Kayaking on Buttle Lake – Strathcona Provincial Park

by Keith and Heather Nicol

    On Wednesday, June 12 we decided to visit Buttle Lake and Strathcona Provincial Park which is just around the corner from us in the Comox Valley but a place we have not visited very much. So with our car loaded down with hiking boots, sleeping bags and kayak gear we headed for the Buttle Lake campground which is about an hour and a half drive from Courtenay. We arrived around noon so just after setting up our camp we had lunch and then set out for the boat launch in the park. 

Paddling through the narrowns toward Upper Campbell Lake

 The boat launch in the Buttle Lake Campground is abit rough and ready but fine for kayaks and is in a nice protected bay. This part of the park has lots of little islands (perhaps in part due to the low water) and other nocks and crannies so is an ideal place for exploring by canoe or kayak. We headed under the highway bridge and into Upper Campbell Lake and paddled out to a gravel spit that opens up into the larger lake where we turned around. Buttle and Campbell Lake are connected by a narrow opening and are oriented north – south so funnel the typical north wind in the summer time. By the time we turned around the wind propelled us back past our put in point and since we wanted to see part of the main part of Buttle Lake we continued past more islands and gravel spits.  We also paddled past a new boat launch on other side of the narrows which would be suited to power boats.

Paddling south toward Buttle Lake from the narrowns

  Once we reached the open waters of Buttle  Lake the wind was really blowing so we decided to turn around and head back to our launch point.  Over all we paddled about 7.5 km and it took abit less than 2 hours. We would recommend this area for paddling since it has some wind protection and has a varied shoreline which is great for kayaking. Wind can likely be an issue for kayaking here and this was supported by 2 kayakers we met as we pulled in who said that 2 days previously it had simply been too windy to get out in the open lakes. So best to watch the weather and paddle in the morning before daily heating amplifies the wind at the surface.  There are other boat launches in the park and on another visit we plan to check those out. For information on the park see:     http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/strath/    

The scenery surrounding Buttle Lake is superb