Join us as we celebrate our 27th year in business. We are proud of our status as the oldest, largest, and most experienced kayaking school in Southern and Central California.
Learn to Kayak with Sierra South!
(Click to view video.)
The NRS Revolution Drytop has unrestricted mobility and rough-use toughness, and is even more breathable with the revolutionary eVent® fabric.
Building on the success and versatility of the KSO and KSO Trek, the Vibram FiveFingers TrekSport has a 4mm EVA midsole for more protection and a lightly cleated performance rubber outsole. Available in Men's and Women's models.
Safety is the main priority of Sweet Helmets and even though the Strutter helmet might look cool and feel comfortable, it has been tested to exceed the CE EN-1385 standard for water sport helmets.
When we pulled on the Surfskin
Pant we said good-bye to poorly-fitting paddling pants!
The Descent
Rescue Vest is new for 2010, and available now. Type V Strong Swimmer approved
Safety vest for paddlers.
You'll
have soooo much fun in this compact and super-maneuverable Hyside Mini
Me Inflatable Raft!
The first kayaking classes and raft trips of the 2012 season are just a month away! Thinking about learning to kayak? Sierra South is the oldest, largest, and most experienced kayaking school in Southern and Central California. Reserve a kayaking class now and get 20% off. Reservation must be made and deposit paid by February 29, 2012. Applies to scheduled classes during the 2012 season. Use promo code KYK0212.
Whether you're just learning to kayak or know every playspot from the Johnsondale Bridge to the Democrat take out, we have a kayak to fit your paddling style, and special offers to make you smile:
Purchase a new, in-stock kayak (not on sale) and we'll give you a 1-Day Intro to Whitewater Kayaking Class at no cost, or we will give you the first day FREE of either of our Kayaking 101 or Kayaking 201 classes! Coupon for class is transferable if you would like to give it to someone you know is wanting to get into the sport! Must be redeemed during the 2012 season.
Purchase a new, in-stock kayak (not on sale) by July 1, 2012 and get 25% off all whitewater kayaking gear purchased with the boat. Discounts cannot be combined.
Plus, we can ship a new kayak under 8.5' in length to a business address anywhere in the contiguous U.S. for only $75.
A series of shortwaves are forecast to bring some snow to the Sierra over the next few days. At the moment we're not talking a lot of snow, but with the active phase of the MJO in the Western Pacific and the ECMWF hinting at the possibility of a more substantial system around President's Day weekend we'll have to see how things develop.
During the storm back in January you may have noticed the Upper popped up to about 1700 cfs at Riverside Park Saturday afternoon. Some of that runoff pushed Brush Creek up to around 3. Here's Johnny Chase and Spencer Josif enjoying a Brush Creek Snow Day. The way the river responded it looks like the basin groundwater is in decent shape. This should help increase runoff this spring.
Sierra South Instructor Katharine Edmonson paddling the new 2012 Jackson Fun Runner in Riverside Park
The highly anticipated new Stomper creekers from Liquidlogic are also in! The Stomper 80 & Stomper 90 look to be real winners in the creeking world. Think of a cross between a Remix hull and a Jefe deck and you'll get the picture. The boats look really good. We have a demo of both. Come check them out and check out the promo video on the Liquidlogic web site.
Our
world-famous Lickety-Split and Lickety-Blaster raft
trips are far and away the two most popular and most affordable
Class 2-3 whitewater rafting runs available on the Kern River.
Both are full of enough excitement to challenge just about everyone
from young tykes to grandmas and grandpas. Looking for more adrenalin?
Try our new Upper Kern and Forks trips.Trips begin March 10th, and start booking weeks in advance, so reserve
your 2012 trip today! Reserve a raft trip or kayaking class and get 50% off a second raft trip or kayaking class. Call 800-457-2082 for more details and to redeem this offer. Offer expires February 3rd.
Learn to kayak! Our proven teaching
method takes you through a gradual progression that maximizes
the fun. We've designed our beginning
class 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! Early Bird classes start March 10th!
Filming HBO Enlightened - The Weekend
Sierra South was asked to help with the filming of an episode "The Weekend" of the new series Enlightened, starring Laura Dern and Luke Wilson. The episode "The Weekend" was filmed between Sandy Flat and Miracle. "We have helped with Hollywood productions on the river for over 20 years now," said Tom Moore, "we have a good reputation down there. We have specialty camera rafts and have quite a bit of experience in understanding what the director wants in a scene, and being able to deliver that in a manner that is safe, yet still what the director envisions It's an education process with the crew to teach them how the river operates. Most of the time we will also be in charge of the safety of the on and off water production as well as training the on-screen talent for river stunts. Occasionally we will step in for actual river stunt work. This time it was easy water in inflatable kayaks so no stunt work was involved. It is always a bonus when they mention the Kern River on camera."
A day was spent teaching the talent how to paddle. "It can be a challenge to keep people within the right camera angle. Also, trying to keep camera rafts, safety kayakers, etc., out the picture can be tricky. Resetting takes time so we like to get it right the first time," said Tom. "Laura Dern was very nice. Sweet lady. Luke Wilson is a character. He hit it off with our river crew right away. Mike White the director went to high school at Polytechnic School in Pasadena and went through Poly's outdoor program of which Sierra South runs a number of trips. The Kern River had a profound affect on Mike and he had always wanted to film on the river. Great guy and an excellent director."
Spencer Josif and Evan Moore found some fun time between commercial rafting & kayaking and running creeks to guest instruct "Erin & Cory", the Up for Anything girls from Arbor Mist Facebook. Fans vote on the next activity they want the girls to try. Whitewater kayaking won earlier in the summer so the girls found their way to Kernville to learn how to kayak in mid July. The water was high and we only had 3 hours. Check out the video and see how they did! All in all in was a fun project -- the film crew was great, and the girls really are up for anything!
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. In early July 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!
Sierra South enjoyed a surprise visit from U.S. Congressman Kevin McCarthy and his son Connor and friends for a Father's Day weekend Upper Kern raft trip. Kevin, a Bakersfield native, represents the Kern River Valley in Congress in the 22nd District. Kevin is the Majority Whip of the Republican Party in Congress and is afforded 24 hour protection with the US Capitol Police. "It was fascinating to see what is entailed to insure the safety of our highest political leaders", said Tom Moore, co-owner of Sierra South. "This is a bit unusual for the Capitol Police, but Kevin had wanted to run Class 4 whitewater for some time. He and Connor had a blast." The water was at a great level. Ryan and Matt Barlow, twin brothers, guided the trip. Perhaps an internship may be in their future? They both happen to be juniors at Cal/Berkeley and political science majors. We shall see!
Check out the Jackson boats in the New
Boat Barn, including the Rock Star. We think the elite versions of the boats are
the best ever made by Jackson and worth every penny. With the
Sweet Cheeks and Happy Feet system, you also get the best outfitting
ever. It takes just a minute or so to understand the process
to get the correct fit. It is not hard to master and we will
be happy to show you how. Cross-linked plastic and a composite
beam support make these hulls the stiffest and most durable on
the market. The come with a 2 year double warranty. Also take a look at
these Jackson videos of the Star
Series in action and the Elite
outfitting. We usually have the new Star Series, Funs,
Heroes and Villains in stock.
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.
Alan Henz's 2010 Hooligan Race 1st place winning un-boat "The Original Bucket Boat."
The Kern Valley River Council (KVRC) was recently 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 2012 season will mark our 27th
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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