January was mild and the bottom of the Thompson River Valley dried enough to allow ice-free hiking.    We drove to the west end of Kamloops Lake and parked at the Savona Cemetery on the north side of the lake.   We hike the single track trail above the railway to the beach just before Sabiston Creek.  There was a bit of mist on the lake when we started.

The south-facing slopes are mostly treeless.    The trail is mostly single-track winding across the grassland and sagebrush slopes.

The trail was dry and easy to hike, but it is a 9.6 km return hike, taking about 3 hours.  Click an image for a lightbox view.

The trail continues past the beach that we usually use as our end point.   The trail passes the beach area, climbing up the ridge above Sabiston Creek, but we prefer to go to the lakeshore and have lunch sitting on logs on the beach.    There is also an old cabin just above the high water mark to check out.

This is an out-and-back route, one we often do at the end of winter.    This was the first time we have done the hike in mid-winter.

This is a trail we really enjoy, but we would not do it in hot weather.    It is a great choice for the early season.   A video shares some of the moments on the hike.