2021 Kern River rafting Season Outlook
Posted on 4/7/2021
With our opening day this coming weekend, we’re excited to have our 2021 Kern river rafting season get underway. This blogpost is our annual water outlook and river flow projection.
2021 snowpack summary
The Southern Sierra’s experienced a mild winter which is reflected in our below-average snowpack. Fortunately, a single large storm in the latter part of January delivered a significant punch which contributed to the majority of this winter’s snowpack.
This season’s snowpack is a very close analog to our 2012-2013 winter, which we have taken into account in our season projections.
42%
Southern Sierra April 1, 2021 Snowpack
951 CFS
Projected Upper Kern daily average peak.
Mid-May timeframe
911 CFS
Projected Lower Kern daily average peak
Late-June to early July timeframe
Trip schedule
We’ll be operating our regular schedule of half, full and overnight trips this season, with the primary difference being a tighter window of availability.
April and May
- Offered near daily, the Class I & II+ Kernville Rapid Run
- Offered near daily, the Class II, III and IV Half Day Upper Kern
- As water flows allow, our Full Day Upper Kern
June and July
- As water flows allow, our Two Day Lower Kern
- As water flows allow, our Class IV One Day Lower Kern
- As water flows allow, our Class IV Half Day Lower Kern
- Near daily Half Day Float Trip on the Lower Kern
August
Flow Projections
We’re projecting the Upper Kern to be above 500 CFS from mid-April through the end of May. For the Lower Kern, we are projecting flows above 600 CFS from early June through the latter part of July. What might significantly change our Lower Kern season is if the farmers opt to do a large Lake Isabella drawdown. This would be positive news and would either increase flows on the Lower Kern or extend our season. While we don’t get insight into this decision making process, we feel that this possibility is likely.
How far are you from Santa Barbara?
What do you recommend for a first timer.
Adventurist Athletic
May be interested in an overnight
Where are your prices ion the website?
Hi Constance. We’re just under four hours from SB to our Rafting Center. For adventurous, first time rafters, I would aim for a Class IV rafting trip, such as our Two Day Lower Kern, or if you’re looking for something shorter, our Class IV Half Day. Prices can be found under the menu link “Schedule and Rates” or by clicking here.