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Some boat launches closed

Marine campers on Shuswap Lake will have to find a new pastime for a while.
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Water pumps and a wall of sandbags help keep the campground at Pierre’s Point dry.

Marine campers on Shuswap Lake will have to find a new pastime for a while.

Although provincial campsites in the Shuswap are open and accepting campers, marine campsites are not.

Alan Hobler with BC Parks says the boat-in sites are the ones most impacted. When they open will depend on water levels.

“It sounds like things have peaked and have started to come down a little bit,” he said June 29. “I think it will be a little while before water comes down significantly and we are able to have the beach sites open.”

Besides, he noted, boats on the lake are not a good idea for both safety and environmental reasons.

“Boats on the lake are causing a lot of erosional problems, so we’re really discouraging people from being out on the lake,” he said, adding that there’s so much debris on the water, boating is not safe.

To keep up-to-date on the state of Shuswap Lake campsites, go to the BC Parks website. Click on ‘find a park,’ and then search alphabetically for marine parks such as Cinnemousun Narrows and Anstey.

The high water has also led the Columbia Shuswap Regional District to close three of their Shuswap Lake boat launches – Markwart Road in Sorrento, Harbour Road in Blind Bay and Magna Bay Wharf Road in Magna Bay.

The Windsor Road boat launch at Swansea Point on Mara Lake remains closed due to damage.

The regional district will update their website at www.csrd.bc.ca when the boat launches reopen.