Chain Lake

MU 8-7, Okanagan
49.6972° N, 120.2756° W

WaterTraced road inRoadRough surface roadRec siteShoreline from the BC Freshwater Atlas, roads from the BC Digital Road Atlas, under the Open Government Licence, British Columbia. Rec site position from BC Recreation Sites and Trails, checked 11 September 2026. The lake's depth is not drawn on this map.

Surface area: 44.4ha
Maximum depth: 6.1m; 20 ft
Elevation: 975m
Campsites: 34; At Chain Lake West rec site

Very productive lake situated between Princeton and Summerland with fast-growing rainbow trout.

Open Chain Lake in the appThe 7-day forecast, max depth and wildfire smoke check, on the lake's own coordinate.

Chain Lake at a glance

Region: Okanagan
Management unit: MU 8-7
Species: Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Brook Trout (last recorded 1967), Longnose Sucker (last recorded 1982), Sucker (General) (last recorded 1981)The province's newest fish record here is from 2015.Species from the province's fish observation records and angling reports.
Lake size: Small Water (< 50 ha)
Ice fishing: Closed to ice fishing
Coordinates: 49.6972, -120.2756

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Fish on record at Chain Lake

Species in the Province's fish observation records
Species	First recorded	Last recorded	Records
Rainbow Trout	1939	2015	433
Brook Trout	1960	1967	5
Longnose Sucker	1951	1982	3
Sucker (General)	1981	1981	1

A year is when the Province last recorded the fish here, not a statement that it is caught today.

How to fish Chain Lake

Trolling Flatfish (F4/F5), Panther Martin spinners, chironomid fly fishing, winter ice fishing.

Best times of year at Chain Lake

May - June
September - November (Great Ice Fishing)

Chain Lake fishing regulations

We have no lake specific regulations on file for Chain Lake yet.

Getting to Chain Lake

Old Princeton-Summerland Road near Princeton. Public boat launch and provincial rec site.

31.1 km of traced road to the campground by way of Princeton-Summerland Rd and Belfort Rd. The road at the end is a paved surface.

The route traced over the BC Digital Road Atlas. A trace is a line on a map, not a report on the road: check conditions before you drive it.

Coordinates: 49.6972, -120.2756

Camping and rec sites at Chain Lake

Chain Lake West
Campsites
34 designated
To the shore
46 m

Access: Located on the right hand side just off the the Princeton-Summerland Road, drive 36 kms northeast of Princeton on Hwy # 40.
Coordinates: 49.695525, -120.280982
The site on Recreation Sites and Trails BC

Depth chart for Chain Lake

6.1 mdeepest

Chain Lake runs to 6.1 m (20 ft) at its deepest.

The Province sounded Chain Lake and published the depth chart surveyed in 1968. It runs to 3 sheets.

The ice year at Chain Lake, modelled

Modelled from air temperature, not an ice report. It says nothing about whether ice will hold you.

In the model Chain Lake froze in 65 of the 65 winters since 1960. Freeze-up falls most years between 13 November and 30 November, and ice-off between 25 March and 19 April. The median winter freezes on 22 November and opens on 6 April.

the middle half of modelled winters the median ice cover in the median winter

Winter 2024-25 in the model: frozen from 23 November 2024 to 5 April 2025, 133 days.

Chain Lake is closed to ice fishing.

Whether a lake is open to ice fishing says nothing about whether its ice will hold you. Ice conditions vary year to year and across a single lake. Check locally before going out, every time.

Chain Lake climate, 1960 to 2025

Averaged over a year, the air above Chain Lake is 0.7 C warmer than it was in the 1960s. That is 66 years of daily readings, not a forecast.

+0.7 Csince the 1960s
3.7 Caverage year now
3.0 Caverage year then
-4 daysbelow freezing, change

Average year at Chain Lakedegrees C, yearly mean

each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025

Days below freezingdays a year averaging under 0 C

each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025

This week at Chain Lake

The forecast on this lake's own coordinate, refreshed through the day. The app reads these seven days for fishing and scores each one.

Day	Sky	High / low	Wind	Rain	Pressure
Tue 20 Oct	Clear sky	13° / -1°	13 km/h, gusts 23	dry	Steady
Wed 21 Oct	Overcast	18° / 4°	13 km/h, gusts 30	dry	Falling (-5.9 hPa)
Thu 22 Oct	Overcast	15° / 4°	11 km/h, gusts 17	dry	Falling (-2.3 hPa)
Fri 23 Oct	Overcast	8° / -1°	18 km/h, gusts 35	dry	Rising (+12.6 hPa)
Sat 24 Oct	Overcast	9° / -2°	14 km/h	dry	Rising (+6.4 hPa)
Sun 25 Oct	Overcast	9° / -4°	6 km/h	dry	Rising (+2.4 hPa)
Mon 26 Oct	Overcast	11° / -3°	9 km/h	dry	Falling (-1.1 hPa)

Open Chain Lake in the app

Chain Lake, in brief

What fish are in Chain Lake?

Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Brook Trout (last recorded 1967). Species from the province's fish observation records and angling reports.

Which management unit is Chain Lake in?

Chain Lake is in MU 8-7, in the Okanagan. The BC Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis is organised by management unit; check it before you go.

Trout lakes near Chain Lake

Link Lake 4 km away
Osprey Lake 5 km away
Westmere Lake 8 km away
Eastmere Lake 8 km away
Saturday Lake 10 km away

All 212 lakes in the Okanagan, with today's conditions on each.