View topic - Permits for paddling in BC?

I will be bringing my sea kayak (Current Designs Solstice GT) to BC this summer and I am wondering if there is anything I need to know, especially in light of invasive species. Special instructions or permits required? The state I live requires registration, so I have that.

I will not actually be making it to the ocean, the only place I know for sure I want to go is Waterton Lakes Nat'l Park, which is actually in Alberta, and Kootenay. I am still in the planning stage, hopefully there aren't a bunch of regs which cause me to go elsewhere.

Not that I know of.. We were in Waterton Lakes in 2012 sans canoe and will return with canoe this summer
I found this kind of a neat read
http://www.rockiesfamilyadventures.com/ ... -park.html

The campground in town while not isolated has a beat of its own.. There is a tent only area for like minded souls.

I don't think so.

Just your usual fees for the parks.

I guess I can answer my own question on Waterton:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/waterton/activ/activ1/a/activ1ai.aspx

apparently not all parks allow paddling:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/kootenay/activ.aspx#prohibited
scroll down to Prohibited Activities

but apparently kayaks are OK
Using personal watercraft (seadoos, wave runners, jet skis, super jet, etc)

I was hoping to just carry my kayak down to the water if I saw a place that looked good for paddling.

I'll have to check the BC MNR site for their rules.

There isnt anything in Kootenay for paddling.. Fer petes sakes its a hiking park... Did you actually look at the map?
They won't let you paddle Radium Hot Springs.
I was there in 2012.

But go up to Lake Louise.. Follow the signs for Moraine Lake and

go paddle

http://banffandbeyond.com/the-lake-with ... aine-lake/

There is certainly paddling in Kootenay National Park, and it is not a prohibited activity. The "personal watercraft" prohibition refers to those motorized "sea-do" vehicles, not canoes or kayaks.

For some information, see here:

https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/d ... b46523.pdf

or just google "kootenay river canoe". Lots of information.

-jmc

There are invasive species road checks in southern BC for all watercraft.
Your boat has to be clean. You pull in. They check you, give you some literature and you are on your way.
Stopping is compulsory.
And the Kootenay River is primo paddling for anything that floats.

I made an assumption that the OP was looking for lake trips with a sea kayak.. and alone..

I did find an old post on the Kootenay River

http://www.myccr.com/phpbbforum/viewtopic.php?p=279452

Just to reiterate what stencil said, make sure you kayak is spic & span. Make sure there is no water in any hatch, nook or cranny. I'm not sure where you will be driving from, but critters like zebra mussels have been spreading westward and it would be nice to slow 'em down a bit. In reality, having the kayak sitting on the roof in the hot sun as you drive through Alberta or Montana (assuming that you are coming some distance) will likely kill any larvae or eggs (invisible to the naked eye), but make sure everything is clean and dry to be sure, whether you are getting stopped at a checkpoint or not.

Hope you find some great spot or hidden gem to stop for a paddle. Even if you don't end up paddling in the aforementioned parks, there's likely lots of other spots to be found.

Cheers,
Bryan

_________________
Bryan's website - http://pawistik.net
ColdspringPaddling.com

I'm coming from Minnesota, so the kayak should be fairly well baked by the time I get to BC. They have inspections here too, in fact the places I normally paddle have inspectors at the landings during daylight hours. I am well aware of how invasive species travel.
I was actually referring to Kootenay Lake north of Nelson, but if there is a nice spot to paddle in the Nat'l Park, I'll do that too.
I suppose they would object to me putting it in one of the hot springs but those are on my list of things to do too.

I'm not sure Kim, about no lakes to paddle in the Kootenays. There are a number of easily accessible lakes, often with a road on one side and relative wilderness on the other. These are long fjord type mountain lakes, so wind can be a real problem. Arrow, Slocan, Trout, Upper Arrow and Kootenay are the main ones, though there are others as you get up toward Revelstoke.