August is the month that my family and I had planned our big Shuswap houseboat adventure. Our journey began in the beautiful beach town of Sicamous, British Columbia, Canada, also known as the “Houseboat Capital of Canada”. Here we rented a 14-person houseboat and set sail on the open waters of Shuswap Lake. Our boat was called the Mirage 54, and we rented it for 5 nights from a company called Sicamous Houseboats, which is situated on the shores of Mara Lake. Mara Lake is also a gorgeous lake in its own right and connects to the much larger Shuswap Lake via the Sicamous Narrows channel.

About Sicamous

Sicamous is a small town in a perfect location between Mara Lake and Shuswap Lake. It is very quiet in the winter, but it has a thriving summer economy due to its incredible location on the edge of the Shuswap and Kootenay regions. It has plenty of great beaches, such as Sicamous Beach Park, as well as hiking trails like the Sicamous Creek Falls. Of course, a major part of the tourism in the area is from the thousands of people from all over who come to enjoy Shuswap houseboat rentals and cruise the lakes.

Houseboat Rental Shuswap Lake

As I mentioned before, we rented our houseboat on Mara Lake, but there is also another establishment on Shuswap Lake that specializes in luxury houseboat rentals, called Twin Anchors Houseboats. Both are great, and it really depends on what you are looking for in your boat and the availability.

When it comes to Shuswap Lake boat rentals, there really aren’t any budget-friendly options on account of the high demand throughout the summer months. Our boat, the Mirage 54, cost us around $6700 plus gas and propane, which was another $800 roughly.

How to Book a Shuswap Houseboat

We had a great time with Sicamous Houseboats, so I recommend booking with them as I have no experience with the other operators. On their website, you will be able to easily look through pictures and amenities on each houseboat, and you can even do a 3D tour of the boats.

Best Time to Rent a Houseboat in the Shuswap

Though BC has pretty good weather compared with other parts of Canada, there are definitely colder months, and obviously, winter is a no-go. With that, the best months are June -September, with July and August being the most sunny. If you are looking for a more relaxed trip, booking Shuswap Lake houseboat packages in September would be ideal.

Our Experience

All 9 of the people we had on board our boat said they had a fantastic time. It was a bucket list travel experience that I highly recommend and would give an overall 8/10.

It felt as though we had set sail on our own mini cruise ship, but we were the captains and we controlled where we wanted to go. We had our pick of some incredibly beautiful beaches, and sometimes we were the only ones around, enjoying the peaceful sounds of nature. We also learned a lot about how to handle a large boat and how to properly beach it. Our first night was rocky, and we had some big waves rock us around all night because we hadn’t beached our boat or tied up correctly. But each night we learned a little more, and by the fifth night, we were damn near ready to set sail on the open seas. And honestly, Shuswap Lake is quite a large body of water at 89 km (55 mi) long and 309.6 km², so at times it felt as if we were on the ocean, and the waves can get somewhat choppy.

Shuswap Lake Houseboat Beaches

Shuswap Lake has a ton of excellent beaches to park a houseboat, and in particular, the Shuswap Lake Marine Provincial Park, which uniquely has 23 different locations all over the lake. Most of these sites have great places to beach your boat and feature campsites and picnic tables for your convenience. You will find sites at all 4 arms of the lake: Shuswap Lake Main Arm, Seymour Arm, Anstey Arm, and Salmon Arm. We chose to stay mostly in Anstey Arm because it was really calm and had lots of available spots to park our boat. At the end of Anstey Arm, you will find one of the most remote areas in the Shuswap that can only be reached by boating and hiking, Anstey Hunakwa Provincial Park. Here you can do a 3 km hike from Anstey Beach through old-growth forest to the untouched shores of Hunakwa Lake.