Paul Lake Park is a popular provincial park, set in the forest, away from the sights and sounds of the city. Only a half hour drive northeast of Kamloops, B.C. this park is centred around a beautiful blue lake, a 7 kilometre hiking trail, a campground and a 400 metre white sandy beach.

Paul Lake Provincial Park covers over 670 hectares. Mostly forest and lake. It was in 1961 that Paul Lake was first designated as a park. In 1996 an additional 269 hectares Douglas fir, pine and aspen forest was added to the park.

The day use area in the park is always busy with excitement on a nice day. Families sprawled out on blankets. Seniors cuddle under umbrellas. Couples sitting in lawn chairs with their toes splashing in the lake. Children swimming and boating on the lake. All ages enjoy this park.

The day use area is equipped with many amenities including picnic tables, viewing benches, flush toilets, cold water taps, an open air shower, BBQ’s and change rooms. The large grass lawns and the shade provided by the trees ensures a comfortable viewpoint of the lake and beach from the shoreline.

The more popular activities enjoyed while visiting the Paul Lake Provincial Park is boating, swimming, fishing, canoeing, hiking, kayaking, birdwatching, camping, mountain biking and sightseeing. Within the park boundaries is a 7 kilometre hiking trail, campground facilities, an adventure playground and a cartop boat launch.

The boat launch provides access to the lake for canoes and small boats. Some of boaters arrive at Paul Lake to fish for trout. Paul Lake is a stocked lake with Blackwater and Pennask Rainbow trout. All fisherman should have a fresh water licence.

The hiking trail leads to Gibralter Rock and to more views of the valley. The last section of the trail is uphill leading to the summit with some resting benches located along the route. The summit is 900 meters in elevation and gives some fantastic spanning views of the lake and of Harper Mountain.

The trail leads to some prime birdwatching areas in the park also. Some of the birds to keep an eye out for include ospreys, swallows, and white-throated swifts. The Paul Lake Provincial Park also protects various species of wildlife in the region like the coyote and mule deer.

In the region around the lake is a popular mountain biking route named the Paul Lake Circuit. It is a 20 kilometre adventure exploring the aspen and pine forest in the park while riding downhill. The circuit is marked as an easy ride consisting of mostly backcountry downhill runs.

How to Get to Paul Lake Provincial Park: From downtown Kamloops, B.C. travel along Hwy #5 north for 5 kilometres. Take a right on Paul Lake Road and continue driving until you reach Pinantan Rd. Take a right on Pinantan road to the park entrance. Directional signs will point you to the park form the highway. Should not take more than half an hour to 45 minutes to reach the park from Kamloops.