The Shuswap River is broken into 3 sections. The upper part originates in the central Monashee Mountains at Joss Pass and empties into Sugar Lake. The middle Shuswap then runs north and empties into Mabel Lake. From Mabel Lake, lower Shuswap passes through Skookumchuk rapids and continues west to the town of Enderby, where it will eventually empty into Mara Lake.

Historically, the lower Shuswap river was used for transportation of people, goods and logs. Annually, ‘Log drives’ would occur, where logs from Mabel Lake’s surrounding area were sent down the Shuswap river to lumber mills in Enderby, Grindrod and Mara.