B.C. Country Roads – No. 6 Kentucky-Alleyne Provincial Park

After my wonderful drive from Princeton, north along the Tulameen River to Coalmont and then up the Otter Valley, I arrived in the late afternoon at Kentucky-Alleyne Provincial Park.  Thankfully, this park has multiple First Come First Served sites and I was able to get a good site just a minute away from the white clay beach and turquoise waters of Kentucky Lake. I have always wanted to visit this provincial park, and am so glad I finally did!

I took my camp chair down to the beach and sat for a while, reading and then writing in my journal.  Happy kids came and went, and anglers fished from small kayaks or rubber boats on the far right side of the lake. After my time at the beach, I had fun watching and photographing the ground squirrels that live beside my campsite.

After dinner, I walked from my campsite past the two small ponds which lie between Kentucky and Alleyne lakes.

Lake Alleyne, only a five minute walk from Kentucky Lake, was beautiful too with its serene blues and greens, and it offered lakefront campsites as well as many spacious forested sites in a nearby loop.

An early evening rain had me reading in my camper for a while, and then I exited again at dusk to see that the clouds were clearing and the first stars and a bright crescent moon were visible.  I made a final short walk of the day on the road alongside the lake, marvelling at the evocative calls of a loon in the distance, and then I spied a large mule deer tiptoeing through several lakefront campsites.  Such a lovely way to end the day.

The next morning,  I tidied up the camper after breakfast and then parked at the day use area, ready to hike the 4 km trail around Kentucky Lake.  The trail was wonderful! Mostly shady, the forested path stayed close to the lake all the way around, continuously offering glimpses and then wider views of the lovely turquoise water.

A few times I scampered the short distance downslope to stand at the edge of the lake and I saw long trailing schools of young trout in the clear green water. (At the boat ramp, I had seen two very big trout – a good place for casting!)

Halfway up the lake, I started hearing the iconic “Hinterland Who’s Who” calls of a loon, and those calls were answered at a distance by a second loon.  It was so exciting to hear! Then, even more exciting, a short while later I saw the pair of loons, now side by side, with two young ones trailing behind! Oh how I wish my photos were better!

As I neared the end of Kentucky Lake, the water became more shallow, greener in colour, and edged in rushes.

I inadvertently disturbed a young Canada Goose family, and they left the shore and headed away from me towards the other side of the lake.

I rounded the top of the lake, surprised that there was no incoming or outgoing stream to cross, and later learned that both Kentucky and Alleyne are kettle lakes and are fed by springs.

And then I was on the other shore, causing the cautious goose family to change direction and head back towards their original side of the lake.

I continued on the return portion of the trail, and again saw the loon family as I neared the central part of the lake.

Of course, the beautiful and shifting colours of the lake held much of my attention, but there were also some trail-side beauties that were worth a closer look, including wild rose, thread-leaved phacelia, purple penstemon, and red paintbrush.

All too soon I was finished my anti-clockwise loop, ending at the small clay beach near where I had camped.  This is my last image of lovely Kentucky Lake.

It is definitely a place to revisit, and so I returned later in the summer with Brent and Daniel for a two-night camp.  We had so much fun swimming on the hot August days in the clean, cool water, and at night the sky was amazing with the milky way clear and bright and many shooting stars.  Thank you Kentucky-Alleyne Provincial Park!