If you find yourself looking for a great camping spot close to Kamloops, definitely check out the Paul Lake campground. We stumbled across this spot when in a pinch for a place to spend the night on our way from the mountains to the coast. What a great treat it was to stumble upon! A peaceful campground, with large, private sites and a short forested walk down to a lake. It truly ticks most of the boxes we look for in a campground.
We visted during a time of high forest fire danger and there was lots of smoke in the area, this was probably why we managed to nab a first come first serve spot in the evening, we were so happy with our find, I’m sure we will book a spot at Paul Lake campground for next time we are driving to the coast, as it is the perfect, relaxing spot, to take a break for a few days from the long drive.
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The Paul Lake Campground
The Paul Lake campground is a large one with 90 sites, including 3 double sites, of the 90 sites, 47 are reservable every year via the BC Parks reservation site. None of the sites are serviced, so come prepared to be self-sufficient. Each site has a picnic bench and fire pit, but make sure to check for fire bans before heading out.
The sites are well spaced out and in the trees, so offer a fair amount of privacy. At least when we camped there in August, the campground was just over half full, although I’m sure it fills up on a nice weather day and especially on a weekend.
It’s a more rustic camping experience at the Paul Lake campground with just drop toilets, however there is a playground for children and a campground host who has a lot of information outside their site on how to enjoy the area.
There is a trail which runs from the Paul Lake campground down to the day use area which runs beside the lake shore. It’s a bit steep so you may prefer to drive if you have lots of stuff. We drove down and set up our BBQ on one of the day use benches and watched the sunset while we ate our dinner.
The day use area is large and grassy, with plenty of picnic benches and water taps and garbage cans scattered around. There is also a washroom building in the centre. Down from the grassy area the lake has a cordoned off section for swimming.
At the far end of the day use area is a smaller parking area with a dock you can walk out on, popular with people trying to fish. Next to this is also a small boat launch, we saw lots of people using this to access the water with their canoes.
Where Is The Paul Lake Campground
The easiest access to the Paul Lake campground is via Kamloops. Head north on Highway 5, the Yellowhead Highway before turning right onto Paul Lake Road, which turns into Pinantan Pritchard Road. The Paul Lake campground is on the right and clearly signposted. It’s around a 25 kilometre drive from Kamloops.
If you are coming from East along Highway 1 towards Kamloops, you may turn off Highway 1, cross the river and head along the Pinantan Pritchard Road, the road is signposted from the highway. It’s around 23 kilometres from Highway 1 via this route, however, the road is mostly unpaved and when we travelled it, was a little rough in spots although manageable in most normal vehicles.
Things To Do Nearby
Directly from the Paul Lake campground or if you’d rather you can hike down to the day use area and find the trail which goes to Gibraltar Rock. This trail brings you to a stunning viewpoint looking out over the lake from the 900m high Gibraltor Rock and is well worth the time.
Also within the Paul Lake park there are swimming opportunities at the lake or you can fish or head out on the water in a canoe or kayak, for a relaxing day.
For those looking for something a little more fast paced, check out the Bike Ranch for a day of mountain biking on maintained trails with something for all levels of experience.
Items You Might Need When Camping At Paul Lake
We love to be more comfortable when car camping like we did at Paul lake, so we like a queen air mattress and a double sleeping bag for our super cosy camp sleep set up.
If you are thinking of hitting the trails while staying at the Paul Lake campground, make sure you have some comfortable boots. I wore my La Sportiva Raptor 2 boots because I had them with me. However if you rather something more lightweight, I like to wear my On Running CloudVenture shoes for short hikes.
We love to use inflatables in the lake when we are relaxing on a hot day and we never head towards a lake camping spot without an inflatable or two.