Paddling the Bowron Lakes Canoe Circuit - May 2024

Off the grid and paddling the Bowron Lakes Canoe Circuit, located in beautiful British Columbia Canada. An 8-hr drive north of Kelowna, in the Bowron Lake Provincial Park.
Arriving into the park on Sunday evening (May 19), our squad of four stayed in two cabins at Becker's Lodge (www.beckerslodge.ca and on Insta as beckers_lodge_resort_) which is also where we rented our gear (canoes, dollies, life jackets, and waterproof totes). It's a family owned (and run) business, and they were awesome! We had a great dinner with a great view of the lake. The lodge isn't licensed so we settled for some non-alcoholic beers. The G&Ts we had in the cabin later on helped with our planning session. If you have breakfast there, be sure and have a pancake.....but come hungry.
For reference, we were in the water at 10:30AM on Monday May 20, and we were out of the water at 10:30AM on Friday May 24. We put in some pretty big paddling days in order to pull that off. We weren't in a hurry; just looking for a challenge.
116kms in all, including 10.5kms of portage, the circuit consists of a series of lakes and riverways. Some wide open spaces and some peaceful, meandering channels, displaying some classic Canadian scenery.
Stay quiet and you may be rewarded with a view of some of the locals: black bear, grizzly bear, moose, beaver, marten, eagle, osprey. We were lucky and saw them all!
Deciding to do it in May, we had the circuit to ourselves for the most part. Other, more popular times of the year, you can expect to see lots of other paddlers and you may have to move on to another campsite if the one you planned on is occupied when you roll up.
There are 54-sites in total. All of them with a bear cache, pit toilet, and tent 'spots'. Some sites have more room than others, so best to check the map and plan ahead. We stayed at sites 15, 29, 39 and 53. The first two came with a large cook shelter with picnic tables and a wood stove, and made for very comfortable stays. Site 39 had a great beach area and we lucked out with blue skies for that one. Site 53 did the trick for our last night. Nothing fancy, but spectacular at the same time. The cooler weather, with highs of 10 or 12 C during the day, and 1 to 2 C at night, made for very little 'bug' activity.
The park is very well maintained - including the portage pathway system. The mud and puddles were few and far between, but we had plenty of ruts and roots to navigate. Our rental canoes and dollies held up nicely. We experienced sun, drizzle, rain, fog, headwinds, and tailwinds.
All in all, it was a great adventure. Get after it!

[@JimDavis-x8t]

we are planning a trip for next june, any suggestions?

[@kelownasteve337]

Hey, Jim. Like any multi-day outdoor adventure, I'd suggest a loose itinerary to start, leaving room to make adjustments along the way. Weather and campsite availability aren't something you can count on, so a flexible itinerary is a fairly strong 'must'. We planned for 5-days and completed the circuit in 4-days, but we had decent weather and we had the circuit (and campsites) all to ourselves for the most part. Other than the flexible schedule, I'd say plan for any type of weather. Warm and waterproof gear is a must. And be sure to book the circuit early, as they have a limited number of bookings available for any given season. Our May 2024 trip was secured within the first hour of the first day that the bookings were opened. That was in October 2023. I expect that June would be more popular than May. Hope this is helpful. Have a great trip.