L.A. River Kayaking Program to Expand This Summer
After a successful (and award-winning) pilot program last year, kayaking on the Los Angeles River is set to begin this summer -- and this time you might have an easier time scooping up a ticket. Last year, tickets sold out within 10 minutes of availability, not just because of the popularity of the idea, but also since the program was limited to the weekend. Now guided trips down a two-mile stretch in the San Fernando Valley will be expanded to 2,000 tickets (last year it was just 260). Trips will now be offered three times a day, five days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday).
Trips will run through September 29, and a start date for this summer's program will be announced shortly, according to Mike Mena, spokesperson for the L.A. Conservation Corps. This season they will partner with a number of groups, including Friends of the Los Angeles River, to make this happen.
Another program expansion idea in talks has been to add guided tours along the Glendale Narrows section of the river. That idea is not happening yet, but is still on the table for future years.