Living Here
Living on Shuswap Lake
A local’s guide to life on the lake · The Highlands at Blind Bay
Shuswap Lake sits in the Thompson-Okanagan region of British Columbia, an H-shaped lake with four long arms and more than 1,000 kilometres of shoreline. Life here centres on the water: boating, houseboating and fishing in summer, championship golf and ridge-top trails through the seasons, and a handful of lakeside towns, Blind Bay, Salmon Arm, Sorrento and Sicamous, that keep the pace slow and settled, whatever stage of life you are in.
The lake, the arms and the boating
Shuswap Lake is shaped like a sprawling H: four long arms, Salmon Arm, the Main Arm, Anstey Arm and Seymour Arm, meeting at Cinnemousun Narrows near Sicamous. The lake runs about 89 kilometres end to end with more than 1,000 kilometres of shoreline, more water to explore by boat than almost anywhere else in the BC interior.
In summer the lake is the centre of daily life: wakeboard boats, fishing boats, paddleboards off the beaches, and houseboats working their way up one arm or another. Sicamous, at the north end where the arms come together, calls itself Canada’s houseboat capital and runs the country’s largest houseboat rental fleet. From The Highlands at Blind Bay, a marina is about five minutes down the hill.
Golf across the Shuswap
The closest course to The Highlands at Blind Bay is the Shuswap Lake Estates Golf & Country Club, an 18-hole, par-72 championship layout of about 6,468 yards with four lakes in play, reachable on foot from the residential side of Blind Bay through an underpass beneath Highway 1.
Golf here is not one course but a loose collection locals call the Shuswap Golf Trail. Salmon Arm Golf Club pairs a championship 18-hole Champions Course with a shorter heritage nine, Shuswap National sits just outside Salmon Arm, MaraHills looks out over Mara Lake near Sicamous, and Talking Rock plays along Little Shuswap Lake at Chase. A full season of golf is never more than a short drive away.
Fishing on Shuswap Lake
Shuswap Lake holds rainbow trout, lake trout, Dolly Varden, kokanee and whitefish year-round, and it fishes well from a boat or the shore in every season. Every fourth autumn the nearby Adams River fills with one of the largest sockeye salmon runs in North America, and 2026 is one of those dominant years, with the Salute to the Sockeye festival running through October at Tsútswecw Park.
BC’s Freshwater Fishing Regulations set the rules for the lake, including licence requirements, daily quotas and size limits that can change from year to year, so check the current synopsis for the region before you head out.
Trails, the bluffs and winter recreation
Above Blind Bay, trails climb the ridge and bluffs that give the area its long views back over the lake and valley, easy, everyday walking rather than a big expedition. Further along the shore, the short hike into Herald Provincial Park follows Reinecker Creek through old-growth forest to Margaret Falls, one of the more-visited trails in the region.
Between Salmon Arm and Enderby, the Larch Hills network carries more than 170 kilometres of trail, much of it groomed for cross-country skiing once the snow sets in. For downhill, Silver Star Mountain Resort is about an hour away, with Sun Peaks a bit further east. Pickleball and tennis round out the warmer months closer to home.
The four seasons on the lake
Summers run warm and dry, with days regularly climbing into the high 20s Celsius and the lake doing double duty as the community pool. It is boating and golf weather from about May through September.
Fall cools things down and brings the colour change along the hillsides, plus the Adams River salmon run in dominant years like 2026. Winter brings real snow and temperatures below freezing, softened somewhat by the lake, with cross-country skiing minutes from Salmon Arm and downhill an hour or so further. Spring is the quiet season: golf courses reopen, the marina wakes up, and the lake starts filling back in before the summer crowd arrives.
The Towns
The lakeside towns around Blind Bay
Blind Bay sits among a handful of small lakeside communities that share the same lake, golf courses and pace of life. Here is a closer look at three of them.
Blind Bay
Home to The Highlands, the golf course and the marina. A quiet residential community on the south shore, home to roughly 2,400 people, built around the view more than the waterfront.
Explore Blind Bay→Salmon Arm
The region's hub, about 25 minutes east, carrying the hospital, the regional airport and most of the shopping. Population just over 19,000, the largest of the lakeside towns.
Explore Salmon Arm→Sorrento
A small lakeside village six kilometres west of Blind Bay, known locally as the heart of the Shuswap for its beaches and its quieter pace.
Explore Sorrento→Sicamous
The Houseboat Capital of Canada, about 45 minutes east at the narrows between Mara and Shuswap lakes. Beaches, boating and a real summer buzz.
Explore Sicamous→Chase
A village at the west end of Little Shuswap Lake, roughly 20 to 25 minutes from Blind Bay, near Talking Rock golf and the Adams River sockeye run.
Explore Chase→New lake-view lots on the south shore
The newest option on Shuswap Lake is The Highlands at Blind Bay: 60 fully serviced, lake-view building lots in Blind Bay, close to the golf, the marina and the trails on this page. Buy the land on its own, or pair it with a move-in-ready build plan from Blind Bay Homes, backed by a developer with more than fifty years on this shoreline.
Living Here FAQ
Common questions
- What is there to do on Shuswap Lake?
- Shuswap Lake living centres on the water and the hills around it. Summers bring boating, houseboating and fishing across the lake's four long arms. The shoulder seasons bring golf at courses scattered around the valley and hiking or mountain biking on trails like Margaret Falls and the Larch Hills network. Winter turns the same trails into some of the better cross-country skiing in the BC interior, with downhill at Silver Star and Sun Peaks within a couple of hours.
- Is there golf on Shuswap Lake?
- Yes, several courses. The closest to Blind Bay is the Shuswap Lake Estates Golf & Country Club, an 18-hole, par-72 course reachable on foot from the residential side through an underpass beneath Highway 1. Salmon Arm Golf Club, Shuswap National, MaraHills and Talking Rock at Chase round out a loose collection of courses locals call the Shuswap Golf Trail.
- What kind of fishing is on Shuswap Lake?
- Shuswap Lake holds rainbow trout, lake trout, Dolly Varden, kokanee and whitefish year-round, and every fourth autumn the nearby Adams River fills with one of the largest sockeye salmon runs in North America. 2026 is one of those dominant years. BC sets licence, limit and season rules for the lake through the Freshwater Fishing Regulations, and they change from year to year, so check the current synopsis before you head out.
- Which towns are on Shuswap Lake near Blind Bay?
- Blind Bay sits on the lake's south shore alongside Sorrento, six kilometres west, and the larger hub of Salmon Arm, about 25 minutes east, which carries the region's hospital, regional airport and most services. Sicamous, at the north end where the lake's four arms meet, is known as Canada's houseboat capital.
- What is Shuswap Lake like in winter?
- Winters bring real snow and freezing temperatures, softened somewhat by the lake, with cross-country skiing at the Larch Hills network near Salmon Arm and downhill at Silver Star Mountain Resort about an hour away, Sun Peaks a bit further. Summers run warm, with days regularly climbing into the high 20s Celsius and the lake at the centre of daily life.
- Is life on Shuswap Lake only for retirees?
- No. The golf, marina and slower pace draw a lot of retirees and second-home owners, but the same lake, trails and short drive into Salmon Arm's services suit families and remote workers just as well. It reads as a quiet, settled lake community rather than a retirement resort.
Come see the Shuswap for yourself
New lake-view lots are selling now at The Highlands at Blind Bay. Register for updates or book a look around.