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Owens River

Photos of the Owens River and potential put-ins and take-outs around Lone Pine and Bishop.  This section is under development as we research the "kayak-ability" of the Owens.

July 2009 - we are updating these pages and rearranging them to make the various runs easier to find.  Links on the left of the page will be added so you can take a look at the different paddling areas directly.

First update is the Collins Road to Hwy 6/Big Pine run - access through the link on the left side of page.

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Lower Owens Paddle on 4 January 2009

This is the area just south of Lone Pine south of the Highway to Death Valley.  It was cold.  Ice on some quieter areas where the current is negligible.  Winter features dead Tule reeds, but since those reeds are "down" for winter, great views of the Sierra with snow.

Looking west. Lone Pine Peak and Mt. Whitney are in clear view.

Yes, that is ice along the surface of the river, off from the primary flow.

 

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Photos from 14 January 2009

The following show the Owens just upstream from the Hwy 168 Bridge, just north of Big Pine (NOTE, this is Hwy 168 east out of Big Pine, not Hwy 168 west out of Bishop).  A good take-out spot. 

Looking upstream.

Looking downstream, just above the Hwy 168 bridge.

Looking upstream..although here we are looking west.

Parking area just north of the Hwy 168 bridge, north of Big Pine.

 

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Photos from 1 January 2009

Looking south at river from the Black Rock area.

Looking Northeast/East at the Owens from the Black Rock area. January 2009.

Looking east across the Owens, just south of Mazourka Canyon Rd, south of Billy Lake. Jan 2009.

Looking north along the Owens, just south of Mazourka Canyon Rd. Not "paddlable" as more a pond here blocked by tule reeds to both sides of photo.

 

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Lower Owens Paddle Update - 29 June 2008

Several of us paddled the lower Owens in an area between Hwy 136 and the pump out station.  In reference to the photos and maps further below on this page, we would advise heading north from the put-in shown on the map.  The floating Tule "dams" are not as bad as our May 11 paddle, and we were able to get far further heading upstream than we were just a few weeks ago.  The area we did need to break through only took 3 "rams" with our bow to open up.  About 5 minutes south of the put-in, part of the channel narrowed and the current picked up - looks passable but we decided to take the easier paddle north. Although we ran out of time on this particular day, I suspect you can now reach the Hwy 136 bridge paddling upstream from the put-in.  Should be able to update this in about a week and let you know for sure :) 

Rana at the put-in. Boat is a Perception Swifty rotomold.

The put-in, take out site. With water, note additional growth in the parking area compared with prior photos.

Rana playing around the dead growth. Sort of a poor man's rock garden :)

Photo looking downstream, north of the put-in.

Rana arriving at the put-in, take-out site.

Photo courtesy Rana of Lone Pine.

Photo courtesy Rana of Lone Pine.

Photo courtesy Rana of Lone Pine.

Photo courtesy Rana of Lone Pine.

Photo courtesy Rana of Lone Pine.

Photo courtesy Rana of Lone Pine.

Photo courtesy Rana of Lone Pine.

Photo courtesy Rana of Lone Pine.

Photo courtesy Rana of Lone Pine.

Photo courtesy Rana of Lone Pine.

 

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Yes, you can paddle the lower Owens!

Photos of paddle from May 11, 2008, showing some of the areas appearing in the second photo gallery in this section.  We put in about 1/2 way between the Hwy 136 bridge and the pump station.  This is the lower part of the lower Owens, south of Lone Pine.  Most of river is passable, with a few areas requiring a few moments of clearing dead tules that have floated and stuck to log snags - we were able to do this without getting out of the kayaks.  One spot downstream from the put-in was blocked, but we could have gotten out and walked around if we wanted to get wet - I suspect with a bit more flow (or a bit of river rise and fall), the blockage would break.

Put-in location, very roughly half way between the Hwy 136 and the pump station. Looking west towards Sierra and Horseshoe Meadow Rd in distance.

Heading upstream from put-in.

A few areas are blocked, but most are passable by either paddling over a short distance, or moving reeds by hand.

Enjoying the lower Owens.

Looking downstream.

Depth of river is fine for kayaking. This shows an area where you can kayak over the tules. Cliff in water for unknown reason :)

Boat in photo is a 2008 model Dragonfly single made by Advanced Elements.

Looking downstream. Boat is a Hurricane Santee 116 Sport.

Heading upstream. Current is slight in the area, so you can paddle either up or down river from your put-in.

Heading south from the put-in site.

Another view, heading south (downstream).

The drawback. Downstream a ways from the put-in, we found this pile of dead, floating tules blocking the channel. It may or may not be gone shortly.

 

Rough map below shows area of Lower Owens for the 2 photo galleries directly above and below the map.  Downtown Lone Pine is just off the top left of the map.

Lower Owens - photos for the gallery below taken May 10, 2008 and show what is truly the lower Owens as it heads south from the Hwy 136 bridge (i.e. the Lone Pine to Death Valley Road), to the pump station that represents the end of the river before it is diverted back to the LA Aqueduct.  While we did not kayak this portion of the river on this trip, it appears passable, at least for smaller craft.

To reach the northern area of this run, head east from Lone Pine on Hwy 136.  Go past the bridge over to Owens, and start looking for Dolomite Loop Road on the left (roughly 2.5 miles from the turn at Hwy 395).  Opposite Dolomite Loop Road, on south side of highway, there is a dirt road - that road will take you to the put-in shown below.  Note there is very little current along this stretch of the river, so you can paddle both upstream and downstream from the put-in, you do not need a shuttle.

The dirt road continues towards the pump station.  You can access Hwy 395 through a wide dirt road just to the south of the pump station - it leads you to the Boulder Creek RV Park.  There are cattle guards on the roads, but no gates to open and close.

 

Looking downstream, with Sierra on right.

Looking upstream, northwesterly, with Sierra on left.

Sierra in background looking upstream.

Looking downstream

A suitable put in location. Road access up to water.

Another look at potential put in location.

Dirt road runs alongside the river a fair ways.

End of the Owens River, looking north.

End of the Owens River, looking south at the pump-out station. For lack of a better word, one might call this a "forebay" of Owens Lake.

 

 

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Below - Photo gallery showing the Owens just north of Collins Road.  Collins Road is one road south of Warm Springs, so this take out would give one a longer run coming down from Hwy 6 north of Bishop.  Note small class 1 1/2 to 2 "rapid" - photos show about the entire extent of that rapid.  Photos from May 3, 2008.

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Below, May 1 2008.  Owens River at Mazourka Canyon Road.  This is east of Independence, south end of town.  While river is flowing, note Tules growing up again and rather green.  Tules appear to be blocking access north of the road/bridge.

 

 

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Kayaking the Owens - 4 August 2007

US Hwy 6 Bridge to Warm Springs Road Bridge

Putting in at Hwy 6, just north of Bishop was no problem.  Lots of parking and places to find a spot to launch your kayak.  Warm Springs, at the end of this day's run, was also fine for a take-out or put-in location.  Very roughly halfway between is the Line Street Bridge.  Line St would have been ok as a take out on this day IF the river level had been up about another foot or so - as it was, it required a slippery climb up short river banks, not easy.  There were several locations along our paddle where you could rest for a bit, these gravelbars were very roughly spaced at about 20 minute intervals, so there are stretches of the river where stopping ashore would be a pain.

Arguably more scenic is the stretch of the Owens from Line St Bridge to Warm Springs Road Bridge.

 

Hwy 6 put-in, one of several suitable areas.

At the Hwy 6 put-in.

Put-in area just south of the Hwy 6 bridge. Several areas, worth looking another hundred yards downstream from Bridge.

Kayaks ahead of us AND behind us :)

John heading downstream, shortly after putting-in at Hwy 6.

Current on day we paddled was roughly 3-3/12 knots

Nice sandbar/gravelbar provided resting stop, between Hwy 6 and Line St. Bridge.

Dan taking off from the sandbank/breakstop area.

Dan about to head down river

Parking just north of Warm Springs Road Bridge - photo from take-out location.

At the take-out, Warm Springs Road

 

 

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Map and photos in this section show a potential take out area BELOW Aberdeen Station Road. 

IMPORTANT!!!!!  There is a map on the http://www.inyowater.org/LORP/map_page.htm website, showing that launching at Aberdeen for a trip south might be a bad idea.  Map mentioned shows the LA Aquaduct intake below Aberdeen Station Road, with the "Release Point" (presumable where water is allowed back into the lower Owens) right below that.  We have not yet looked, but appears to be prudent to find a launch point just below the release point!

If you use Google, go to maps, then the Satellite photo, it appears that Goodale Road, just below Aberdeen Station Road, would provide access to the lower Owens - that said, we have not looked at that location as of 23 July 2007, so can not advise if Goodale Road south is actually a usable part of the river.

UPDATE July 28, 2007  We were able to paddle roughly 1 hour downstream from a put-in just south of Goodale Road BUT once just over an hour paddling time downstream, reeds/tules were too thick to attempt passage any further.  SO....if you want to try this area, might be better to put-in at Black Rock Springs area, and paddle "uphill" to see how far you can get - we will have updates shortly.

Photos from July 28th 2007 paddle:

Until the river chokes up with reeds/tules, this was the average width on the lower Owens south of Goodale Rd.

Below Goodale Road, putting-in. Accessed via the dirt road following the "eastern-most" power lines going north from Black Rock Springs Road area.

Starting to choke up. Portions of the lower Owens were great, other portions became un-navigable.

Ron along one of the wider portions of the lower Owens.

Portions from Goodale south had decent flows and width. But boy, there are a LOT of exceptions!

There are a few "false" channels. Fortunately, this one was only a few feet divided from the main flow of the river.

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We have not kayaked this portion yet to check it out, (i.e. Aberdeen Station Road and south to the take out shown on map below), but if it is doable (see warning above!), would add something in the order of an additional 8 miles or so below the take out at Aberdeen Station Road.  Dirt road off of Black Rock Springs Road.  Dashed line shows what we believe to be the alternate route - translation, map shows a road to the north of the "lake" (a marsh), although our GPS mapping software showed us on the dirt road not shown to the south (i.e. the line with the dashes).  Distance along HWY 395 from Aberdeen Station Road, south to the turnoff at Black Rock Springs Road is roughly 5.5 miles.  South of the take out area marked, it appears that for practical purposes, the river is not kayakable at the moment.

Photos below in this section were taken on 20 July 2007.

Parking area and potential take-out, looking north/upstream.

Looking upstream from the parking area

Looking downstream

Looking east

Looking downstream - river at this point narrows and has multitude of snags, etc

Photos taken at the map location above marked "Parking Area" and Take Out". Note river is new, old dirt road 4wd tracks still on both river sides.

 

       

The two photos above are taken from the area on the map above shown as "Photo Turn Off A".  Left photo is view of Black Rock Springs Road, northeast and not far from HWY 395 -  note dirt road at right center of photo.  Photo on right shows detail of the dirt road leading east.

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Kayaking the Owens, 19 July 2007

Elna Road to Aberdeen Station Road

Elna Road is south of Big Pine.  Traveling north of Independence on HWY 395, it is the very first road to the right where the highway goes from one lane each direction to two lanes each direction.  There is also a sign noting that you have reached the end of the daytime vehicle headlights required section of HWY 395.  From the north (Big Pine), turn off is right before the highway narrows into one lane each direction.

Put-in is just east of the DWP house on Elna (there is a sign that points to fishing access, so you turn right as you reach the house).

4 kayaks made the paddle, lasting just over 3 hours, and roughly 6.9 river miles.

Take-out is about 100 yards north of the Aberdeen Station Road bridge.  There is an area to park and easy access for kayaks here.  Do not make the mistake we did and park right at the bridge - river banks are steep here, slippery, and the south side of the bridge features a barbed-wire fence.

For car shuttle purposes (current is too strong to return to your put-in unless you are a masochist), distances are as follows:

Take-out at Aberdeen Station Road bridge to HWY 395 is 8/10ths of a mile.  Then 3.4 miles north on HWY 395 to Elna Road.  Then east on Elna Road to the put-in area, which is very roughly 1/3 mile.

Snags are not bad, and virtually all are easy to avoid.  There was one exception.  Roughly 3/4 down on our trip we encountered a very long log/tree that had fallen - it was floating loose in the river, but held in place for the moment by a tangle of growth on the western bank.  Facing downstream, we had to snug right up to the left bank of the river, where there was about 35" or so of clearance - without that clearance we would have been forced to paddle "over" a portion of the log that was awash.  Of course, since the log was sitting there "loose", it might well have moved elsewhere downstream by the time you read this.

Parking area at take-out site.

Looking east from the take-out site, note before you turn south (right) to the bridge, river banks get higher.

Looking west, northwest from the take-out site.

Looking south from the take-out site.

View, looking south & downstream from the bridge at Aberdeen Station Road.

Photos below were taken between Elna Road (just below Tinemaha Resv. Dam) and Aberdeen Station Road bridge.  Thanks to Ron, Tom, Barbara, and Mike for the great company!

Put-in area, dirt road leads a short distance from Elna Road to the river - it is obvious, not "hidden", easy to find.

Kayaks in the water, ready to head downstream.

Bow pointed downstream. Current was roughly 1 3/4 to 2.25 knots along the stretch of the river that we kayaked.

Owens was surprisingly wide in areas.

Looking east, Inyo Mountains in the background.

Wish this were an exotic Water Buffalo, but this is your basic cattle.

You will criss-cross power line during a portion of the paddle. The take out has one of these poles at the bridge.

It is possible to rest in shade during the paddle.

 

 

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More new photos, of actual kayaking on the Lower Owens River, from July 11, 2007.  Photos immediately below were taken from and paddling north of the Railroad Bridge Support, shown on the map elsewhere on this page.  This is no doubt the very first Advanced Frame kayak ever to paddle this part of the Lower Owens River.  Maybe even one of first kayaks in this portion of the revived river?

Put in, by the RR bridge support shown on map further down on page.

Advanced Frame inflatable kayak ready to go, with the Eastern Sierra, AND Mt. Whitney in background.

Heading upriver, facing west towards Mt. Whitney.

Another view towards Whitney.

River narrows, passage is right ahead of the bow, where we will make an "S" turn and turn northbound.

Portions of the river are wider than you would think!

Bow pointed north, upriver.

Paddling north, mountains to the right belong to the Inyo mountain range.

Facing north, Inyo range dead ahead.

Ah....a lot of tule (or whatever) will eventually give way to the river. Current flowing full here, "open" water not to far through this growth.

Heading southbound back towards our put-in.

And just south of our put-in...again, river will find its way through the growth. You can "float" through this, but...wear bug repellent!

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Photos below were taken just north of Lone Pine Narrow Gauge Road on June 27th, 2007.  This is on the north side of Lone Pine.  Dirt roads access this area and follow along most of the river or the bluff areas above.

 

Looking in a westerly direction towards the Sierra. Structure on right are remains of railway bridge crossing the Owens.

Looking towards Mt. Whitney, this is the channel between the former railway bridge supports.

Looking in a southerly direction from the railway bridge area.

Looking southeast from railway bridge area. River still trying to find its way - this dead ends, with main flow to Owens Lake to right of photo.

View overlooking Owens River, slowly finding a new channel. View from Series B area. Looking in a southerly direction.

View from the bluffs, just north of Lone Pine Narrow Gauge Road. Series B.

Location of photo taken from area marked Series B.

More views, showing Owens trying to find where it wants to flow. Series B photo.

At Lone Pine Narrow Gauge Road, looking north. Good news - there is water. Bad news - you must portage across the street.

Looking south from Lone Pine Narrow Gauge Road.

Several areas of the lower Owens will need portages across the roads. LP Narrow Gauge Road shown.

 

 

 

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Photos in the series below taken July 11, 2007, at Manzanar.  Just a bit east of the old airport (disused but look both ways, still a good landing area in an emergency).  Accessed via Manzanar Rewards Road (sign on east side of HWY 396 says "Manz Rewards" Rd.

           

Both photos above are looking south.  The north view is blocked with tules, etc.

 

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The photos below were taken from the Owens River bridge at Highway 136.  Highway 136 starts just south of Lone Pine, at Hwy 395 and the Inter-Agency Visitor Center, and is the road from Lone Pine to Keeler and Death Valley National Park.  Photos were taken on February 3, 2007 to show flow on that date. Before a 40 cfs rate was released near Independence as part of the Inyo Court orders against the LA DWP in late 2006, this same area of the river was dry as a bone.

Above - Looking in a northerly direction from the bridge.  Water is roughly about 15 ft wide here.  Current is slight, although in part may be due to the river also soaking up a lot of water in the ground for a bit.  As the last 2 photos in this set of 3 shows, another reason might be the blockage that is visible to the south of the bridge.  A small kayak (10 foot range) would be able to navigate at least a little ways to the north.  (We will check river flow closer to and north of Lone Pine later during Feb 2007 and report back on this page.

Above & Below - Two views, both looking south (direction of Owens Lake) at the same bridge - note the "log-jam" of reeds and other growth.  Water is starting to get through and accumulate, but for obvious reasons, can't contemplate a kayak run past the 136 bridge at this time.  On the other hand, at least we have water flowing in the lower Owens again!

 

 

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Photo above, and the 5 photos below, were taken mid-April 2006.  Location is a the US HWY 6 bridge, several miles northeast of Bishop.  Ample parking off the highway.

   

   

 

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The photos below were taken due east of Bishop (roughly about 3 miles from the intersection of Hwy 395 & Line St.), along Line St.  Ample parking off highway in area the DWP has set aside for access to the river.

 

Above - Facing in a northwesterly direction, with the Sierra in background.

 

Above - Two photos facing in an easterly direction.

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The photos below were taken at the bridge at Warm Springs Road - travel on HWY 395 south of Bishop, and just a short distance past the golf course at south end of town, you drive east on Warm Springs Road.

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Below are three photos of the Lower Owens, at the Pleasant Valley Campground, northwest of Bishop, a mile or so off of HWY 395.  This is just below the Pleasant Valley Reservoir.   We have not yet run this part of the river, so can not vouch for it -  if clear, might be a nice run from here down to the take-out on Hwy 6, just north of Bishop.  Photos from August 2008.