FVWW: Similkameen River

I ran the Similkameen River for the first time this year by Princeton and enjoyed it so much I made a trip back up the following weekend. There are a couple of different runs on this river ranging from grade 2-4. The run that I did is called Bromley Rock to Stemwinder Campground, and it is just that.

You put in at Bromley Rock day use area and camp site. It is a huge park along side the road in between Princeton and Penticton. The take out is Stemwinder Provincial Campground. There are camp sites along both sides of the river so you can kinda make it up as you go. This section of river is probably best described as grade 2, with just a pinch of grade 3. You'll probably be wishing it was more like a fist full after a rather flat grade 2 section. This run is for the most part a beginner run. No wood or hazards of any kind really. It starts off at a nice swimming hole with some decent cliff jumping and a nice sandy beach. At the right level there is quite a nice surf wave with good eddy service. Its a nice friendly introduction wave for beginners. The one drop which barely deserves a label of grade 3 is just a slight increase in gradient and I guess it can have a sloppy hole in it at certain levels, though Ive never seen it.

Next spring I plan to do the grade 4 sections in the canyon and will post pics then.