Owens River in California

Trip Overview

The run took about 3 hours of paddle time (@200 cfs). Thick willows on either side of the bank the whole run. A very narrow river, but deep relative to its width. Area gets hot and windy in the summer. Shuttle via pavement is about 11 1/2 miles (map shows a shorter shuttle via part of a dirt road). Beautiful mountains. There are other put-in's and take-outs in the area if you want to do a different or longer drift/paddle. This drift is also listed in Ann Dwyer's excellent book "Easy Waters of California".

The town of Bishop is a beautiful place. A desert setting surrounded by spectacular mountains jutting up from the valley floor. In addition to the paddling, the area offers many other forms of recreation. Bicycling, fishing, hot springs, hiking and golfing. Death Valley is about an hour or so away. The best breads that I've ever tasted are located here. Don't miss a stop at "Erick Schat's Bakery". If you're a bread lover, this is the place!!!

We "discovered" the place while on our way to Death Valley last year. We've gone back a couple of times since then, and plan on making it a regular weekend get-a-way (live in the Reno/sparks, NV area).

Accommodations:

There are lots of hotels and restaurants in the town of Bishop.

Directions:

Located on HWY 395 in Southeastern Calif.

Launches:

Put-in for this particular where the US-6 hwy crosses the Owens River (just outside of Bishop). Take out: Warm springs road (just south of Bishop).