Paddle The River

We believe that getting people out IN the river is the most visceral and compelling way to create an educated constituency for the Los Angeles River and its watershed. We freely admit to having undertaken numerous unauthorized canoe and kayak trips down the Los Angeles River over the years, most of them under the radar.

However, when the river’s navigability was legally challenged in 2008, we embarked on a very, very public excursion with about a dozen other intrepid souls in order to prove that our much-maligned river is – in every sense of the word - still a river. Ultimately, the EPA concurred.

That trip inspired The River Project to develop an educational boating program for the Los Angeles River so that in the future, all Angelenos would be able to experience the river as a river and come to appreciate it as much as we do.

Ultimately, the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, the MRCA, and the City of Los Angeles got on board - and together, with the blessing of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 'Paddle the LA River' was born.

The pilot season ran from August 13 - September 26, 2011. Tickets sold out within the first 15 minutes. Over the course of 6 weeks we introduced hundreds of people ages 10 to 89 to the wonders of the only completely unpaved reach of the Los Angeles River in the Sepulveda Basin.

Paddling The L. A. River In Kayaks & Canoes from Dailey Pike on Vimeo.

We hope to continue the program in 2012 and beyond, so stay tuned for updates. Our goal for the future is to complete a formal curricula that students and teachers can utilize prior to paddling with us.