This river island park near Kamloops is tiny, but important

Travellers on Highway 1 between Pritchard and Chase can just catch a glimpse of a tiny, shrub-covered island sticking out of the river but likely not its name or its history.

Long and skinny, Banana Island Provincial Park is shaped like, yes, a 10-hectare banana, and is the only natural island in the South Thompson River. Unlike what its name indicates, it isn’t a sandy, tropical destination, rather, it is uninhabited with rough, uneven terrain, only accessible by boat or kayak.

Avid kayaker and longtime Kamloops resident, Doug Smith, has stopped at the island several times in the past. He also swam out to it once, “for something to do.”

“I’ve kayaked from Chase down to Kamloops and stopped for lunch there as part of the route,” he said. “Boaters stop in there sometimes and people have made a little picnic area there. When the water is high it isn’t easy to land there, you still can, but you need to be good with your kayak.”

Smith said there are two little beach areas at the east end, and a fall fishing spot on the south end, but the landscape is generally scrubby with a “little trail you can pick your way along from one side of the island to the other.”

Banana Island was designated as a provincial park in 1996 on recommendations made through the Kamloops Land and Resource Management Plan, according to BC Parks, because while it may not be big and beautiful, it has environmental and cultural significance.

The island was historically used by the Neskonlith Indian Band, and there are several kekuli pits, or semi-underground pit houses, on it.

“There are old dugouts all over the island. The last time I was there I saw lots of shrubs, the dugouts, lots of uneven ground and I think even poison ivy,” said local expert fly fisherman Rob Bruno. “I think the only fishing that may be successful is bar fishing when the salmon are coming through.”

The park has spring salmon spawning grounds around it and nesting grounds for various bird species and waterfowl. It is home to geese, osprey and bald eagles, and provides a wintering habitat for tundra and trumpeter swans. In spring, waterfowl nest here and further into summer, raptors arrive to nest.

Because of its environmental sensitivity, there are no camping or toilet facilities at the park and no dogs are allowed. Other than wildlife viewing and photography, recreational activities are not permitted, however it appears those rules get broken.

“I’ve seen people camp there even though they’re not allowed to,” said Doug Smith. “I’ve seen a campfire burning and people hung a big flag over a tree branch there.”

Several agencies manage the Banana Island Provincial Park together, including the Shuswap Nations Tribal Council, BC Ministry of Environment and Parks, and the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.