Can anyone within the western Canadian BCP community comment on float flying opportunities, place to go etc in the Cranbrook BC area.

I’m quite familiar with the area but less so operating there on floats. One mountain range to the west at Nelson there’s a dock that accommodates float planes on the Nelson River and provides great access to both Kootney Lake and Slocan Lake. The Arrow Lakes a bit further west would seem less appealing on floats. They are reservoirs with quite variable water levels and very coarse gravel shores in many places.

One more mountain range to the west and you are in the Okanagan region. Lots of places to go there.

Heading north I’m not aware of any docks designated for float plane use on either Columbia or Windermere Lake. Those are busy recreational lakes in the summer and wouldn’t be my favorite for float operations, but certainly usable with due caution.

Further NW, Kamloops has an FBO that will haul you out of the water for fueling (last I spoke with them - always worth checking though).

Thanks for the intel, much appreciated.

Hi,

I've lived in Cranbrook BC for 38 years, however I don't do any float flying. There isn't a lot of float specific infrastructure. There is a number of lakes that would provide excellent conditions float access camping, fishing etc. If I had floats I'd investigate these lakes:

Moyie Lake
Premier lake
Koocanusa (reservoir but has many campgrounds, mud flats etc)
Columbia lake
White swan lake
Whitetail lake
Windermere lake
Maybe Conor lake but might be motor restricted.

Thanks for the intel.

I haven't done much float flying in the Cranbrook area but one thing to keep in mind when you get into the Kootenays is that there are a lot of parks, both Federal and Provincial. Federal parks are pretty much off limits to aircraft landings, either land of float. The provincial parks up that way have a number of lakes that don't permit landings.

Here's a link to the page at BC Floatplane Association where you can look up access https://www.bcfloatplaneassociation.com ... strictions

Thanks for the link to the BC Float community site.

We have family retiring to Cranbrook area so my wife and I have wondered about doing the same. However if there is a lack of "local" infrastructure to support float operations that would be a showstopper.