Whitewater Voyages

Amazing! This company know how to take care of their clients and show them a great time on the river. We had a group of 35 and they made sure each person had a great time. The food was excellent, guides were fun and their private campground was spectacular. If you can, book the overnight trip — we got to sleep out under the stars and see the night sky shift over our heads. Even with the low water level (due to drought) the rapids we got to run were fun and exciting. I can’t recommend them highly enough!
Here we are in action:

These guys were amazing. Chris (the owner) and his crew were all so fun, and great/​informative guides. Due to the drought the river was low, but they were so accommodating in figuring out another way we could go down the river instead of using the rafts (which ended up being inflatable kayaks. They were also insanely helpful with telling us good spots around town and where all the lush/​secluded camp grounds were. I would recommend their tours to anyone, except my enemies because they wouldn’t deserve such greatness :)

Great food, safe and smart guides. They take care of the river and make sure everyone enjoys the trip.

Must be the nicest people on the planet! Took my 9 year old daughter and disabled son. Guide was obviously an expert. ½ day trip actually was a pretty good full day by time we drove to take out and down river, then back to White Water Voyages. Super fun trip and highly recommended. Worth every red cent! I even bought the CD of pics, which was totally over-​priced, but also worth it. THIS IS A MUST DO!

We were in Kernville for a bachelor party. There were 10 guys in our group. I worked with Luther to book our trip. He was very professional and always responded back to emails in a timely manner. We had booked the upper kern for a ½ day trip with rafts but the day before the trip Luther changed our plans for the better. We ended up going down the lower kern with IKs which seated 2 people. Two other staff joined us along with Luther and we had a great time moving down the river. I would definitely do this again!

Absolutely amazing! Outstanding customer service, experienced and friendly crew, so much fun! Absolutely recommend and will be back soon :) good job guys !!!

Took the Lower Kern River trip today. Friendly guides and impressive safety talk. And that’s it?!? All that time and money for just two hours of rafting. Not worth it.

I went with 2 other people on a rafting trip and were so happy with our experience. I am a noob at rafting and I think this class 3 rafting trip was perfect. It was a relaxing trip down the river with some good rapids along the way. The guides were very friendly and very knowledgable. Thank you to all of the guides for the great trip down Kern River. We will definitely come back for more!

Good as gold! That’s how Chris, Luther and Co. at Whitewater Voyages made us feel during our visit to the Kern River. The river guides were not only professional but seasoned (shall we say salty), extremely accommodating and great conversationalists to boot. Not a minute passed where the cares of the world were able to break inside the bubble of our fantastic adventure.
Food: amazing. We couldn’t quite figure out how they were able to provide such amazing meals with such basic accommodations. Clever comes to mind, but falls a few degrees off of center. Tri-​tip, salmon and chicken for dinner, 5 course breakfasts and a spread worthy of 5 Star rating brunch for lunch on the river (OK, not quite that extravagant, but adjusting for the variables, a case could be made).
Camping: a breeze. With the restroom accommodations and the minimalist but «just right» community gear and amenities. Camping was more than pleasant for the well situated tent decks (wooden platforms for tent camping) and creek side location. We lucked out and had a Super Moon, which made for a very enchanting evening at camp.
Two days later, I find myself still floating down the Kern. Thanks for the memories!

This is our second time rafting with Whitewater Voyages on the Lower Kern 2 Day Trip. Although both trips were very different (high water vs. low water, full raft vs. I-​K Canoes, group of friends vs. private tour), both trips were equally outstanding and amazing. We had planned our most recent trip for about a month, but at the last minute a very large group that was to be taking the same trip cancelled on W.V. at the last minute due to a change of plans. This left my husband and I as the only remaining guests on the trip. Rather than not running the trip, because it was logistically and financially very impractical to do so, WV decided to run the trip anyway despite probably barely breaking even, just to deliver us the best customer service in the industry!
First of all, this river is phenomenal — high or low water, if you run it with these outstanding guides, they will make sure that you have a thrilling, memorable, and safe time. Secondly, the guides are all so experienced, professional, friendly, and downright lovable, you’ll know right away that you couldn’t be in better hands. They pull out all the stops for you when it comes to service. Although it’s a thrilling ride and there is some risk in the activity, the guides make you feel like they’re watching out for you every step of the way — whether it’s attention to the safety of every head on your boat or attention to making sure your glass is never low and your stomach is never empty. They pull out every stop in meal prep — which will blow you away in variety, quality, efficiency, presentation, and taste. It is really amazing what kinds of meals these river guys (and gals) can throw together in literally minutes.
The campground is beautiful and so clean. Should you choose a two night trip, you will be so glad that you did! They have handmade wooden platforms all over the campground so your tent/​sleeping mat has a level and clean surface. They have excellent, river-​friendly amenities, including ample seating, covered areas, huge shady trees, large bonfire pit, and on and on. My husband and I camped just a couple feet from the river under a full moon. It was to die for.
I could go on, but trust me, you will love WV and you will remember it for years to come. I should mention that the first WV Kern River trip we went on was 9 years ago, and it was our final trip before having 4 little ones. We have traveled many parts of the world, but we knew that we wanted this trip to be the first trip we went on just the two of us. When I finally felt confident that I was ready to leave them for a weekend, this is exactly what we did. So happy!

Once again, Whitewater Voyages has come through! What a great crew — My friends and I have been doing these Lower Kern rafting day-​trips for several years now and it just gets better every year! The guides are always professional, friendly and most of all SAFE. They do such an amazing job of going above and beyond to make sure we have an awesome day out on the river with their great attitudes and sweet rafting skills. And the food is always really good too! We’re all totally depressed that this year’s trip is over, but we can’t wait for next year! Whitewater Voyages is by far the BEST rafting trip on the river! (Don’t forget to tip your guides, these guys and gals work really hard out there, even though they make it look easy ;)

I was on my back from a solo road trip to Yosemite and detoured to Kernville to check another item off my bucket list: Whitewater Rafting!
I had called WV to check availablity for the next day and Dawn was able to confirm me to join a small group of (4) on a full day trip — score!!! Check in was easy and our group was outfitted with wetsuits, paddling jackets and lifevests. Our guides were Kristen and Chris (Brownie), both were experienced, knowledgeable and safety focused. Following a detailed safety briefing and a thorough review of paddling commands, they took us out rafting. A delicious lunch was also prepared for us and served on the deck of McNally’s where we had a nice view of the river. The whole day was a great experience and here’s a big THANKS to our van driver Sean for taking pictures from the rivers edge using my IPhone.

This was my third time rafting with Whitewater Voyages. The are very safety conscious. They have a very professional staff and are very friendly. The really make it a fun and enjoyable trip. I would highly recommend them.

I had a really pleasant experience with Whitewater Voyages. We were the first group of the season so we didn’t have to pay for parking, yay! Our guides Brian and Adam were really wonderful and knowledgeable. Brian was an excellent guide and navigated us through tricky waters with ease.
I love how they actually prepare your lunch for you and we got to eat fresh sandwiches, juice, chips, and cookies. Two thumbs up for that. The company also provides wetsuits and water jackets which made rafting in ice cold water sooo much more fun. I would recommend bringing your own water shoes though.
We did the Upper Kern one day trip which included about four to five trips down the river. Be prepared to carry your own raft as this is a team effort sport. :)
I really have nothing bad to say about this trip except maybe that it was kind of pricey. The trip cost about 200 a person for one day. However, I would go with this company again as they are professional, accommodating, and you feel safe with them. Brian, if you’re reading this we had a great time and we’re looking forward to Thunder run soon!

My friend and I had originally booked a 2-​day trip with them on the American River but since they didn’t have the requisite 6 people for the boat they asked if we wouldn’t mind getting diverted to the Kern River trip instead. That actually ended up being better for us location-​wise and since they’d be absorbing the slight difference in price (the Kern trip was a little bit more expensive) we said sure. Well my friend and I had a blast! I’ve always wanted to try whitewater rafting and this was a great first experience. The first day was mostly Class III’s with a couple of Class IV’s thrown in, so we could get a chance to work on our paddling and kind of warm up to the whole thing. The weather was perfect – very hot so the water felt amazing when you got splashed or when you jumped in the river for a dip. No need for wetsuits on this trip! For the 2 day trips they load your overnight belongings (clothes, camping gear, toiletries) into a trailer that meets you at the campsite, so all you take with you on the raft is your water bottle, sunscreen, and a waterproof camera. They have a drawstring bag for those items, but I wish I’d brought a bag of my own to put into the larger bag, because when you’re out of the raft for lunch or whatnot carrying around a bunch of loose items was a pain in the butt. I’d also recommend wearing long shorts; your butt/​thighs will get chafed sitting on the raft all day, especially if you get dirt granules between you and the boat. I wore a pair of short board shorts the first day and learned this painful lesson. Second day I wore a pair of quick-​dry hiking capris and they were perfect.
My friend and I had to ride on a different boat each day, so we got to experience two different guides, who were both awesome. The first day we were on our trip leader Ashley’s boat. She was very experienced and was able to minimize our raft getting stuck on rocks and such. On the 2^nd day we were on the boat with a guy named Carn (short for Captain Carnage), whom we also called Red Bear or Oso Rojo. He also had a lot of experience and did a great job of guiding our raft. During the overnight camping portion we got to know both of them pretty well over some wine and drinking games. You can bring your own alcohol, so pack that cooler! It was warm and pleasant enough for us to sleep in the open air, but some people chose to sleep in tents. My friend and I were so stoked to be able to gaze at the stars while falling asleep.
As for the food, they feed you very well. The first day you get lunch and dinner, and everything’s fresh and made from scratch. It’s sandwich buffet for both lunches and for dinner we had a choice of chicken, trip-​tip, salmon or veggie burger. On the morning of the 2^nd day it was a breakfast scramble with sides of bacon and sausage and even pancakes! Watch out for those pesky «meat» bees during meals, though – they sure like to hang out around your food.
Overall, an excellent experience with Whitewater Voyages. They’ve made us a fan of whitewater rafting and we are eager to try it again.

SO MUCH FUUUUNNNN!!! IF YOU GO REQUEST SAGE!!! HE’S THE BEST!
We did the SNAP, CRACKLE, POP Full day. Class III and IV. Well worth it. We drove up from San Diego the night before so we wouldn’t have to leave so early in the morning and stayed at Camp Frandy. (That’ll be a different review)
This was my first time, I’m not a good swimmer, but I’m so ready to do it again! They do a great job in making safety first! And keeping Fun and Exciting right up there with it! Sage was a great guide, and since we were the only boat on our tour we had a safety kayaker, Josh (who was pretty great too).
White Water Voyages is the way to go!

I definitely had a wonderful experience rafting out in Kernville with White Water Voyages! It basically took our group about 2.5 hrs to get there with no traffic coming from downtown LA. Pretty easy to get there, but there is a little mountain driving that got me a little queasy, but overall can’t complain cuz it was all worth the fun. :)
Our group just did a half day trip so that includes 3 runs down the river and our instructor was Bill — he’s amazing! He was really great & friendly in instructing us and since he grew up in the area, he gave lots of interesting tidbits about the area while we rafted… not to mention that he was easy on the eyes. haha :) Totally would recommend doing this with a group of friends — the water was cold, but on a hot summer day, it was so refreshing!
We went on the Saturday of July 4^th weekend and even though it was packed, it was still good fun. The only thing that was a downer were the bathrooms. I think there were only about 3 community showers for the women? So since campers and other rafting companies use the bathrooms, it was a pretty long line.
I recommend taking bottled water with you (you can store them on the raft) and get water shoes! Also, don’t forget to tip the instructors!

Our family of 4 did the 1 day Lower Kern trip on a Wednesday. Class III and IV rapids. One portage. 13 people, 3 rafts in the group. No wetsuits.
Guides were terrific and fun. Led by Felipe, John and April we all had a blast. No mishaps, no flips.
We saw deer, frogs, ducks, lizards, a blue heron and a water snake.
Great lunch, make your own sandwiches, plenty of snacks, trailmix, veggies and cookies.
The jump rock near the end was an added bonus.
Remember to tip your guides!

Just came back from an amazing weekend in Kernville. We went white water rafting on Saturday with White Water Voyages — and everyone had an amazing time.
We had 13 people in our party and decided to do the Dazzler, which is a mix of class three and four rapids. WWV rents out wetsuits and I happily put one on — the water was freezing! After our safety talk, we put on our helmets and life jackets and loaded onto the bus.
We were in three rafts — and our guides were Ernie, Rooney, and Johnny Walker. Everyone loved their guides. They were full of energy and fun for the entire trip.
We only had one guy fall overboard during a rapid and Ernie quickly reacted and pulled him out with ease. He was in the water for maybe 30 seconds.
By the end of our trip, we were cold, exhausted, and sore from rowing but had a great time trading stories about the happenings in each of the rafts.
Our group is already talking about coming back again to try one of their overnight trips. There are a ton of rafting companies on the Kern River and I’m so happy I decided to go with White Water Voyages.

I organized a group of 14 ppl to go whitewater rafting this past weekend and we had a blast! The staff who helped me w/​our reservation was extremely helpful. we each got 15% off as part of a group discount and the b-​day girl (ME) got my trip for free.
On the day of our rafting trip, all our peeps got into 2 rafts with 2 guides. They first taught us the rafting commands since none of us knew the difference between left, right, fwd and back. Pretty sad for our age. I also learned the hard way that paddling in «synchrony» means that you don’t wack your neighbor with your paddle or jab your T-​grip in their face… ouch! Also, splashing your friends in the other boat is fun BUT can get you stuck in a bunch of trees… for a very long time. Holes are cool to look at but even cooler to paddle over and scream while you are at it. Enjoy.