RV RENTALS SALMON ARM

Salmon Arm BC is a small city located on the southern shores of Shuswap Lake. The Shuswap Lake system stretches across the area in two very long, narrow arms connected in their middle by the Cinnemousun Narrows, and extends south of Sicamous into Mara Lake. The Shuswap is renowned for being a premier houseboating destination, and hosts one of the furthest-inland salmon spawning grounds in the province. The Shuswap River exits the lake system at its western point, heading to Kamloops Lake. Water leaving Kamloops Lake becomes the South Thompson River, which unites with the Fraser River at Lytton to flow down the Fraser Canyon, through Hell’s Gate to Hope and eventually to Vancouver itself emptying into the Strait of Georgia.

The TransCanada Highway1 follows the same route as the rivers, leading you directly to Salmon Arm from Vancouver. For travelers coming from Calgary, again, the Hwy1 is the easiest route. Another option from the Coast is to take the Coquihalla Hwy5 to Kamloops and join the Hwy1 for the remainder of the trip.

Salmon Arm was established in 1905, and has become a fast-growing community of 20,000 with shopping centers, entertainment and various levels of accommodations, but for those traveling in RVs and trailers you’ll want to find campgrounds to the west of the city along the Hwy1 closer to Gleneden, especially if being on the water is an important factor.

There are no provincial parks or campgrounds in the immediate area outside Salmon Arm, and some of the private campgrounds are smaller than travellers might be used to, but all offer full-service facilities.

ViewPoint RV Park and Cottages is a small “state-of-the-art” RV park that only offers 13 RV sites, but each is fully-serviced with water, power, sewer, internet, wi-fi, telephone, and cable TV. Just across the highway, enjoy swimming and watersports on Shuswap Lake, including canoeing or kayaking on the South Thompson River. Nearby hiking trails will take you to Margaret Falls, or Syphon Creek. Playground for the kids, laundry facilities on site, and close proximity to town for any last-minute supply runs make this a great jumping point for Shuswap adventures.

Glen Echo Resorts is directly on Shuswap Lake, just ten minutes north-west from Salmon Arm. A beautiful beachfront resort with 70 seasonal and 10 full-service sites, Glen Echo is positioned at the west end of Shuswap Lake, looking down the lake all the way to Sicamous. Hot showers, flush toilets, laundry facilities all on-site along with a small convenience store and playground for the kids. Enjoy the family-friendly sandy beach that has no sudden drop off, letting parents relax while the kids enjoy the water. Boating and paddle-boarding are popular activities for those who want to get on the water, and the site also has beach volleyball and beach soccer facilities.

Pierre’s Point Campground offers 2800 feet of sandy beach and treed campsites for their guests, and German travelers will be happy to know they “sprechen duetsch”. They have a variety of campsites including full-service sites for persons traveling in larger rental RVs.

Bring your boat, since Pierre’s Point offer a cement boat launch and free trailer parking, or get out on the lake in a rental canoe, kayak or paddleboard. Coin showers and laundry on site, and free Wifi at your pad. Kids will enjoy the playground and mini-golf course when they’re done playing in the sand, and everyone will want to visit the store for their ice-cream stand and café. And if you happen to need more propane, they can refill you on-site.

Sandy Point Beach Campground is the closest campground to Salmon Arm along Hwy1, on Shuswap Lake at Sandy Point. It is also the largest private campground at the western end of the lake system, with sandy beaches along the north and east borders of the property. Sandy Point offers hundreds of sites range from tenting sites right through to full-service 30-amp RV and trailer pads. Washroom and shower facilities are spaced throughout the park, and they do offer. Sani-dump for those needing to lighten the load. Boat launch and trailer parking if you’re bringing your own, rentals for jet skis and other water sports if you left yours at home. Cookhouse, convenience store, and concession on-site. The sites are a little tight compared to other camps in the area, but the proximity to town, the boat launch and the beautiful beaches are a great trade-off.

There are additional campgrounds to the east of Salmon Arm along Hwy1, all of them inland and quite small. For the best experiences the area has to offer, stay to the campgrounds west of Salmon Arm.

TOP ATTRACTIONS

The RJ Haney Heritage Village & Museum off Hwy97B will bring you back in time to the origins of the area with vintage buildings housing museum exhibits, the history of the region including forestry and mining adventures, and Marjorie’s Tea Room. Learn how to pan gold, forge metal with their blacksmith, or enjoy the 2.34 kms of nature trails that cover four climatic zones! Tours will take you through the village, through the Haney House built in 1910, or through the woods on interpretative nature walks. And if walking isn’t your style, take the horse-drawn wagons instead.

Salmon Arm Waterslides are always a great time for the whole family. Operating strictly through the summer, the grounds offer seven slides, two hot tubs, and a toddler pool with a fountain. Mini-golf, volleyball, and arcade games are there to enjoy between slides, and their concessions are available any time for snacks.

For the nature lovers, the Adams River salmon spawning in late-September to mid-October needs to be on their list. Sockeye salmon return every year, starting their inland journey by finding the Fraser River at Vancouver, coming up through Hope to Lytton, where they enter the Thompson River, Kamloops Lake and eventually past Salmon Arm into the Adams River – a 500km journey! These same fish were hatched out in this river system four years prior, and return against the odds to the same gravels to complete their life cycle and in turn provide food for the area’s predators. Visitors will most certainly see eagles, hawks and osprey feasting on the bright red adult Sockeye, and local bears also take full advantage of this annual bounty to prepare for hibernation. The returns fluctuate year over year, with 2020 being the next ‘dominant return’ in the cycle.