The trip was featured in Travel + Leisure in a story highlighting the wild beauty and world-class rafting of California’s Kern River as well as our unique river safari camp.

A Two-Day Rafting and Glamping Adventure

The article follows a two-day rafting journey down the Kern River with Momentum River Expeditions, combining Class IV whitewater with a safari-style riverside camp.

As the writer describes arriving at camp:

“after drifting 10 miles down the Kern, we arrived at Momentum’s base camp. An enclave of safari-style tents set atop wooden platforms—inside two of which, as if by magic, our luggage awaited—the experience was like being shipwrecked in a place you never want to be rescued from“

After a day running rapids through the granite canyon of the Southern Sierra, guests pull into a riverside camp designed to combine wilderness immersion with comfort.

Instead of traditional camping, the experience includes:

• Private Safari-style walk-in canvas tents
• Riverside lounge areas and a fire pit
• Multi-course dinners
• Wine and cocktails at camp
• A relaxed evening beside the river

Big Whitewater Just 3 Hours From Los Angeles

One of the things that makes the Kern River special is how wild it feels despite being so close to a major city.

The river flows through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, creating a canyon known for its steep granite walls and powerful rapids. Yet it’s remarkably accessible.

From most of the Los Angeles area, it’s roughly a three-hour drive to Kernville, the gateway town for rafting trips.

That means a quick weekend can turn into a full wilderness experience:

Drive up from LA → Launch into whitewater → 3-course meals beside the river (luxury camping) → Wake up to a leisurly breakfast and then run rapids again.

An Active Alternative to the Typical Weekend Trip or 2-day Trip

Many Southern California getaways revolve around beaches or resorts.

The Kern River Rafting Safari offers something different: an active but comfortable outdoor adventure.

As the Travel + Leisure story highlights, that mix of adrenaline and relaxation is what makes multi-day rafting trips so memorable.

Read the Travel + Leisure Article

If you’d like to read the full story:

“This Little-known California River Has Some of the Country’s Best Rafting.”

“The level of hospitality was unmatched ”:

“It was a trip of a lifetime. I went with my wife and two kids. I’ve done a lot of wilderness trips, but nothing like this. The level of hospitality was unmatched by any other tour I’ve ever done.”

For many guests, a Kern River trip becomes a highlight of their year. The mix of big Sierra whitewater, beautiful canyon scenery, and time unplugged outside creates an experience that stays with people long after the trip ends.

Whether you are traveling with family, friends, or a group, rafting the Kern often becomes the kind of trip people talk about for years.

Our Guides:

One thing we hear again and again on the Kern and other rivers is how much the guide team shapes the experience.

“All of the guides were great. I’ve done dozens of multi-day guided trips and this was one of the friendliest groups of guides I’ve ever worked with.”

“The technical expertise required on the Kern makes it clear the skill level of the guides Momentum employs. They are phenomenal.”

“Outstanding guides. Best guides I have ever experienced in my life.”

A Unique ‘Glamping Style’ Riverside Camp:

Guests are often surprised by the comfort of our Kern River rafting safari camp.

“The camping was amazing. The site was beautiful and well maintained, and the view of the river was breathtaking.”

“The camp was the most luxurious camping experience I’ve ever had.”

“The camping was significantly nicer than some hotels we have been to! The attention to detail was crazy.”

Our multi-day trips combine exciting Kern River whitewater rafting with a comfortable riverside basecamp. Think canvas safari tents, great meals, river views, and evenings around the fire under the Sierra stars.

It’s still the outdoors—but with thoughtful comforts.

We are known for our food:

On all our trips – including on the Kern – 3-course meals, local ingredients:

“Some of the best meals I’ve ever had—and all along a river!”

“Every meal was over-the-top quality. Unbelievable!”

Unplugging with friends new and old:

“We laughed and screamed the whole time and made wonderful memories together.”

“This trip was life-changing for me and my son. I’m now hooked on whitewater rafting.”

“In 50 years of trips, this was the best team of guides we’ve ever seen.”

Join us for a quick, active, and comfortable wild river escape – away from traffic, lines, and hectic daily schedules.

Desert domes in Joshua Tree. Canvas tents overlooking the Pacific. Stylish cabins tucked into oak canyons.

All of them offer a comfortable way to spend a weekend outdoors.

Three Landscapes Around Los Angeles

Within a few hours of the city, most glamping destinations fall into three landscapes.

The Mojave Desert offers big skies and quiet nights. The Pacific Coast provides ocean views and cooler air. And the Sierra foothills offer rivers, granite canyon scenery, and more active adventures.

Each landscape has its appeal.

Desert Glamping

Joshua Tree remains one of the most popular glamping destinations near Los Angeles. The stark desert landscape, dramatic rock formations, and dark skies create a peaceful place to slow down.

Many travelers choose desert glamping specifically for the quiet and the night sky.

Coastal Glamping

The Santa Barbara coast and Big Sur offer another version of glamping. Coastal hills, redwood forests, and the Pacific Ocean provide a beautiful backdrop for cabins, yurts, and safari tents.

These trips tend to emphasize scenery and relaxation.

River Glamping in the Sierra Foothills

Although it was recently featured in Travel + Leisure (“luxury-tinged rafting adventures…. the experience was like being shipwrecked in a place you never want to be rescued from”) – The third option is less well known. 

About three hours north of Los Angeles, the Kern River flows through a dramatic granite canyon in the southern Sierra foothills.

Here, the landscape lends itself to a different kind of trip — one built around the river itself.

The Kern River Rafting Safari is a two-day (or 3-day) rafting trip with a safari-style riverside camp.

Guests spend the day rafting warm-water whitewater through the canyon before settling into a comfortable camp beside the river.

It is glamping, but with movement and adventure built in.

Read more about the Kern River Safari here >>

Read more about glamping near Los Angeles here >>

Within a few hours you can reach desert wilderness, coastal cliffs, mountain forests, and whitewater rivers.

For travelers looking for adventure weekend trips from Los Angeles, the options are diverse.

Joshua Tree and the Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert offers one of the most distinctive landscapes in California. Massive granite boulders, open desert valleys, and dark skies make Joshua Tree National Park a favorite destination for hiking and climbing.

The Pacific Coast

The Santa Barbara coast and Big Sur offer dramatic scenery and excellent hiking. Coastal fog, redwood forests, and ocean cliffs create a completely different atmosphere from the desert.

The Kern River (A Luxury Weekend Adventure Just Three Hours from Los Angeles)

About three hours north of Los Angeles, the Kern River flows through a striking granite canyon in the southern Sierra foothills.

The river is known for warm-water whitewater rafting and beautiful canyon scenery.

One of the most unique ways to experience the area is our Kern River Rafting Safari, a two-day rafting trip with a comfortable safari-style riverside camp that was recently featured in Travel+ Leisure. 

Instead of arriving at a tent and settling in for the weekend, guests spend two days rafting through granite canyon walls, swimming in warm river water, and stopping at sandy beaches along the way. And nights are spent beside the river in a thoughtfully designed camp with three course meals and private tent cabins. 

It is one of the closest places to Los Angeles where a weekend trip can still feel like a true wilderness adventure.

Read more about the Kern River Safari here >>

Read more about glamping near Los Angeles here >>

After almost 12 months of discussions and planning, Kern River Outfitters is now Momentum River Expeditions. We are honored to offer trips on the Kern and take over from a truly legendary river family. The Volperts pioneered outfitted river trips all over the West and Matt and Skip have been incredibly helpful and gracious throughout the process. 

Momentum is a guide owned and operated company offering adventure travel and whitewater rafting in Oregon, Northern California, Idaho, Arizona, Alaska and now on the Kern in Southern California. We are known for small groups trips with a handcrafted quality and attention to detail, and one of the most experienced (and friendly) guide staffs in the world. 

We are so excited to show people the Kern River. It is quintessential California Whitewater and one of the rivers I dreamed about running when I first started guiding. Our goal is to take what was already an incredible company and trip style and add some of the things that make Momentum, Momentum. Including bringing our award-winning Upper Klamath Safari Camp trip and concept to the Kern. 

I love extremely remote and wild places. But I also love active days outside followed by good food and drink, unique & comfortable accommodations, all shared with friends new and old. Our Kern trips offer both, with full-day and half-day trips, as well as the 2-day Kern River Safari, and the wild and remote Forks of the Kern.

For past Kern River Outfitters guests, we hope we can live up to the KRO legacy and we hope you’ll enjoy the new Momentum twists. For Momentum guests and new guests, we are so excited to show you some of the best whitewater in the West with the quality, style, and fun we are known for.

Kind Regards, 

Pete Wallstrom & the Staff of
Momentum River Expeditions

Find out more about Momentum River Expeditions >>

Good news! We received a report that the road will open soon allowing us access to the Forks of the Kern.

There are still hurdles though as the 3-mile trail is not yet clear and the water is currently too high. Despite this, we feel good to begin booking trips in the August timeframe.

Eligibility
The Forks of the Kern is an amazing wilderness, Class V trip. Its challenging rapids and remoteness mean we have to be selective about who attends as safety is our top priority.

To be eligible to book you must:

1. Be in excellent physical condition. There is a 3 mile hike into the canyon and you will need to carry your overnight gear, PFD and paddle. Once on the water you will be more or less paddling the entire time – 20 miles split into two days. You are expected to self rescue if you fall into the water and assist with rescues if others are in the water. If you find yourself tired after mild or moderate exercise, then this is not the trip for you.
2. Have prior rafting experience. Familiarity with rafting is essential. Participants should be acquainted with paddle commands, high siding techniques, paddling together as a team, and maintaining their position within the raft.
3. Attendance at the pre-trip meeting. Please make sure you are available to attend the mandatory pre-trip meeting, which will take place at 7 PM the night before the trip launch at our Rafting Center. It’s a crucial opportunity to go over additional trip details and ensure everyone is well-prepared for the adventure ahead.

Trip launch dates
With our record breaking snowpack, there is only one similar season (1983) to help us predict what our August runoff will look like. We are doing our best with the launch dates below and as learn more about our water flow will open up additional dates if possible.

Launch Dates: August 9. August 14. August 24.

How to book
Click here to go to our Forks of the Kern booking page. This booking page is only accessible to those on our Forks of the Kern interest list until July 19, and then will be released on our website. Once booked we will follow up with you to schedule a call with your Forks of the Kern trip leader, who will complete your phone screening and go over additional trip details.

We’re excited to share the Forks with you and can’t wait to show you why this canyon is so special.

Yesterday, on May 27, Highway 178 developed a large crack in its westbound lane. Shortly after the DOT closed traffic in both directions. Below are alternate routes to arrive at the Kern River and our Rafting Center. At this time, Google Maps is accurate, re-routing traffic around the closure. For most of our guests, your drive time will not be significantly impacted.

6/4/23 update: One lane has been opened

Caltrans has opened one-lane traffic through Highway 178. We suggest budgeting extra time to account for this. Both lanes are not expected to open for months.

Coming from Los Angeles to the Kern River

Take I-5 North and then in Santa Clarita, CA-14 toward Palmdale/Lancaster. You’ll then make a left onto Highway 178 and from here, can follow the highway to the Kern River. This is the same length as the original route, at just under 3 hours without traffic. Link to Google Map directions.

Coming from Santa Barbara to the Kern River

I suggest taking a similar route to LA, listed above, by taking CA-14 toward Palmdale/Lancaster. Please note that Google Maps may list a different route via I-5 North and then the 223 through Arvin. The Arvin route is less mileage, however, that route is very windy and can be slow with traffic which is why it’s not my first choice. Link to the CA-14 route. Google Map directions for SB to the Kern River.

Coming from Bakersfield to the Kern River

You will need to take the Lions Trail route. This road is windy and can get congested so I suggest building a buffer into your travel plans. Link to Google Map directions for Bakersfield to the Kern River.

Coming from north of Bakersfield (Bay Area etc) to the Kern River

You will need to take the Lions Trail route, the same as the Bakersfield option. This road is windy and can get congested so I suggest building a buffer into your travel plans. Link to Google Map directions for Bakersfield to the Kern River.

Coming from San Diego to the Kern River

Your route is not impacted. As usual, take the 395 to Highway 178. Link to Google Map directions.

Since our last email, the snowpack has continued to grow, and the Kern drainage topped out at an incredible 429% of normal. This means we have more than four winters’ worth of snow just now beginning to melt and come barreling down the Kern River canyon.

For the Forks, the water will be too high until sometime in August, and we might have high enough flows extending into September. We’re still too early to provide exact dates, but we’re working on narrowing it down.

Our biggest concern at the moment is the road condition. The road we use to access the Forks of the Kern has sustained significant damage, and we’ve received various reports on its status. Some say it’s impassable and will require a lengthy repair, while others claim it’s not as bad and could open soon. We will have more accurate information once the snow melts further and a road crew can assess the situation.

Our next email update is scheduled for July 1. However, you may receive an email earlier if the water levels decrease sooner than expected or if the road conditions are determined to be unrepairable.

First Glance update, sent on March 1, 2023

After continuous seasons of poor snowpack, we finally have a winter. To the point where we are currently ahead of the record-shattering 1983 winter. For this reason, our goal is to catch the backside of peak flows, which will happen in the latter part of the summer.

In short:

• The Forks window will be in July and/or August
• It’s too early to nail down date specifics
• We’re hoping that the snow will slow down and the melt will begin soon so we can have a better idea of what our summer river flows will look like.

The next Forks update is scheduled for May 1. We typically have the second update on April 1, but with our snowpack continuing to grow we won’t have any significant updates until later in the year.

Recreation.gov update

For years, finding a Sequoia National Forest Kern River campsite was challenging. You would have to search date-specific availability against each and every campsite. This process took forever and was frustrating because most searches would typically yield unavailability. It was so tedious one of our river guides, Andrew Schwartz, coded a tool for our website that checked Kern River campground availability in real time. (A point of pride was how popular this tool was, it ended up being used in over 10,000 searches and even the LAist.com wrote about it.) Now, Recreation.gov allows you to search a location for everything available, allowing you to quickly find a camping spot.

Try it below: Open one of the links below and simply enter your preferred dates. Don’t move the map or adjust the location. It will search availability on the fly.

• Search Upper Kern campgrounds here
• Search Lake Isabella campgrounds here
• Search Lower Kern campgrounds here

“During quarantine, while they weren’t allowed to lead rafting trips, a few bored guides at Kern River Outfitters learned to code…and they managed to make a website that’s a lot more user friendly than Reserve America…The tool allows users to search open campsites in Sequoia National Forest, near the Kern.“

LAist – Gina Pollack

It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty good

The process isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough. For example, to capture every Sequoia National Forest campsite in the Kern River corridor we have to break out our search parameters into three separate queries, the Upper Kern, Lake Isabella area, and Lower Kern. This is because if we zoom out the map too far, the search results bring up areas that we don’t need, such as campgrounds that are “close” to the Kern River by the bird, but in reality, are quite far.

Privately owned campgrounds are still your best bet

As expected, privately owned campgrounds in Kernville and Lake Isabella offer more amenities and a more comfortable camping experience compared to the campgrounds in Sequoia National Forest. These include electric hookups, flushing toilets, hot showers, and small general stores. While their availability has to be checked individually, a quick call or using their online booking systems is easy enough.