kern river outfitters

We were a group of 10 people from BSA Venture Crew 491 on a weekend trip to raft the Upper Kern river. I contacted Kern River Outfitters to reserve guides for a full day on the upper Kern. Matt took our reservation and provided us with information on local camping options and was able to get us a non-profit group discount for the day on the river. The Outfitters provide wetsuit and jacket rentals at reasonable rates. Helmets and life-vests are included. The guides took the time to explain rafting safety and let us practice maneuvering around before hitting the class 3-4 rapids. In between rapids they pointed out local landmarks along the river. The guides seemed to have as much fun as we had, making the entire day a fun and memorable experience for all of us. The guides set up a fabulous lunch between runs. We were even entertained on the bus ride back to the Outfitters headquarters by a few jokes told by the guides. We will be contacting Kern River Outfitters for our next whitewater adventure.

My girlfriend and I had a rare weekend off together last weekend, and were trying to think of something to do. After much brainstorming and debate (wine country, laundry, camping, beach, star wars marathon) we decided it was time to fulfill our rafting ambitions. We called up the gang at Kern River Outfitters fairly last notice, and Matt was able to get us in on a one day trip. We were able to double this trip up with some camping and enjoyed a weekend up in Kernville/Wofford. The Rafting was a blast, our guide (I'm so bad with names.... DOH!) was fun and a great leader. From start to finish it was a great day. Bonus idea. Hit the Brewery in town after the trip for some good eats and food

My three sons and I had a phenomenal experience on our first-ever whitewater rafting trip! Our guide focused on ensuring we had both a memorable and safe experience, and was extremely knowledgeable about the local area and river navigation. Kern River Outfitters is a first class operation that I would highly recommend to anyone seeking a fun-filled and safe trip navigating the white water!

I meant to post this last summer when we did the two day Lower Kern rafting trip with KRO, but it slipped my mind…then I received their newsletter and was like “oh yeah, I need to give them a shout out on TA!” So here I am. Anyway, the trip was ABSOLUTELY. PHENOMENAL.Our guide Kristin was amazing. Knowledge, funny, and a real pro. We felt safe the whole time. The river was exciting. There are so many class fours and threes you are always wondering what’s around the bend.The food….was to die for. The lunches, dinner, real dutch oven cooking!The camping, if you could call it that, was first class. The extra thick camp pads (I think that’s what they’re called) were very comfortable. The stars were spectacular. Coming from LA, I never get to see the stars that often, and oh my gosh, they blew me away. Not only that, but in terms of location, Kern River Outfitters has the best campsite because it is situated exactly halfway into the trip. Compare this to the other guys who are further upstream, giving their two day trips a short first day and a loooonnnngggg second day. (Yikes for lower water years.)I highly recommend this outfit. They have it all together. The staff, their rafting headquarters, their camp, the food, it blew me away with the amount of organization that they have perfected. Looking forward to next summer! Bring on the rapids!

I rate Kern River at the top of the charts. This place is professional and absolutely excellent. To be completely honest, this is the first time I have ever reviewed anything (restaurant, hotel, etc.) With that preface, the fact that I am writing a review should speak for itself. In case it doesn't, then I want to make sure that everyone who is considering a rafting trip check this place out. The raft guides are super nice, helpful, and congenial. The trip is very well organized and they pay meticulous attention to the safety of all those on the trip. If you are considering rafting there is no greater place. Also, may sure you get the pictures at the end. In general, I usually don't purchase the professional pictures at the end of trips. I usually take a lot of my own and that is usually sufficient to spark nostalgia. However, this year I wanted to incorporate the pictures into a Valentine's Day gift. Ms. Mary Papale, with the assistance of others, worked tirelessly to find my pictures among the tens of thousands of pictures they have and they mailed the CD to me priority mail, just in time for Valentine's Day. It was a mix of an incredible work ethic and a touch of serendipity. Thanks Kern River Outfitters for an amazing trip. Extra special thanks to Ms. Mary Papale!!

I posted this as a forum post in June of 2009 when we went, but I wanted to post it here since there wasn't a company page at the time!We went on the 2 day rafting trip with Kern River Outfitters and LOOOOVED it. We are planning a larger group trip next year as well as joining for at least one of the wine/beer trips too. The rafting was fun and excited, the guides were friendly and funny, and the camping was the best ever. We woke up with an amazing view overlooking the river and hot coffee waiting for us. The food was amazing and we wouldn't have traded that weekend for anything. We HIGHLY recommend them!!

Went with them twice already, one each on the upper and lower Kern River in July 2011. They are a professional outfit, which means that they'll require you to pass a swim test (in PFD - personal flotation device) before they allow you on the class V Thunder Run of the upper Kern. That was one of the best runs I've taken, almost all IV/V's. Don't worry, there are other runs on the Kern that are not as challenging for those who may be nervous. The scenery on the river was OK, but the experience was a blast. Highly recommended.

Okay, it's not that the Kern River was bad or dirty or anything. Our half day trip was on Aug 4 2012 and that was sorta late in the season, which means the water flows were lower than earlier in the season. The rafting companies have nothing to do with that, they just have to deal with it. And deal with it they did. Guides were nice, competent and fun. I'm not saying runnning the river wasn't fun, but since I had been rafting a couple of time before I realized that the duration and intensity of the rapids wasnt quite as exciting as it had been before. The guides NEVER mentioned it (they might have been bored as hell with the easiness of the trip but you would NEVER had been able to guess it from the way they talked and acted) and so if it was your first time you wouldnt even had know anything about that. But again, not their fault and it was a BLAST anyway. Several of our group of 7 had never been rafting before and everyone loved it.I was also slightly surprised by the pricing in the store they run and where you meet for your trips. I thought the prices were VERY reasonable. Sunglasses, and other necessities you need for the trip and if you forgot them could be bought reasonably. They got you by the short hairs there but they don't really take advantage of it. All very nice people working for this rafting company all around.

We just went on the 2-day lower Kern rafting trip & our group had about 25 people & 6 rafts & obviously 6 guides ... the "A" team as they jokingly called themselves on the bus ride back & I'd have to completely agree with that! All were really friendly, helpful, knowledgeable & fun - there seemed to be really great cameraderie amongst them which made for a really pleasant 2 days on the river & at camp. Jared was the leader, the others were (if i can remember them) Travis, Kyle (or Raffi), Calhoun Boone, Chase and Matt. They were great about communicating & giving instructions on what to do & not to do in case we fall off the raft.Matt was our guide & he was excellent - I would definitely request him again if we were to go back. He has a great personality & has interesting tales of his travels around the world....wish i could have heard more! Will tell jokes, do some SNL skits - made for fun 2 days. The camping is actually really nice - of course, no showers & yes, only port-a-potties, but they do a good job of keeping them clean. But it's ok because the location is great & you can hike up a short distance & get in the water & float down...over & over again. There are "campsites" located in various spots & you just pick the one you want & grab the thick pads to sleep on and your "room" is ready! Great views too.They provide some board games, horseshoe, chairs to read or take a nap. Meanwhile, the guides prepared some spinach dip, bread, chips & salsa...then dinner was tri-tip, chicken, pasta, vegetables & spinach salad.......all cooked perfectly! And they actually made brownies for dessert!! Coffee, tea, hot cholocate was ready the next morning, then scrambled eggs, some thick bacon, fresh fruit, yogurt, granola & bagels...you will not go hungry on this trip!!Great trip, would totally do this again with them & everyone in our group had a great time - all the kids, teens & adults! And don't forget to tip!!! They deserve it!

We can't say enough great things about these people. All the guides are fun, capable guys that can cook great meals. Our group of 17 did the 2 day overnight trip and enjoyed the entire experience. The food provided was top notch.....fresh fruit, deli meats, 6 different breads to choose from, guacamole, all the condiments, trimmings, cookies, m&m's, juice, water.....they do a good job with lunch. The camp was good, it is challenging to get around, don't think stairs but climbing through boulders and hills, but as long as your in good shape and mobile it's fine. They work very hard for you.....dinner was 1st class with tri tip/chicken bbq, pasta, salad, grilled veggies, garlic bread and dutch oven brownies for dessert. The river experience is terrific, safe, and fun. Great experience.....if your going to do a rafting trip, use these guys, you won't be sorry. Do wish they would let you purchase single photos, they only let you purchase the entire disc (one per raft).....so if your group is spread amoung 3 guides, you need to buy 3 discs. But that's about the only thing I could complain about. Thanks to Cal, Matt and everyone.......

This is a good rafting experience for families and beginners. I had a wonderful day on July 4th. It was fun to relax and float on a 100 degree day!. The river is low, so the rapids are not really big, but two of them were EXCITING! My guide, Rafi did a great job making the day fun and safe. The lunch served was very good. I'm signing up for the two day trip.I only wish they would allow you purchase 1-2 pictures. I was a solo traveler so didn't know my raft mates- would've loved a couple of pics- not $70 package.

There are several companies to choose from. This is my 3rd 2-day trip and second with these folks. While these folk have the sleep platforms w/ the 3' foam toppers and a more secluded campground (but every hilly campground that requires climbing in and out of the water and to the outhouse). It all depends on the guides. The trip is the same with all 3 major companies, but this one is a more costly. In our case our guide was new, It seemed this was his test trip to see if he can handle the task. We did have an experience guide in our boat also but he was an observer only. Well in my case he didn't pass. We ended up going backwards thru half the rapids. BTW do not pre purchase the photos until you see them. In our case our photos showed the backs of our heads as we were going through again backwards. $70. wasted. While getting ejected from the boat is kind of fun. The people in our boat were ejected regularly and often including our guide. We all wished we were in Chris Browns raft as they have a much better time and went through the rapids the correct and exciting way not the wrong and dangerous way. I still rate the trip a 3 because it is something you might want to do, but can't promise a good trip. We had a better time with one of the other companies and they have pig-bears sightings! which again goes to the fun the guides could provide if they choose. And Unfortunately you have no way of knowing who you will get..

We did a full day on the kern today and it was great! Nice class fours and lots of room to float down the river out of the boat. Jump rock was awesome and the lunch spread they prepared was fantastic. I will definately be back!

Just returned from a two day lower kern rafting trip. I have to say that before this trip I was terrified because I had been told by a few people that the level 4 rapids were very dangerous and not appropriate for kids. I was assured by the staff at Kern Rivers Outfitters that safety was very important to them, and that their guides were very experienced. We were very lucky to be assigned to Brownie as our guide. Brownie is very knowledgeable and made us feel at ease and comfortable. They were very thorough with their safety instructions prior to the trip. The first day was actually pretty mellow and relaxing with a some level 3 rapids and three level 4 rapids. They were very exciting and the views of the river are beautiful. We were able to stop at several points so the kids could get out and swim and jump off rocks, etc. We were served an excellent and fresh lunch and then more rapids. We arrived at the campsite at around 3:00. The campsite was very nice, and we were lucky to get a camp spot with a great view of the river. The walk up to the campsite is a bit rocky and steep, so you have to be careful getting off the boat. They served appetizers and cooked an excellent dinner. They had fresh salad, great vegetables, mashed potatoes and smoked tri-tip and chicken. For dessert they had a dutch oven cookie surprise. Our only complaint about the campsite is that there are a lot of yellow jackets and they are all over the food. They provide wooden platforms and comfortable pads for sleeping on. We woke up in the morning to hot coffee, teas and hot chocolate for the kids, followed by an excellent breakfast of french toast, fresh fruit and eggs. They also provide a large assortment of games to keep the family entertained in the evenings.The second day was even more exciting with six level 4 rapids and another jumping rock.This was all around an excellent trip. All the Kern Rivers outfitters guides were great, but I highly recommend Brownie (Chris Brown), especially if you are a nervous first time rafter.

My husband and I went rafting from 8 - 3 on the Lower Kern with the Kern River Outfitters. It was an amazing experience! We had a great time. The guides were knowledgeable and fun, we felt safe the entire time, but challenged on class 4 rapids. The lunch that was provided was so yummy - make your own sandwiches with everything you could ever want to put on a sandwich. PLUS trail mix, M&Ms, etc. Also, unlike other rafting companies I have used, they managed to get us the use of actual restrooms, instead of asking us to use the wilderness to relieve ourselves.Expect to wear life vests and helmets while on the raft. They are for your safety. Also, you will get soaked - so if you choose to wear a cotton shirt, you will remain wet from the very first wave to the last minute of the day. And that water is cold, so I suggest going in high summer, so that the cold water feels good in the 100 degree heat, not freezing in the 80 degree heat. anything you take on the raft is in jeapardy of being lost, including wedding rings, so leave wallets, rings, and anything of value behind. Take just as much cash as you need to pay and tip. A bottle of water would not be amiss either. And come with sunblock covering every exposed area (especially the tops of your thighs) EXCEPT the forehead and the backs of your thighs (the sunblock will slip off your forehead and into your eyes, and will cause you to slip right out of the boat is on the backs of your thighs). Also know that they will turn you away if you have on flip flops - the shoes need to stay on your feet through all sorts of rough weather.We plan to do this again very soon - it was too much fun!