This summer a portion of the L.A. River will be officially opened up for guided kayak tours for the first time. While kayaking tours have occurred in the past without legal permit, the current program, proposed by a coalition of groups is currently under an environmental review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. more ›

There was a few of us who decided to get as close as we could to Arch Rock, one of the symbols of Channel Islands National Park. The waves were breaking dangerously under the 40-foot gateway, but from a couple hundred yards away, it was still a spectacle to watch. Paddling back to the dock at Anacapa Island, I got ahead of our kayking group, but I didn't know how far ahead I was until I heard breathing behind me. And it didn't sound human. more ›

Now with the L.A. River defined as a navigable, there's a movement afloat to make it usable for residents. Today L.A. City Councilmember Ed Reyes, who leads the city's river committee on the river and spearheaded the river revitalization master plan, introduced a motion to establish a boating program. more ›

As seen here yesterday, the first kayaking trip on the L.A. River since it was deemed "navigable" by the federal government was caught on video. Exciting as that is, the legality of holding such an urban adventure is still in a gray area. more ›

It's been done before, but not since the federal government officially declared the L.A. River as navigable, thus under the Clean Water Act. So last week river activists George Wolfe, Joe Linton and others took to a eight-mile portion of the river down the Glendale Narrows between Griffith Park and towards downtown for an inaugural trip. more ›

There's something extremely exciting about this documentary. A group of activists in 2008 went out to Los Angeles River and kayaked it from the Valley to the Ocean--that's about 51 miles--challenging the government's contention that, save for less than four miles, it is not a navigable waterway, therefore ineligible to fall within the Clean Water Act. Here's how the filmmakers describe it: more ›

Heather from the US Army Corps of Engineers was dismayed to hear that her own office had called the LA River not really a river because it wasn't completely navigable. So she got on board the group of folks determined to say it wasn't so by taking a 3-day kayak trip down the river from Canoga Park to the beach. This is Heather's story. more ›

KAYAKING + LA River: Supporters are welcome to watch a group of fearless kayakers navigate the LA River – from the Valley to Long Beach. At 3 pm today, there’s a kick-off ceremony/"launch" at the LA River Headwaters on the overpass @ Owensmouth in Canoga Park. The kayakers will demonstrate to developers and the Army Corps of Engineers that the LA River is a navigable waterway that should be protected and owned by the people of Los Angeles. Here’s a fun fact: our river is one of the most hydraulically modified urban rivers in the world. “Nearly 75 percent of the fifty-two mile long river is enclosed in concrete.” more ›

Hell, this may be illegal, but if the LA River plan is going to crawl upstream at a snail's pace, screw it -- the time to play is now! Not when we're 75 years of age. We caught this father/son urban adventure duo in Sherman Oaks paddling downstream towards Studio City. "Is this a tradition?" we screamed down. "Nope, it's our first time," the dad yelled back. We asked how he came up with... more ›