Summer Lake
MU 4-22, Kootenays
49.7603° N, 115.3975° W
- Surface area
- 75.3ha
- Elevation
- 1,500m
- Campsites
- 6
- At Summer Lake rec site
Open Summer Lake in the appThe 7-day forecast, max depth and wildfire smoke check, on the lake's own coordinate.
Summer Lake at a glance
- Region
- Kootenays
- Management unit
- MU 4-22
- Species
- Westslope Cutthroat Trout (last recorded 1995)The newest of these fish records is from 1995.Species from the province's fish observation records.
- Lake size
- Medium Lake (50 - 500 ha)
- Ice fishing
- Closed to ice fishing
- Coordinates
- 49.7603, -115.3975
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How to fish Summer Lake
Best times of year at Summer Lake
- May - June
- September - October
Summer Lake fishing regulations
No Ice Fishing; trout/char daily quota = 2; bait ban, single barbless hook. Source: Province of British Columbia
Getting to Summer Lake
53.8 km of traced road to the campground by way of Bull-Galbraith FSR, Bull River FSR and Bull River Rd. The road at the end is a loose surface. It stops 170 m short of the campground.
Coordinates: 49.7603, -115.3975
Camping and rec sites at Summer Lake
- Summer Lake
- Campsites
- 6 designated
- To the shore
- 133 m
Access: Commencing at Fort Steele Historic Park, proceed north on Hwy 93/95 for 300 metres. Turn right onto the Wardner - Ft. Steele Road. Follow this road for 22km to the Power Plant Road. Turn left onto this road and follow it over the bridge on the Bull River Canyon. On the east side of the canyon, you will find yourself at the 22 km road marker on the Bull River FSR. Turn left and continue following the Bull River FSR to just past the 40 km road marker. Turn left up Galbraith FSR, stay right at the Tanglefoot road junction and proceed to the 63.5 km road marker. The recreation site is on your left.
Coordinates: 49.763378, -115.407758
The ice year at Summer Lake, modelled
Modelled from air temperature, not an ice report. It says nothing about whether ice will hold you.
In the model Summer Lake froze in 65 of the 65 winters since 1960. Freeze-up falls most years between 25 October and 8 November, and ice-off between 13 May and 27 May. The median winter freezes on 1 November and opens on 22 May.
the middle half of modelled winters the median ice cover in the median winter
Winter 2024-25 in the model: frozen from 28 October 2024 to 9 May 2025, 193 days.
Summer 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.
Summer Lake climate, 1960 to 2025
Averaged over a year, the air above Summer Lake is 0.8 C warmer than it was in the 1960s. That is 66 years of daily readings, not a forecast.
- +0.8 Csince the 1960s
- -0.4 Caverage year now
- -1.2 Caverage year then
- -5 daysbelow freezing, change
each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025
each yearthe trend across 1960 to 2025
This week at Summer 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 | Partly cloudy | 12° / 1° | 13 km/h | dry | Steady |
| Wed 21 Oct | Overcast | 16° / 6° | 13 km/h, gusts 27 | dry | Falling (-3.7 hPa) |
| Thu 22 Oct | Dense drizzle | 14° / 3° | 12 km/h | 1 mm | Falling (-4.7 hPa) |
| Fri 23 Oct | Moderate rain | 8° / 2° | 9 km/h, gusts 21 | 13 mm | Rising (+3.0 hPa) |
| Sat 24 Oct | Light drizzle | 4° / 1° | 8 km/h | 1 mm | Rising (+14.5 hPa) |
| Sun 25 Oct | Moderate snow | 1° / -6° | 8 km/h | 3 mm | Rising (+5.4 hPa) |
| Mon 26 Oct | Clear sky | 4° / -7° | 8 km/h | dry | Steady |
Summer Lake, in brief
What fish are in Summer Lake?
Westslope Cutthroat Trout (last recorded 1995). Species from the province's fish observation records.
Which management unit is Summer Lake in?
Summer Lake is in MU 4-22, in the Kootenays. The BC Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis is organised by management unit; check it before you go.
Trout lakes near Summer Lake
- Lazy Lake 18 km away
- Sowerby (Grundy) Lake 19 km away
- Lakit Lake 19 km away
- Saugum Lake 20 km away
- Horseshoe Lake 23 km away
All 162 lakes in the Kootenays, with today's conditions on each.