Second L.A. River Paddle Program Invites Sign Ups

Two groups will offer tours down a stretch of the Los Angeles River this summer.

Trips will be offered seven days a week, starting Saturday, July 21, through at least mid-September.

L.A. River Expeditions, headed by kayaker and conservationist George Wolfe, got notice from the Army Corps of Engineers late last week that it could run trips Sundays and Mondays.

Overwhelming demand for those trips created computer issues almost immediately Monday night when registration opened.

Click here to view the full trip listing.

Paddle the L.A. River, a consortium headed by the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, recently got word that it could run trips the other five days of the week.

Registration for those trips opens at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, July 17.

See registration link here.

The combined efforts of the two paddle operators will allow for more than 2,000 trips, compared to 260 in 2011.

The two-mile route runs through the San Fernando Valley, southeast from Balboa Boulevard in Encino through the Sepulveda Dam area.

Both tour groups feature players from the first season of legal tours along the river in 2011.

The LA Conservation Corps is working with the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority, Friends of the Los Angeles River, Urban Semillas, and The River Project.

Meanwhile, L.A. River Expeditions has partnered with the Fresno-based San Joaquin River Stewardship Program.

Wolfe says this will allow for a more state-wide approach to telling the river's story.

“Paddling programs are a great way to connect citizens with their local river, create stewardship, and teach the importance of water resources for California's future," San Joaquin River Stewardship Program Director Steve Starcher said in a news statement.

Paddlers and environmentalists in Los Angeles hope so, with plans to revitalize a stretch that runs from Los Feliz to Echo Park also developing.