Run the gnar and pick up the pieces with the unsurpassed fit and safety of the next generation Astral Greenjacket Rescue Vest.
The Werner Advantage SUP Paddle with Premium laminate fiberglass construction has a balanced blade design which is smooth and powerful. The Full-size shape is great for straight ahead tracking. The fiberglass shaft adds comfort, control and is lightweight, stiff and durable. If you're just getting started, check out the Fiji SUP Paddle.
The pinnacle of whitewater protection! The Rocker HC is a high performance helmet for really rough conditions, made with the brand new TLC Shell Technology.
The newest addition to the Vibram FiveFingers fitness line, the KomodoSport LS, offers all of the benefits of the KomodoSport, but with a popular speed lacing system to accommodate wider feet and higher insteps. Available in Men's and Women's models. On Sale!
Too cold for shorts? Too hot for a wetsuit? IR Competition Pants are a happy medium between the two and a heck of a lot more comfortable then sticky neoprene!
The IR Comp LX Dry Top - our best selling 4 season dry top - is on sale! It features ergonomic seaming for greater mobility and comfort. Made with 4 layer waterproof & breathable Entrant®. Seam taped throughout.
You'll
have soooo much fun in this compact and super-maneuverable Hyside Mini
Me Inflatable Raft!
Summer Solstice Sale June 17 to July 1! In-stock 2013 Kayaks are on Sale! 2012 and older Kayaks at Deep Discounts! Check out the New Boat Barn for the models available and Sale prices. All Dry Tops 30% OFF. All Paddlesports Accessories 25% OFF! All Paddles 20% OFF! In-stock items only. No rain checks. All sales are final. Order online or call 1-800-376-7303.
You've seen them at the lake, river, beach and on TV -- learn to paddle a SUP! It's fun and a great way to get an on-the-water workout! We offer a 2.5 hour Intro to SUP class and a more extensive SUP 101 class. We also have 4 Hour, Full Day, and Overnight SUP rentals.
Sierra South is offering a package deal for those folks who are serious about getting into the sport of whitewater kayaking in 2013. If you make a reservation for our 1-day Intro to Whitewater Kayaking Class, we would like to see you continue your education by offering a $75 credit to use towards the Kayaking 101 2 or 3 Day course. For more information about getting your voucher, please call us at 800-457-2082.
Check the Kern River Flows & Weather using our new desktop/laptop Flash app. Get the latest available 15 minute flow for the Upper; and hourly flows for the Upper, Lower Above Borel, Lower Below Borel, Lake Isabella storage, Kernville temperature, 24 hour change in flows, and 3-day & 9-day forecasts for selected cities and Sierra locations. Use your mouse to rotate lists & spinners, and make selections. Double-click a selected location/city to get the weather forecast.
Learn to kayak! Our proven teaching
method takes you through a gradual progression that maximizes
the fun. We've designed our introductory and beginning
classes for those who have never river kayaked before, or who
have played around with kayaking some, but have not had formal
instruction in the fundamentals of river kayaking. We also offer
a 5-day
total immersion learn-to-kayak class and Private Instruction. Our Kayaking
School page has all the details on these, and other whitewater
and lake touring kayak classes!
Everyone at the 49th
Kern River Festival had a GREAT time paddling in the Hooligan, Triathlon, SUP and Slalom events. As in previous years, the Hooligan Boat Parade was one of the Festival's most anticipated events, and this year's boat designer's set new benchmarks for creativity and carnage. Check them out in this slideshow.
The Biathlon was expanded to a Whitewater Sprint Triathlon and was even more popular than last year. Marc Vernon had the fastest Men's Individual time and Liz Brackbill the fastest Women's Individual time. The blazing fast team of Lincoln Campbell, Myka Deaver, Darby Vreven had the fastest overall time, edging Eric Giddens, Andie Clark, Javier Ruiz. Triathlon results are posted on KernFestival.com and KVRC.org.
Eric Giddens set a technically challenging TJ Slalom course incorporating offsets, S-turns, ups, downs, and a tricky-difficult ferry. Even though "injured" in attempts to compete in SUP races, Eric still managed to put down the fastest slalom time. Rebecca Giddens had the best time of the women. Here's a slideshow from the slalom -- it may take a while to load all the photos if the connection is slow.
Sierra South Kayak Instructor Shannon Finch had the opportunity to attend the Jackson Dealer Summit in Rock
Island Tennessee in October. According to Shannon it was nothing short of a good time. The
party kicked off with seminars focusing on outfitting whitewater
kayaks, building teams, the impressive line of Jackson fishing kayaks,
social media, and general Q&A forums led by Eric Jackson and the Team. Read more...
Sierra South Instructor Katharine Edmonson paddling the new 2012 Jackson Fun Runner in Riverside Park
Check out the newest Jackson boats in the New Boat Barn, including the Zen 55, Zen 65 & Zen 75, and the Fun Runner 60 and Fun Runner 70. Both the Zen and Fun Runner are great new river runners. The Rock Star and Star are still the playboats of choice and for creeking/river running the Villain and Hero series are both standouts. Jackson still has the best line of kids boats hands down. Cross link plastic for kayaks went bye bye in 2012. However the good news is the newest linear plastic on the market is an exclusive to Jackson. So far it is super tough, and looks great. Come paddle a Jackson boat and see why Jackson Kayak is the #1 whitewater manufacturer in the US!
Johnny Chase on the South Fork Tule River.
Johnny Chase on the South Fork Tule River
The various forks and tributaries of the Kern, Kaweah and Tule rivers have some incredible paddling. Local paddlers Eric Giddens, Evan Moore, Spencer Josif, Johnny Chase, Austin Nickell, and Andrew Pernicano went exploring on the South Fork of the Tule River and found a short jewel of a run around Camp Nelson. Check out this drop!
Looking for the flow? The most recent Upper and Lower Kern River flows are now displayed near the top of this page as the data becomes available from the Corps of Engineers. Included are the flow on the Upper Kern at Riverside Park, and the Lower Kern above and below the Borel Powerhouse. If the flows cannot be obtained from the COE, "N/A" or "-NR-" will be listed.
The Kern Valley River Council (KVRC) was awarded a $50,000 grant from Southern California Edison for the Kernville Riverside Park Restoration Project. Earlier this year KVRC was awarded a $25,000 grant from the USFS, Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. The Kernville Riverside Park Restoration Project's goal is to enhance the ecological, aesthetic, and recreational value of the 1/4 mile stretch of the Kern River starting just above the Kernville Bridge, through Riverside Park in Kernville. KVRC is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization that runs the Kern River Festival every year and organized the 2003 Wildwater World Cup Kayak races on the Upper Kern.
Flood damage in Riverside Park from high water in December 2010.
The Kernville Riverside Park Restoration Project will provide bank stabilization, erosion control, hazards removal, control of noxious weeds, promote local salmonid habitat, plant native flora, provide recreational opportunities for water users such as fishermen, rafters, kayakers, tubers, and implement public safety and environmental education programs. This Winter volunteers did an initial survey of the reach, gathering stream profile data and flow velocity data.
Unknown to some, Riverside Park in Kernville is the first manufactured whitewater park in America. Tom Johnson, local boating legend and former Olympic Coach and National Kayak champion successfully lobbied for the construction of rapids and bank restoration over 40 years ago with the Army Corps of Engineers as mitigation for the drowning of part of the Stanislaus River with the New Melones Dam in North Central California.
After 40 years, Riverside Park is in dire need of restoration and additional improvements. Whitewater parks have sprung up in both urban and rural settings throughout the country. Parks have been constructed in places such as Reno, Nevada; Vail, Steamboat, Boulder, Buena Vista and Salida Colorado; Boise Idaho; and Charlotte, North Carolina. Their construction has revitalized the river and promoted recreation and tourism.
Describing the numerous on-river
and off-river recreation options, the July/August 2008 issue
of Paddler
Magazine selected Kernville as one of the 'Best Paddling
Towns' in the U.S. The article rated Kernville a 5-star weekend
destination and a 5-star 'Near Home' vacation destination.
Sierra South has been running raft
trips, and teaching kayaking classes on
the Kern River since 1985. The 2013 season will mark our 28th
year on the Kern River!
We talk a lot about the "Kern
River basin" in Rivernotes. During the Winter, we frequently
refer to the Upper Tyndall Creek, Pascoes, and Wet Meadows snow
sensors. During the paddling season, it might be Limestone, The
Forks, Kern Falls, or Kernville. Here's a satellite
overview of the 1000 square mile N.F. Kern drainage area
with a few of the features labeled. If you look near the bottom
of the photo, you'll see Lake Isabella. We're located just north
of the lake!
Want to check on the
Kern snowpack and see where the snow sensors and snow courses
are located? We've put together a Kern
River Basin Snow Courses & Sensors Google Earth KMZ file
mashup that shows the station locations in Google Earth and links
to the California Data Exchange Center (CDEC) data page for each
station.
Here is a snapshot of today's flow
and reservoir data, based on reports from the Corps of Engineers
(COE) and Southern California Edison (SCE). Flow data is preliminary and subject to revision. Click on "Current" to
get the latest COE info. For SCE flow information, call the flow
phone at 877-537-6356 or 760-376-8821. According to SCE, the
flow phone values reported for Above & Below Fairview, and
Below Democrat Dam are updated every 5-10 seconds. All other
flow phone data is manually updated twice a day (7am & 2pm)
when an operator is on duty.
*Flow values
from SCE Flow Phone. For current information call 877-537-6356
or 760-376-8821. According to SCE the flow values reported
for Above & Below Fairview, and Below Democrat Dam
are updated every 5-10 seconds. All other flow phone
data is manually updated twice a day (7am & 2pm)
when an operator is on duty.
**The Borel Canal diverts water from Lake Isabella approximately five miles downstream to the Borel Powerhouse. The flow above Borel Powerhouse is the water released from the Dam directly to the river. The combined flow below the Borel Powerhouse is the total outflow from Lake Isabella. Creeks along the Lower Kern may also contribute to the flow.
More information concerning flow and weather can be found on
our LINKS page.
Sandy Flat, Hobo, Miracle Hot Springs - Lower Kern Maps
Maps are marked at junction of Borel Rd. and Kern River Canyon Rd. Sandy Flat, Hobo, and Miracle Hot Springs are south of this junction on Kern River Canyon Rd.
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