Everybody’s floating on the Russian River this summer. Have you
noticed?
On Saturday afternoons in Guernewood Park this summer people
seem to float by every few minutes in canoes and kayaks —mostly
kayaks they rented and launched upstream at Johnson’s Beach.
“A lot of that is us,” said Steve Jackson at King’s Sport &
Tackle, the venerable Guerneville sporting goods shop where you can
rent a kayak, launch at Johnson’s and head down river believing
you’ve left civilization behind along with all the other boaters
nodding hello.
Guerneville to Monte Rio “is our main run,” said Jackson, who
outfits boaters for day trips or longer including guided paddling
tours of the River estuary at Jenner. He is very busy.
I joined the throng last week in a cool blue kayak, a Pamlico
100 by Wilderness Systems, which the staff at King’s lashed to my
car top in about 30 seconds. They tossed a paddle and life jacket
in the back seat and I was out the door, not having been on the
River in years. It felt good.
No one’s sure why this has been such a strong year for Russian
River boat rentals but theories include the recession and the cheap
and accessible appeal of hopping in a boat with a couple of beers
and escaping the burdens on shore.
A stronger River flow this year is helping too, with nearly 200
cubic feet (cfs) per second flowing at the Hacienda Bridge last
week compared to much less, closer to 65 cfs last year at the end
of July.
“All of my customers are really happy about the River this
year,” said Jackson. “They’re not scraping bottom. They’re getting
down really good. They’re happy. I hope it’ll last.”
They’re glad upstream too. “We’re doing triple to quadruple our
normal business,” said Larry Laba, whose Russian River Adventures
in Healdsburg rents inflatable canoes to boaters who launch below
Healdsburg Memorial Beach and paddle to Wohler Bridge near
Forestville. It’s an eight-mile float that takes about a day and
you can bring your dog.
Laba’s been renting his SOAR inflatables in Healdsburg for 13
years and business this year, said Laba, is “the best.”
Boaters are taking notice of the improved flow compared to last
summer, said Laba, when drought-like conditions coupled with a
federal mandate to reduce flows to improve stream habitat for
native fish had River recreational interests worried a meager
trickle would “diminish the experience” of paddling in the Russian
River.
“We have people who call and say ‘How’s the flow?’ compared to
last year,” said Laba. “If we had to say ‘It’s the same,’ they
probably wouldn’t be back.”
Up the road from Russian River Adventures last weekend dozens of
boaters were loading gear at River’s Edge, where Lollie Mercer
rents canoes and kayaks for Russian River trips starting as far
upstream as Asti.
Forestville’s Burke’s Canoe Trips was equally busy renting
canoes and kayaks for the trip from Mirabel to Burke’s drop-off
beach in Guerneville. A sad note this summer is that you don’t see
the familiar face of Bob Burke driving the white Burke’s Canoe
shuttle bus. Burke died unexpectedly of a heart attack last month.
He was 63.
Nearly a dozen River outfitters can now put you on the water in
a kayak. There are two in Jenner, Lotus Kayak Rentals and Suki
Waters’ Water Treks which also offers instruction courses. Bodega
Bay Kayak in Bodega Bay rents sea kayaks.
Steve Jackson at King’s agrees that kayaks, or “yaks” as they’re
known to the cognoscenti, are the ride of choice these days.
“When I started doing kayaks 12 years ago nobody else was
renting them,” said Jackson.
Now they’re everywhere, on top of SUVs, sticking out of the beds
of pickup trucks and floating down the river in flotillas of bright
yellow, orange, red and blue backed by the River’s deep
algae-tinged green.
Canoe versus kayak discussions tend to address speed, comfort
and accessibility of gear.
“A kayak goes faster,” said the Original Bob, a boater who
blogs. “Canoe holds more beer.”
Canoe v. kayak discussions often assume two people are sharing
one boat, which can be trouble when the wind comes up. Couples who
canoe together flirt with divorce if they’ve got a ways to go when
the River’s afternoon breeze starts to blow. Once while paddling a
canoe from Mirabel to Guerneville on a windy afternoon my wife
wanted to ditch the canoe in the bushes and hitchhike home on River
Road.
Canoe paddlers live by 12 commandments instead of ten, said
Larry Laba.
“Thou shalt paddle solo,” he said, “so thou shalt sleep
tandem.”
Volunteer sign-ups have just begun for this year’s annual
Russian River cleanup that takes place on Sept. 25. Go to
Russianriver- cleanup.org to learn
more about the unending job to remove litter from the River between
Cloverdale and Jenner.
Sept. 25 is also the Russian Riverfest from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at
Burke’s Canoes in Forestville. Tickets are available for $20 online
at the Russian Riverkeeper’s website.
Let’s do launch!
The list is a lot longer than it used to be for places to get in
or out of the Russian River between Healdsburg and the Sonoma
coast.
In Healdsburg, there’s the Alexander Valley campground on
Alexander Valley Road and Healdsburg’s Veterans Memorial Beach.
Downstream the next option is Wohler Bridge, but River boat
access is in the works for the county’s Riverfront Park in
Windsor.
Forestville has the Mirabel trailer park and campground and
Burke’s Canoes, both places where you can rent canoes and
kayaks.
Steelhead Beach Regional Park on River Road has a boat
launch.
Forestville access is also available at the county park known as
Mom’s Beach on River Road, and a little farther west at Sunset
Beach.
You can put a boat in (or out) at the Odd Fellows Park summer
crossing just east of Korbel Champagne Cellars.
Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville is a centerpiece of River
recreation, with canoes, kayaks and other water craft for rent by
the hour or the day.
In Guernewood Park there’s a Russian River Recreation and Park
District beach with easy boat access. Take Neeley Road to
Guernewood Road down to the former summer bridge.
The Recreation and Park District also has a public beach with
River access at Vacation Beach, between Highway 116 and Orchard
Ave.
Canoes, kayaks and a boat launch are available at the Monte Rio
public beach.
Villa Grande’s Patterson Point is now a public beach.
In Duncans Mills you can get to the River at Casini Ranch
Campground and in town behind the Blue Heron Inn.
In Bridgehaven there’s access at the Willow Creek Campground,
which is also a huge beach, and in Jenner at the Jenner Visitor’s
Center on Highway 1.
