Houseboats, hidden beaches and the salmon run on BC’s friendliest lake
Shuswap Lake is shaped like an H, which means roughly a thousand kilometres of shoreline, hundreds of quiet coves, and the houseboat capital of Canada at Sicamous. Five days here is beaches, waterfalls and lake towns — and in the right autumn, one of the great wildlife spectacles in the country.
| Day | Where | Plan | Stay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salmon Arm | Arrive, the wharf and foreshore boardwalk, lakefront evening | Salmon Arm |
| 2 | Sicamous | Houseboat capital, the Sicamous Narrows, beach afternoon | Sicamous |
| 3 | Herald Park | Margaret Falls canyon walk, Shuswap Lake beaches, Sunnybrae | Salmon Arm |
| 4 | Adams River | Roderick Haig-Brown Park salmon run, Chase, Little Shuswap Lake | Salmon Arm |
| 5 | Home | Blind Bay, Sorrento, drive out | — |
The lake’s biggest town, with the longest wooden wharf in the BC interior and a foreshore walk that is one of the better birding spots in the province — grebes, ospreys and herons all along it.
Sicamous sits at the narrows between Shuswap and Mara lakes and rents more houseboats than anywhere else in Canada. Even for a day, taking a boat out into the arms is the way to see this lake properly.
In Herald Provincial Park, a short, mossy canyon trail leads to Margaret Falls — cool, green and dramatic, and one of the easiest big-payoff walks in the interior.
Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park protects the Adams River, where sockeye return each October. On the dominant run — every four years — millions of scarlet salmon fill the river and the viewing platforms fill with people.
Blind Bay, Sorrento and Sunnybrae string along the water with small beaches, marinas and fruit stands, and far fewer crowds than the Okanagan an hour south.
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