The Setting
Life at 1,140 metres
Leighton Lake sits high on the Thompson Plateau inside Tunkwa Provincial Park, roughly halfway between Logan Lake and Savona and about 40 kilometres southwest of Kamloops.
Up here the land opens up: rolling bunchgrass hills, stands of lodgepole pine and spruce, and wetland meadows that glow green in early summer. Leighton shares the park with its bigger neighbour, Tunkwa Lake, and together they anchor a 5,100-hectare protected landscape that feels a world away from the valley heat below.
The elevation — about 1,140 metres (3,750 feet) — keeps the air crisp and the evenings cool, even in July. It also gives the lake its famous productivity: nutrient-rich shallows warm quickly in spring and grow the insect life that makes this water legendary among anglers.
Living Water
Wetlands that feed the lake
Creeks and wet meadows thread through the park, filtering runoff and feeding the lake through the seasons. These wetlands are nurseries — for aquatic insects, for waterfowl broods, and for the amphibians you’ll hear on spring evenings.
Tread lightly around the soft shoreline edges; they do quiet, important work.
The Forest
A landscape that renews itself
The plateau forest is a patchwork of old timber, beetle-killed snags, and vigorous young regrowth — a living lesson in how interior BC forests cycle and recover. Silver snags make favourite perches for hawks and woodpeckers, while the new green understorey shelters deer and grouse.
Four Seasons
Winter belongs here too
The park is open year-round, and winter transforms it: silent timber, snow-covered ice, and some of the most peaceful days you’ll ever spend outdoors. Hardy visitors come for ice fishing and snowshoe wandering — just come self-sufficient, as services are minimal in the off-season.
After Dark
Some shows start at midnight
Far from city lights at 1,140 metres, Leighton’s night sky is the real thing: the Milky Way on clear nights, meteors if you’re patient — and every so often, the northern lights spilling green across the water. Keep an eye on the aurora forecast and bring a warm jacket.
Wildlife
You’ll have company
Leighton is busy with life. On the water: loons, grebes, Canada geese, and ducks of every stripe. In the grass and timber: mule deer, coyotes, chipmunks with no respect for personal picnic space, and — occasionally — moose and black bears passing through.
- Watch for loons at dawn and dusk — their calls carry across the whole lake.
- Keep camp food stored away; chipmunks and whiskey jacks are bold, and bears are best not tempted.
- Give moose and bears generous space, and keep dogs leashed.
- Bring binoculars — the wetland margins are superb for birdwatching.
Help keep it wild
Pack out everything you pack in, keep to established trails and campsites, and leave the shoreline as you found it. This lake stays beautiful because its visitors care.