Alkali Lake was empty, but it is a grey area to camp at, as no roads go to the lake
I was heading south in the Columbia Valley, back in civilized country. My plan now that the season was getting on was to visit some BC rec sites that are more popular. My only concern was that the weather was still so nice that there might be quite a few people still camping around here. Join me to find out how empty or full things were.
I stopped in Golden for resupply. I had been thinking about trying out some of the rec sites between Golden and Radium Hot Springs on the west side of the Columbia Valley, but all descriptions came with warnings about active logging in the area. I didn’t feel like tangling with a logging truck so I decided to try some sites further south not too far off the highway and definitely not where there was active logging. I grabbed lunch at Ethos Cafe, an OK spot that got surprisingly busy right after I had gotten my order. The Chicken Parm sandwich was good, but spendy. It wasn’t really a menu I was very interested in. I’d have gotten beer and eaten at Whitetooth Brewing, but they only did the ‘beer’ part of the equation. Next time I’ll just walk into the core area and pick something to eat at there.
Johnson Lake south boondocking
My first stop was Johnson Lake Recreation Site, a too easy to get to site just off Highway 95. I say “too easy” as that meant there would likely be people there, as even in BC easy to get to water tends to have people even in the fall. Sure enough, the main campsite did have a couple of RVs in it, so I turned left and went around the south side of the lake. There was a nice spot there that is not part of the rec site, but it was a bit unlevel and definitely very little sun. I had lunch there then checked out the north side of the lake which is the official “north” part of the rec site. This area was a lot more open, with a couple of picnic table sites to choose from. It looked decent but I decided I could do better.
Tamarack lake boat launch
I drove on, this time heading for Tamarack Lake Recreation Site, only a few minutes down the highway. I pass Skookumchuck, only notable for it’s name and paper pulp mill nearby. I head off the highway by the pulp mill, going around the backside on good pavement. The first bit of forestry road is good too. From the turnoff to the lake, it is not a good road – it is a rough bumpy cart track. I figured that would keep most people away from the lake, but no, the little campground was pretty much full! WTF, this is not so easy to get to yet there are more people here than at Johnson? There was a fishing boat sitting at the little dock, was the fishing hot?
Two of the three spots taken
Regardless, I contented myself with a few pictures and left. I was not going to take the one crappy spot left, especially since the north end of Johnson had been empty when I went there. So, off I go down the bumpy road again, hoping to not encounter one of the campground patrons as there were no turnoffs for quite some ways. I was a bit miffed, I had not expected so many people this time of year. But the north end of Johnson was not that bad. I decided to skip the picnic tables and camp down closer to the water. The lake was low, so I could drive down the track and camp in the dry grassy area beyond the tree break separating you from the lake. I also figured (correctly) that anyone coming in would take one of the two picnic table areas, keeping me separated from them.
Pulp mill across the river
Johnson Lake overall is an OK spot. it is easy to get to – your roads are mostly good and short for what little bumpy you will encounter. Other than the people, the biggest drawback is that you are close enough to Highway 95 to get some noise. It’s not a huge amount, but you will not be in quiet solitude here, even at night since this is a major highway. The weather was a mix of sunny and cloudy days, with a tiny bit of rain thrown in. I had gotten spoiled by all the great kayaking/fishing in my previous foray and didn’t bother to put the kayak out into what looks more like a large cattle watering hole rather than a nice lake in my books. At least the lake is just far enough away from the pulp mill that you won’t get much smell there. I only smelled anything when I hiked closer to the mill during my week there.
Premier Lake at the small boat launch
The roads in the area made up for the lackluster lake to a great deal. I had some good walks in the forest, with even some hill and embankment views of the Kootenay River thrown in. I was able to explore much farther with the motorcycle, taking the Grom all the way to Premier Lake Provincial Park and beyond. The provincial park has the usual expensive camping, but there is some decent boondocking around the area that I will have to partake in next time I’m in the area. I’d aim for the shoulder season here, as it looks to be a popular area in the summer. You’re not too far from Calgary here, and between Cranbrook and Kimberley, you have a fair number of locals living in the area.
Premier Lake other direction
In my motorcycle adventures, I ran across another fellow doing the same thing. It turns out he took the unsunny spot on the south end of the lake, having the same motorcycle carry arrangement as me, with a camper instead of a class C. He was actually working at the pulp mill on assignment for a shutdown there. He switched between the different rec sites, keeping legal on the camping. That explained why Tamarack had been full, it was the closest rec site to the plant. It was only about four spots and three of ’em had been taken by what were other workers trying to live cheap while on temporary work at the plant.
You might get the sense that I was a bit grumbly at this point, and I was. I had taken a hit on the RV just before getting to Johnson Lake, with a huge rock coming at me from a trailer coming down the highway. It was a golf ball sized bulls eye, even shattering the inside glass sending little shards of glass flying in the cab. I can’t complain too much – this is the first windshield killing rock I’ve had in my adventures so I’m due. I decided I might try getting the windshield done while in BC, rather than driving around in Calgary traffic. So I decided to try camping on the west side of Koocanusa, at some of the undeveloped sites there. It would not be too long a drive into Cranbrook from there, and if I didn’t like it, I could move elsewhere after.
THE map you need to boondock in the Koocanusa area
I managed to get an appointment set about a week hence – sadly that is pretty good these days. In the meanwhile, I motored down to the lake after a resupply in Cranbrook. Koocanusa has every type of camping you could want on it from full hookups in an RV park to informal grass spot boondocking. This late in the season I was hoping there would be some good informal spots available. You can’t just camp anywhere down here. The whole area has a rule that you can only boondock in designated areas. Pro tip: consult the map of the area, not all of them have signs up telling you you can camp here. It would not surprise me if some locals have removed a few signs from their favorite spots to try and discourage tourists from using the area. I have seen a few signs reduced to a post only, or nothing there at all. I’m pretty sure all of these areas had a sign put up when they implemented this system a few years back.
Took one for the team
I tried the first area off paved road first, called Strauss North on the map. This on isn’t on the googles, although some of them are. Even BC’s rec site map doesn’t have every last spot marked, you really want to look at the map posted in the area to get all possible sites, especially if you want to know if the site is more formal with outhouses and possibly picnic tables and fire rings, or less formal with no outhouses and probably nothing else. The first few spots were taken by locals perma camping, but they had taken the good summer spots where you get some shade in what is a surprisingly hot area for Canada. I kept on going to where the side road went into the water, aka ‘informal boat launch’. Remember, Koocanusa is a reservoir, having filled up behind the Libby Dam in 1973. The side road going into the water was the old forestry road going down the west side of the Kootenay valley prior to the lake being there.
Sunniest spot. The old road goes into the water off the right
There was a good flat spot available there not too far from the water, with about as much sun as I could get in the area for this time of year. I setup, and got the kayak out as the weather was gorgeous. This is early October 2026 and we have temperatures breaking 20 C everyday with lots of sun and little wind. There were still people swimming in the lake, unheard of at this time of year around here! I contented myself with some fishing, having calm waters again. I only caught a Squaw Fish, but I wasn’t complaining – just having good enough weather to get out at all was a bonus this time of year.
A view of my area. Note my kayak by the water
Cranbrook typical central street
I normally stay a week in a spot, moving on a Monday. But this stay was broken up by a day in Cranbrook to get the windshield replaced. So I planned for two weeks, with the windshield being done in the middle, sorta. The appointment was on a Wednesday, so I did one long week first, then a short week after. I’d at least make something of it and tour the central part of Cranbrook while my RV is being worked on. I dropped off the RV at Affordable Autoglass, being told it would be about three hours. That gave me time to find a place for lunch and tour around just a bit. I walked into what would be the center of town. It’s not much to see, the most substantial looking historic commercial building was where I was headed, to have lunch at the Fenwick & Baker Pub.
This pub is on the main level of the Hotel building
The pub was decent, but nothing spectacular. The decour didn’t really take advantage of the genuine old Hotel they were in, the industrial feel canceled out the old school vibe. But that is my taste in things. Speaking of taste, the food and beer were fine, standard pricing for these days (expensive). The glass shop called just as I had left the pub, so I didn’t get time to explore the rest of the old commercial area, but from looking at the googles street view, it looks to be more of the same blah new stuff mixed with a few small old buildings. I wasn’t missing much.
A computer store but why 9:30?
Affordable Autoglass did a great job on the windshield, making sure to clean things up a bit inside to get rid of the bits of glass still hanging around. I will come here again if I’m in the area needing glass work. It was back to the lake to enjoy more great weather for a few more days until I had to head back.
Strauss South, lots of spots, challenging roads
I decided to camp a little further south, as the last perma campers had left their spot on the very south end of the informal camping area at Strauss North. The spot is marked on the map fairly accurately – the reality is people camp all along the area marked for the two Strauss North symbols. The weather was finally getting cooler and more unsettled, but still very decent for mid October. I took the motorcycle to explore north and south to the two formal rec campsites, Englishman Creek and Gold Creek Bay. Both of these sites are pretty much standard campgrounds in BC, charging for camping until mid-October each year. After that, you can camp for free.
Cowboy Memorial
I wasn’t going to stay at either as there were still people there and the spots were not that spectacular in my books. In particular, most sites had a lot of tree cover so solar would have been a challenge. I also went to Strauss South which turned out to be a great area with lots of spots in the open. The road is a bit of a challenge though. It is good most of the way there if narrow, but right at the site entrance is a large sand trap if you hang a left. To the right is okay, but you still need to watch all over for sand. I might take the RV down there someday, but I will definitely watch for the sand. It will change over time as wind and weather move the sand about.
A fire ring appears as the reservoir goes down
I explored the north part of Sharptail as well. That road is definitely rough although doable if you come in from the north. The more direct west access is flooded in places, a no go for my RV. I didn’t bother checking out Sharptail south, as you need to get to the north part to even think about going to the south site. Dunno that I’d ever bother going here. There was even a perma-camper still in here in mid-October, which put me off. If I ever go here when it’s busy, I’d likely head for the hills down some gravel roads to get away from the people more.
Sandstone in ripple form
I did make one cool find in my explorations down here. I was walking along the shore south of my camp exploring the little hills that would just poke above the high water line. Most just have some rocks eroded away, but this one had a huge fossil of sand ripples on it. The fluke of the lake level coming up just enough to expose this but not wash it away is pretty neat. The bonus is that the rocks are large slabs so people are not likely to take souvenirs. Not likely, but not impossible, this may disappear someday.
Leaving my second spot
I left the area reluctantly, but I was motivated to vote this year. I sometimes don’t care about mayoral races, but this year was to be really close in Calgary. I definitely had a voting opinion about who I wanted to see in power. So off I went to Calgary for one last visit this season. Join me next time as I return to SE BC for my last wanderings before I head to the USA.
