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2023 Kern River Trends

Bigwater and What to Expect

It's official! 2023's plentiful winter storm systems have provided for one of the most exceptional seasons in the history of whitewater rafting on the Kern River.


The April 1st snowpack reflected close to 400% of a "normal" yearly accumulation of the white stuff. Exceptional, to say the least! This historic snowpack coupled with the Corps of Engineers' timely release of their 17-year moratorium on Lake Isabella's storage will soon produce lake levels unseen since 1983. The snowpack has already provided amazing river flows on both the Upper and Lower Kern Rivers. These flows will allow us to offer our favorite river trips though September on the Upper Kern and October on the Lower Kern this year. We could not be more THRILLED with this news!


This historic year will call for some early season adjustments. The water levels will be quite high during the spring and early summer runoff period. How high, you might ask? The lake is expected to flow over the old spillway sometime between late May to mid-June. This spillway has not been put into play since the storied year of 1983! For those of you fluent in "Cubic Feet Per Second" (CFS) lingo, we're expecting the Lower Kern to approach 10,000cfs for a time. We've advised everyone joining us on our overnight and "Bigwater" trips on the Lower Kern to take a breather and wait until July 15th to run these trips.


Although the season opener on the Lower Kern will likely be delayed by about six weeks, the wait will be well worth it! The "Sierra Escape", "Jungle Run and Camp Fun", "Bigwater", and "1/2 Day Jungle Runs" will be running through October with our last overnight trip expected to launch on Tuesday October 31st.


On the Upper Kern, the flows may exceed 10,000cfs during the height of the spring runoff period as well.


We will be running our 1/2 Day "Dazzler", 1/2 Day "Jungle Runs", One-Day "Snap, Crackle, and Pop", and Double Lickety Split trips almost exclusively in May, June, and likely into the first couple weeks in July. We're going to bump up our minimum ages to 9 for the Lickety Split trips and 12 for the 1/2 Day and One-Day Upper Kern trips for a short while during this time frame.


For those of you looking for Class V thrills, our first "Thunder Run" on the Upper Kern is scheduled for July 23rd, and our "Forks of the Kern" offerings will be in August through mid-September. Call our office at 1-800-400-7238 for more information or to reserve one of these trips.


Check out the informative piece below that we did with Fox Weather News last week!


As the 2023 season unfolds, we will send out frequent updates making sure you receive the most timely and accurate information on river conditions and specials throughout the year. Stay tuned!

HISTORIC SNOWPACK MELTS IN CA RIVERS

The Best Trip in May!


1/2 Day "Dazzler"

6+ miles of thrilling

Whitewater Rafting

on the Upper Kern River

BOOK NOW!

SAVE 10% IN MAY!


Celebrate spring during the month of May by being a "Spring Chicken" and using the Promo Code HEYMAY23 when placing your reservation for a 1/2 Day Upper Kern "Dazzler" online to bring your Adult price to that of a Youth. Offer good through May 31st. Trips available daily at 9 am and 2 pm.

What it Takes to be a Guide

"The Importance of Experience and Training"


Our River Guides are some of the most talented whitewater boating experts in the country, and they've been patiently waiting for a year such as this!


It takes time and experience to become a competent River Guide. The first step is attending our annual Guide School. After graduating this comprehensive course, they spend up to a month refining newfound skills before they take the helm on one of our trips. Paddle guiding is just the first skill-set taught. The ability to row either stern mount or center mount oar boats is the next step. Swiftwater skills are also a key element of their training. They've been preparing for this long season for months and have been on the water daily, tuning up their skill sets.


This season heralds the return of many legendary Whitewater Voyages' River Guides excited to dance with you on this year's world-class whitewater. All of our guides are selected based on their great personalities, athleticism, love for the river, and deep passion for their profession. They pay special attention to all of the guests' needs and thrive on sharing the exceptional experiences our whitewater trips provide.


We can't wait to share our favorite river with you this year!

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