mountain & river adventures

We camp out in Kernville for the blues festival. So it wasn't your typical camping trip. But we were so happy with the lovely lady that is the host for this camp ground. She is helpful ,friendly , knowledgeable and goes out of her way to help you have everything you need to have a great time. And the campground has real toilets and got showers to boot ! My only suggesting to make this campground perfect is to put in bear boxes or for less of an expense poles to hang your good since the trees are to small and dense with branches to hang your food, and we did have a small bear issue.

Our family of 6 rafted with Mountain and River adventures in June. The river wasn’t necessarily cooperating and was exceptionally low so this review should be considered with that on mind. Having said that, we paid quite a bit for a tour which was only partially completed and which was very disorganized. In particular, we only got 1 ½ runs down the lower Kern yet paid for 4 runs on the Upper. I politely emailed to let the company know we didn’t get our money’s worth. I wasn't necessarily expecting a response. I never received one. No big deal. However, I would probably choose to go elsewhere next time.

Our kids (9 and 11) lived the Kano and peddle board trip we had on the Kern river.Guides where so friendly, and knowledgable about everything in the area, that made the entire excursion even better.You are well taken care off, and it's a great activity to do with the family.Highly recommended if your looking for something to do in this area.

This is THEE place to white water raft. Although the river is not running as fast as it has in most years, the Lickdy Split is a great way to start. I have taken my grandsons and we all loved it. The outfit is professional and we had a blast -- even the guides have a great time.

This is really no a bad drive from Orange County where I live. Last time I was up at Kern I camped and did a mountain biking adventure with this company and have been wanting to write a quick review because the staff was so incredibly friendly and top notch. I didn't get to the camp till dark so I was very disoriented, the next morning I was really surprised how close I was to the river. I did a biking adventure that started at the top of the mountain where there was snow and ended at the bottom later that day in a very hot desert climate, we really covered some ground, all downhill since they truck you to the top. I look forward to my next trip. I will try to snag another camp site right next to the water and do some river rafting.

I have been meaning to write a review for quite some time. I’ve been White Water Rafting with this company, Mountain Biking and have spent oh so many glorious nights camping and sleeping under the stars at Mountain and River Adventures Campground.This adventure tour company is professional, fun and most importantly puts safety at the top of their priority list. I have brought several friends who are visiting from overseas here and they are always so impressed with the beautiful surroundings and friendly people. This place is summer camp for adults and a real hidden gem for residents who have lived in CA all their life and are only finding this now.

It was very late in the season and the water was low. But the guides made it a fun day for all. We had a bit of rapids, a bit of technical riding to avoid being stuck (in a boat that was pretty heavy due to six of us). Lunch was nicely presented and plentiful. The stopping place for lunch was fun because there was a big boulder where we could jump to water below. I have been rafting before....Colorado, Oregon, Costa Rica, Bali....this was a really nice day and well managed.

I just returned from a full-day rafting trip on the Lower Kern and it was such a great experience. Even though the water lever is low, we were able to float down the river with our life jackets on, and also jump off a cliff and swim. Our guide, Glen, is very knowledgeable about rafting and gave us great tips for a safe ride down. Lunch was also good and more than enough food for everyone. We are looking forward to level 4 rapids next summer.

This was our best family trip. We did a 1 day class 4 river rafting trip. My 5 grown kids and I had our own boat, and Cara was our river guide. We had a blast...went through (9) class 4 rapids, which included 8 or 9 class 3 rapids, and a bunch of class 2 rapids. Cara our guide was fabulous...she knew every rapid, the story of the rapid and how it got its name, and gave us a safe and exciting ride. MRA provided a fresh food lunch, snacks and a stop on the river to jump off a rock. It's was a full day of floating down a beautiful river, some excitement in the rapids and learning about the Kern. Ask for Cara! She was the best guide ever.

River rafting is a thrilling adventure and the Lower Kern River offers 1 & 2 day rafting trips that are really fun.The rafting section of the Kern River below the dam at Lake Isabella is about 20 miles long. The upper section (closest to the dam) consists of Class 3 rapids. The lower section has Class 3 rapids and quite a few Class 4 rapids (i.e. thrilling). There are 4 rafting companies that offer 1 day trips on either section or 2 day trips that run the whole 20 miles. The one day trips on the Class 4 section costs around $200 per person. Everyone paddles the boat and must be able to respond quickly to changing paddling orders from the river guide. Paddling all day is a good upper body workout. This trip is clearly not for the weak or feeble. All rafters wear company provided flotation devices and helmets. The rafts have to be "portaged" around a Class 5 rapid that is too dangerous to run. Make sure to wear some sturdy closed toed sandals or shoes that can get wet and have some reasonably thick soles as you'll be walking up and down slopes to get in & out of the river often over slick rocks. Smooth bottom (i.e.old) tennis shoes will cause you to slip. A fellow passenger wore old tennis shoes and slipped at the "put-in" and smacked his knee on a rock and couldn't make the trip. He never got on the boat!The Lower Kern is a beautiful river for rafting. There are plenty of boulders in the river and the water flows fast enough to provide challenging rafting. The Lower Kern River flow rate is controlled by the dam at the Lake, thus there is dependable rafting almost every year from April until about late August. Conversely, the Upper Kern River, often doesn't have enough water for rafting after a dry winter. After a wet winter, the Upper Kern River is also a fun river to raft.On a trip July 1 & 2, 2012, I took the Class 4 rafting trips with two rafting companies, Mountain & River Adventures one day and then Kern River Outfitters the next. Both companies provided great rafting trips, both had knowledgeable guides and first rate equipment. The lunches on the river from both companies were good (sandwiches, fruit and snacks).Each company splits up their 1 & 2 day "put in" points differently. Mountain River's Class 4 trip is about 12 miles versus about 9 miles for Kern River Outfitters, which resulted in an extra 90+ minutes on the river with the Mountain River trip. Either way, you get a great day of rafting and plenty of opportunities to swim in the Kern River in the "calm" sections. Don't forget to tip your river guide which is traditionally a very low paying job. Most of the guides do this seasonal job because they love it. $20 per person (which is 10% of the trip cost) would be appropriate. The Mountain & River one day trip starts with check-in at 8:00am and gets back to Kernville around 5:30pm. There is street parking across from the Mountain & River Adventures office. You can leave your car keys with the office. Kern River Outfitters has a fenced in parking lot which would be more secure than street parking. Again, you leave your car keys with the office. They also meet at 8:00 am and get back around 4pm. The drive to Kernville from Orange County (Irvine) is about 3.5 hours, taking I-15 and US395 and CA178. The Navigation systems will all send you up the I-5 and US99, which is about 10 miles shorter, but then you have to go through LA County, which can often be congested.

We attended a class III / class IV trip on the lower kern that lasted 2 days. The staff was safe and professional and all times, although they will cater to the personality of the trip. Speaking of catering, the food is incredible as well. I plan on going again!

These guys run a good shop. It was with a little trepedation that I would be getting dropped off on top of a mountain with my mountain bike, left to my own devices to find my way down the trail. MRA was great in providing information while we planned for the trip then followed it up with more assistance when we got to town then even more help the morning of our ride. They gave us a map, written directions and a verbal description of what we were in for. Our shuttle driver was personable and has a long history in Kernville. We were definately well taken care of!I can only imagine that they run all of their operations (river rafting, rock climbing, etc.) the same way.

My boyfriend and I went on a 1 day Lower Kern Class IV trip for my birthday. It was fantastic! Mike was the best guide I have ever had white water rafting. He has been guiding the Kern River for 30+ years! We felt really safe the entire day and had tons of fun. Mike was very informative and would describe the rapids to us before we went through and tell us their names and history, so the trip was also somewhat educational. The MRA equipment was in great condition. Lunch by the river was plentiful and diverse (hummus and carrots, fresh apples, oranges and strawberries, chips and all the fixins to make sandwiches). We would absolutly recommend this trip and company to anyone. The rest of the people in our boat were a British family on holiday and their kids (girl 13, boy 15) they had a great time as well. You can buy a photo CD at the end of the trip, rather expenisive $68, but it is a fun momento.

Samen met een andere groep werden we 's morgens in een oude schoolbus naar een rivier gebracht. Ontvangst en uitleg was prima. Begeleiding goed en gezellig. De instructeurs waren enthousiast en de locatie was erg mooi. Op de rivier konden we samen met onze kinderen heerlijk genieten van het varen met de kayak. Tijdens de pauze voeren we verrast met fruit, koekjes en drinken. Goed verzorgd. Complimenten aan het team, het was een fantastische ervaring.