our 4 days on the lake were spent only on the south-west arm as our hope was to do the famed hikes in this area and see the islands.
Backcountry Passes
You are required to book back country passes through BC Parks to camp/canoe overnight on Murtle Lake. Info on backcountry passes for Wells Grey can be found here; for backcounty booking site only, click here. This is the only fee that you need to pay to enter the park and it functions to track visitor numbers and acts as a safety backup in case any party should go missing.
Every few years when I try to book backcountry passes in BC, I find myself having to figure out the process all over again. I say this because the staff deal primarily with typical campground or RV booking and usually don’t know much about backcountry so it can be a bit frustrating. This year, likely due to covid, I could only book our passes in the 2 week window prior to our trip (July 1- 13). Once that was ironed out though it was straight forward. I suggest booking online, you do need a credit card, but its super easy to do and cheap - just $5 per night, PER PERSON. You do need to give a rough itinerary so have an idea in mind of you travel plan. Print two copies of your passes, keep one on you at all times (I suggest in a plastic ziplock bag) and the second gets deposited in the vault at the boat launch.
You can also fill out the form and pay the fees in CASH when you arrive at the boat launch. This is an honour system, there is no debit or electronic payment available on site, but there are rangers present on the lake at all times and you must be able to produce a pass for each party present if you are stopped.
Itinerary
My travelling companion was my friend Krista, though an avid camper she is new to backcountry, but an eager beaver! Our plan was:
•Tuesday night in Blue River, wake up early, head to the lake.
•First night on the lake (Wednesday night) at Diamond Lagoon Campsite. We wanted to do our longest day paddling early so we could enjoy the trip backwards getting closer to the return point. We’d hoped to do the short, easy-rated 5 km hike to the famous Douglass Falls Wednesday evening/Thursday morning.
•Thursday, head to File Creek to do the easy hike there, maybe see the lava flows and then either do Anderson Lake Trail hike to see the abandoned cabin if there was time. Spend Thursday night on Leo’s Island
•Friday night back at Sandy Point where the beach is lovely and giving us a short and easy paddle trip back to Murtle Lagoon and the dock.
Tuesday Night
We left Edmonton at 6:30 pm and after gas/coffee stops, and a pit stop to adjust our tie downs, we arrived in Blue River around 1 am. Here we had a teeny tiny, but SO adorable (!) cabin booked at the Blue River Campground and RV Park. It was a single room with a large bed and pull out sofa. The bathrooms were separate, public, male and female facilities, located in the back of the main office and included a shower with VERY hot water. I made the reservation by phone and let them know we’d be late arrivals and very early departures and they gave us instructions on their policies. The office closes early, however the cabin was left open for us and the manager resides in the trailer next to the office (in case we had any issues). The staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful and I couldn’t speak more highly of how easy the experience was. Bedding is an extra $10 charge, so we chose to use our own sleeping bags, which we had anyway. The single night was only $70 and was perfect for a good night sleep before our attempt at an early cast off (we ended up not making it there as early as intended but it wasnt an issue). Its worth mentioning I did contact both the Blue River Sandman Inn and Blue River Motel for pricing; the Sandman was $130+ and the Motel never answered my calls despite multiple attempts over several days (again, could be due to covid).
Wednesday: Driving, Parking and Launching
We left our little cabin oasis at 8am and headed to get gas. Both the Petro and Husky stations were open and we grabbed a coffee and muffin for the road. If you need a hot sit down meal, the Sandman Inn restaurant is open early. The road access is beside the Petro station, exactly where the statue of the 2 fighting bears stands. This is mentioned on the BC Parks website, it just isnt updated in google maps. Its likely the roads have changed since this area was last updated, however google incorrectly shows the road access as directly across from the Husky gas station (exactly where the Sandmann now stands).
Follow the access road to the end, past the construction yards and you come to signs for Murtle Lake that will direct you to the left. You basically follow this road all the way to end. There is no point at which you turn off; even divides that were indicated on our google map were not present on the actual drive. The road itself is long, mostly single lane, gravel and can be very rough in some spots with extremely steep drop offs. There are spots to pull over if its necessary, but we didn’t see a single other car on our way in. We lost cell reception about 10 minutes into the drive. There is no reception past Blue River.
We arrived at the dock about 11 am. The Parking lot was surprisingly full. There is a large map of the lake with information and warnings near the trail to the launch. If you are renting a canoe you can use one of the blue carts to transport your gear to the launch. If you bring your own canoe like we did, it says both online and on the posted map that you can use a pink cart. However, there were no pink carts, but there were yellow. Maybe they were repainted at some point? My canoe is very light, a highlight of the sportspal design, so we chose to walk our canoe in and carry our packs… in hindsight I would advise against this unless you are accustomed to it. The path is only 2 km, but its rough and hilly and LOADED with mosquitos. Invest in a canoe or kayak cart, your fingers will thank you . On the way back we attempted to load the canoe onto a cart, which turned out to be just as tricky… canoe cart!
We made it to the boat launch by about 12:30pm. I’d say the hike in took us roughly 45-ish minutes (lots of “finger-rest” stops). Here there is an outhouse and a dock that you can launch from. There are often canoers/kayakers coming and going and it can be a bit busy at peak times. You will also see another information board with updated tips and warnings as well as the cash-only registration forms and the vault to deposit them into. If you have registered for backcountry passes online, deposit one copy into the vault and keep the other copy on you at all times in a ziplock bag.
The launch is located in the area known as Murtle Lake Lagoon. It’s actually quite large, perhaps about the size of a small lake on its own. As you push off the dock you head to the right and off you go!
Campsite Facilities, Notes and Weather
All campsites on the lake have outhouses and fire pits. Fires are only allowed in designated pits and you should always use a set tent pad area. Because the area is a nature preserve and the eco-system is delicate, the goal is to keep it as natural, & have as little impact, as possible.
*** IMPORTANT: It is NOT allowed to use local trees as firewood. This is strictly prohibited by Park regulations in order to keep the area as natural and untouched as possible for all to appreciate and experience. Firewood is supplied at the launch site by the Parks Service and if you want a fire you must take some with you. It is not stocked at the campsites unless it is left by other campers. Signs are posted all over the Park encouraging visitors to report violators.
The wind on the lake whips up late morning to early afternoon and can be very strong. Though the weather on our trip was widely varied, we saw days with white caps and easily 3 ft swells. To avoid the wind, plan to travel in the early morning or late afternoon-evening. On our trip, mid-July, the sun set about 9:30pm.
Lastly, there is a lot of damage to the trees by Pine Beetle in this park. The rangers do try to remove dead trees, but it is completely up to campers to be aware of danger from trees that could fall. There is a warning also on the website further to this, however, a few years ago a woman was killed when the tree she pitched her tent by fell on her, so always exercise caution.
From The Lagoon Onward, Tally-Ho!
We left the dock at about 1pm. As you go forward you will see a marshy area, aim towards the right. It’s a little tough to see, but there is a small opening in the marsh here that opens up onto the lake. The lagoon is very sheltered and calm, even when the wind is high on the lake. When you exit the lagoon you will see two really gorgeous beaches, on the left and right. These are the Murtle Lake Lagoon Campsites. You can overnight here if the wind is making the water rough.
From Murtle Lagoon Campsite to Sandy Point
Once on the lake, you can choose to go right to the north arm or left to the south-west arm. As the wind was low, we went straight across to the point on the left. We did experience some rolling waves but nothing too challenging starting out. Once we reached the point we followed the shoreline, which was quite shallow. The trees are huge and fallen trees reach far out into the water and can be a hazard, vigilance is recommended. We rountinely maintained a minimum of 100+ ft from shore but saw many trees that reached further out than expected. We reached Sandy Point Campsite by 1:45pm and stopped here for lunch. The beach is stunning, relatively private and just lovely. The water is cool and shallow. You can see in the direction of both arms from here and there is even a small trickling creek. We also discovered tiny red, green and brown frogs! After a couple quick photos we kindly left the little amphibians to themselves :).
Leaving Sandy Point we continued west; the weather was still nice so we headed straight to the next point, avoiding the inlet, where you will find the Ranger Station. A permanent residence on the lake the large cabin has a maintained front yard that looks out onto both arms. It also has a heli-pad for emergencies, but as a backcountry area, help is often many hours, or potentially, several days away (you have to find someone, or, someone has to find you…). We later ran into the Rangers… yes 2 rangers! on the last day of our trip. Details are further down as it was definitely noteworthy.
Past the ranger station you will come upon the islands of the south-west arm. First is Fairy-Slipper Island. This tiny island is not open to camping (often in backcountry, when areas are off limits its usually due to safety or endangered species activity). The next is Leo’s Island. To the left of Leo’s island is a small stand of trees on an “island” of its own. Stay between this and Leo’s island. The water to the left of the trees, along the shoreline, is VERY shallow with large rocks. We actually tried to pass through here and ended up turning back and paddling around closer to Leo’s. The water is still a bit shallow, watch for deadheads and rocks, the depth can be deceiving and difficult to determine as the lake is very clear. The island itself is AMAZING with great campsites. We spent our last night here.
Just beyond Leo’s Island you’ll come across the stunning beach of Tropicana Campsite on the left and Smokers Island Campsite a bit further to the right. There was a rather rowdy group hootin’ from the shoreline excited about their progress. We passed the once again shallow waters of Tropicana point still with good weather around 4:30pm and kept going toward the next point in the distance, avoiding the shallow inlet.
The lake itself at this end is a series of inlets and points that jut out into the water. After rounding that point we kept going to the next, which was where our destination campsite was located, Diamond Lagoon. Our intention was to camp the night and do Douglas Falls in the morning before heading to File Creek to do the hike there. We arrived at the Lagoon at about 6:30pm excited with our progress… THAT was where our perfect first day took a scary turn.
The Wind Whispers Through Trees,
‘It’ll Sneak Up On You Soon’,
Beware The Swift Current Of Diamond Lagoon…
Not only could we not find the campsite - at all - there were no markers what so ever and no signs; we couldn’t tell where the entrance to the campsite was located. On the map Diamond Lagoon Campsite is located inside the lagoon of the creek, so we decided as we had arrived quite happily with lots of time to spare that we’d take a pass by the creek to see what we could see. We went by once but couldn’t make out any sign of a campsite and the rest we had seen had all been very clearly marked. We decided to make a second pass… and got sucked into the VERY fast flowing current.
Despite trying to paddle our way out, the current was just too strong and the rocks are freaking HUGE, easily canoe-killers. As we tried in vain to paddle out, I remember thinking as we started to spin that going backwards down a fast river is NOT option 1, 2 OR 3! In a split second decision we changed course and managed to aim for the island located just inside the lagoon… and luckily made it. We ditched here, shook off our nerves and tied up the canoe to take a quick survey of the island and our situation. We noted the water on the left side was slightly slower flowing. There was also a LOT of very fresh bear scat on the island… definitely not a safe place for an emergency campsite. After careful deliberation we decided we would carefully pull the canoe around the corner of the island parallel to the shore and attempt to make a break across the left side towards land. We got back into our little canoe, lined up our paddles, mustered up our courage and … shoved off.
Working together our paddles sliced the water in spectacular, and swift, unison… row, row, ROW! We landed on the other side, safely, and canoe in one piece (phew!). If it wasn’t for the rapids, you could’ve heard a pin drop. We then made our way up the shoreline keeping very tight to the trees. There were spots where I hopped out and manually pushed the canoe around debris while Krista held tight to trees to keep it from floating out again. Tie the canoe, pull a tree branch, push the canoe, grab a willow limb, angle around the fallen tree… cooperation was the word of the day and this went on for the better part of an hour and a half. It’s amazing when you think it took just seconds for us to this far and almost hours to get back out. That’s how quickly it happens… When we finally reached the mouth again, we were unable to round the corner, as the current was just too fast. We opted to pull the canoe from the water and hopped onto dry land.
Here we found an overgrown trail. With the canoe safely pulled up and tied we explored both sides. Towards the lake, near the shoreline, the trail started at an overgrown marshy area with a stump marked with two small orange triangles. Going the opposite direction, the trail continued along the creek shore and eventually became too overgrown to continue so we headed back to the canoe. Now late (about 9pm) and sun setting, we decided to setup emergency camp along the trail, get a good nights sleep, eat and portage out to safety and a proper campsite in the morning. I taught Krista how to hang a bear bag and we had dinner well away from our camp, keeping in mind the local furry company not far away. It’s noteworthy that mosquitos were really extreme. I mean, hiking you get used to them, but these buggers seemed especially aggressive and by the end of the trip we had gone through 2 bottles of bug spray - quite honestly a record for me. We woke up Thursday morning with them hungrily sitting in wait for us on all sides of our tent (lol) and for the next several days we each donned 2 layers of clothing just to keep them off us. If you bring a mosquitos net, trust me, you wont look like a nerd here 🤭🦟.
Thursday….
It would’ve been an understatement to say our first night was a bit tense. Thursday morning we woke to thunderstorms and heavy rain at 8am. Though not ideal, we were extremely glad we didn’t remain on the island, bear aside, because the water was much higher already and crossing would’ve been much more dangerous. We decided to ditch the idea of hiking to Douglas Falls - though very disappointed, we just wanted to get the hell out of there. Around noon the thunderstorms had well passed, though the rain continued. We felt it was finally safe to get on the lake. We packed up, carried the canoe, our tent and packs along the trail through the brush to the safe launch site at the marked stump and then paddled our butts out of there as fast as we could… we also decided at this point to ditch the idea of the hike from File Creek, fearing the current could be equally as strong there and not wanting a repeat, or less lucky, incident.
In the pouring rain, we skirted the shoreline through the 2 shallow inlets this time, back to Tropicana. We wanted to remain close to shore as the rain continued in case more thunderstorms cropped up. Luckily, we had only rain the whole way. It made for a slightly longer trip, but better safe than sorry. We watched for any sign of Diamond Lagoon campsite as we left, but saw none. I half expect that the sign was washed out and perhaps the marked stump was the landing place for it and the trail was supposed to lead to it, however, it made us seriously question how anyone would find it, let alone reach it.
In the moment, a million things race through your mind; I should’ve been more careful, we should’ve stayed further back, I’m responsible for the safety of my friend… Krista would be the first person to argue that I am overly cautious and “that person” that thinks of everything. Accidents happen, even to the best of us, that’s why they’re called accidents. The key is to be prepared, rehearse, have a plan and know where your resources are. If you know what to do in an emergency situation, you are twice as likely to rely on that as your instinct, rather than panic or make further mistakes. We were enormously lucky, but I have to attribute at least some of our luck to knowing what to do when things went sideways.
Tropicana Campsite At Last (Phew!)
Landing at Tropicana we could’ve kissed the sand under our toes. We finally felt the relative safety of a maintained campsite with proper bear bins, tent pads and out-house facilities. We immediately set up our tent, the rowdy crowd had long since left, but luckily also left behind a large stock of fire wood! With the whole site to ourselves we wasted no time starting a fire and warming our very drenched selves.
Compared to our first night, Tropicana was a dream. There was so much small wildlife here! A tiny chimpmunk was brave enough to check out our canoe and even make his way to our tent! We saw several Gray Jays, yellow birds (unidentified), a large grouse, but my favourite was the hummingbird who flew up to my face, one foot away and looked me right in eyes for several minutes. We saw each of these amazing animals in the short distance to and from the outhouse. I think because we were alone and much quieter and they likely get very little human interaction, they were as curious about us as we were about them. But it really was the highlight of the trip for us. We happily spent the night here on our own, snug and safe. The rain eventually let up and the sun even came out for a stunning sunset on glass-like water.
Friday
The next morning however, although really sunny, the wind also picked right up and by 9am waves were already turning to white caps. In our adventures, we discovered the Paddle Tree; a tree on which campers have been hanging homemade paddles carved with their names. So we sat back, had a nap, carved a novis wee paddle and waited for the wind to die down. Through the morning we ran into a few other troops and exchanged hellos, warnings about Diamond Campsite and asked what others had attempted. We did not find any other campers that had made it to Diamond. We did see 2 couples travelling with a roughly 6month old baby that decided to avoid it (though they also had wanted to attempt the hike). We advised we were hoping to try for the abandoned cabin hike to Anderson Lake and they decided to give that a go also instead. The few others we encountered were very friendly and told us an approximate location of the Anderson Lake Trail Head.
At about 3pm, the wind seemed to have reduced a little, enough that white caps no longer were visible, and we decided to try for a straight shot across to the Anderson Lake Hike near Smokers Island. We packed up, said goodbye to our bird friends and headed north across to the island. The waves were still quite high as we crossed and it took some skills to cut them. We maintained a 45 degree angle, aimed for the larger island, then cut sharp and coasted with the wind around Smokers Island. Our canoe is very light, but is equipped with large sponsons and sportspals are known for their stability, so although the wind was a bit of a challenge, the canoe did very well with proper guidance. Around the corner of the island we had a slight lull in the wind and made our way up the shoreline. It is again very shallow here and as you get close to the trail head there is a long sandbar of weeds jutting out into the water just west of the trail entrance.
The Anderson Lake Trail Head is located along the main shoreline, just to the left (west) of Smokers Island. It’s actually about dead between Smokers Island (the small island) and the larger, unnamed island to its west. It’s a small, sandy landing that is difficult to see until you get closer. We landed here about 4:30pm. The sign here was also off the post and someone had laid it on a rock so you could read it. The hike is said to be an easy 3.9km and should take about 1.5 hours with a super cool abandoned cabin at the lake itself. The small landing beach is sandy and protected from the wind. We pulled the canoe up on shore, laced up our hiking boots and headed out with water and snacks in tow.
The trail started out with a small broken down shack near the entrance and from there was easy enough to follow, well worn and was surprisingly not a huge climb. Not sure if this is “The Abandoned Cabin”, as I had previously thought from reading that the cabin was on Anderson lake. As we progressed it did become more congested. There are some hatched log crossings for creeks and planks through marshy areas (the usual) and some cut trees that had appeared somewhat recent (though later on we discovered, after talking to the rangers, this was done 2-3 years ago). The scenery though is really gorgeous, untouched and surprisingly varied. As we progressed, certain log crossings were in poor shape and very slippery, but still passable with caution. There were places were the path was a bit difficult to decern, but the couple with the baby had likely passed through just before us and we could make out broken & trodden vegetation. However, at 50 minutes inland we came to a large log jam, about 10 -15 large fallen trees. We scaled the trees and searched in all directions but could not recover the path. There were no markers at this point. Safety on a mountain is primary and should be your prerogative. After our already close call, and our supplies back at the canoe, we simply couldn’t risk getting lost in such a remote area. We sadly turned and headed back to the canoe. I wish I had thought to take a photo of the jam, simply to show the massiveness of it. At this point, having hoped for 3 epic hikes and attempted 2, we were 0 for 3 and on our last day. Getting back to the canoe we packed up again. Our planned itinerary was to head to Sandy Point to make our last day rowing back to the dock as easy and short as possible. However, the wind had still not subsided so we changed plans and headed for nearer Leo’s Island instead. This was actually a nice treat after the highs and lows and was something we had hoped to do Thursday night, as Tropicana was never an intended landing spot - though it worked out quite happily the way it did.
Leo’s Island
It was 6:30pm when we left Anderson Lake Trail Head and the wind was still making for a choppy lake. Even with the wind at our tail, we still had to cut waves and it was a challenge to land the canoe. We couldn’t make it around to the more often used side, but there were two little sandy landing pads on the west side of the island that we had seen from Tropicana, so we aimed for those. We landed at about 7:30pm, tied up the canoe and turned it over. Interestingly, for the first time at that point we saw the ranger boat making a round; we grabbed our packs and followed a path to the main camping area. Later that night we read a sign in the outhouse that said the ranger does a safety check once a day around the whole lake.
This site was also AMAZING. There were some paths around the island to explore. It was well sheltered, a pine needle forest floor, there were 3 other camping groups, but all very quiet. There are some camping spots along the beach on the south side of the island but they were already snatched up by earlier arrivals. We picked a quite spot by a tree overlooking the water below (there was a slight drop down), had a hot meal, a tea, and watched the sunset. Here we noticed something that was mentioned to us earlier by another group; the water is so high this year (2020) that the two (of 3) fire pits located on the beach are actually submerged in the water. Obviously the water is much higher than normal. This started to shed light on our first day issues with Diamond Lagoon and the lack of signage and access possibly for the campsite.
Saturday
After battling the waves all day, we decided to make it an early rise the next morning (our last morning) so we could avoid as much wind as possible. We were up by 5am and the lake was like something you see in travel brochures… glass, a perfect reflection. We packed up quickly, had breakfast, made a quick repair to a canoe ribbed I had accidentally dislodged in rowing yesterday and headed out for home. The better weather made for literally the best canoeing I have ever experienced. I can’t even describe how beautiful it was. In a twist of fate our last day was the very BEST day and made our trip 100% worth it. We also made record time. Where our first day had taken us nearly 6 hours to reach the end, leaving Leo’s island at 6:30 am, on the way back we made it to Sandy Point by about 8:30 am-ish. The weather was still holding tight and the sun was up and shinning so we made a dash straight from Sandy Point directly to the Murtle Lake Lagoon Campsites and landed between 9:30-10am. We beached the canoe, threw on swimsuits, had a dip, made a fire and exchanged pleasantries with the canoers heading out for the weekend. We spent the next several hours watching the chimpmunks and relaxing before heading back through the lagoon to the dock.
Well, Hello There
In this time frame however, something very interesting happened. We came across the Rangers! They were out on patrol for the second day and happened to stop here so we made a point of heading over to chat. We told them about our near miss and how we couldn’t find the Diamond Lagoon site or finish the Anderson Lake Hike. The female ranger apologized profusely, explained the Parks Service had experienced some issues with covid and asked if we were ok. The male ranger piped up and said that because the weather had not been ideal as of yet (July 15….) they had been instructed not to go to that end of the lake as the current may be too strong for their boat. Im going to mention, they had a large aluminum boat with a raised bow and windsheild and a (450 ?) motor.
We thanked them for their time, as we had relayed the info and all parties were ok. However, my personal thoughts on this matter are a bit more poignant. For one, if a campsite or trail is not able to be maintained it should be posted on the information boards in the parking lots and at the docks. It was not. Secondly, if a current is too strong and dangerous for a large motorized boat, it is definitely too strong and dangerous for a canoe. Warnings should be made obvious and be visibly posted. There is a (very) small note on the website and parking lot sign to be cautious of Murtle River, though there is also Murtle River on the North Arm… but nothing to indicate there was any danger concerning higher water levels, missing campsites, markers, or how that might affect safety THIS season.
It’s possible others might disagree with what I’m about to say in this paragraph, however, when it comes to backcountry, safety is a priority. As I mentioned early on, help may take a long time to arrive. It could be days before anyone notices you’re missing. And a lot can happen in a few days. Getting sucked into a creek that leads to a waterfall, or getting lost on a mountain, does not make for a happy time. My travel friend was fairly new, and had I been less experienced myself either canoeing or hiking, I feel either situation could’ve turned out much differently. The experienced hiker in me says we were so, so very lucky and even as I write this, I get a little bit of a chill considering the alternative. However, lucky as we were, and relying on experience, we made it out ok. And we still got to see some really amazing backcountry and wildlife.
Heading back from the Lagoon, rather than carry the canoe, we opted to try tying it to the top of one of the carts and putting our gear inside. This actually more so ended up being a distinction without a difference lol. In theory while it sounded easier, the canoe was longer and in some places wider than the cart. The rachette strap jammed. And having to push and pull the whole thing along underneath a canoe up and down hills was just as hard. By the end we vowed death to all mosquitos lol. Again, mental note, invest in a canoe cart…
When we arrived back at the car we also noticed the car door was ajar - someone had attempted to get in. Luckily we had locked up all valuables out of site. It’s pretty far from civilization so we were a bit surprised, but the lot was busy (so not shocked).
Wrap Up
If you are an avid canoer, Murtle Lake is absolutely your destination, you will not regret it. I highly recommend it and I would do it again, and now being experienced in the area I feel more aware of what to aim for. I perhaps would even do a longer trip including the north arm, which we heard was much more scenic and had the best views of the mountain peaks.
As always, you can see more of my Murtle Lake photos on my website at KatrynaJones.com
