‘Spectacular water conditions’ expected to draw weekend, holiday crowds to the Russian River

Russian River Adventures owner Larry Laba — headed for retirement at season’s end — is jazzed, and not just because he’ll soon be on permanent vacation.

After three years of drought, last winter’s rains have restored the Russian River, providing a refreshing flow of cool, clear water high enough that folks who rent his canoes and kayaks can paddle downstream without hitting low spots, like they did in seasons past.

“What a way to go out,” the Healdsburg business owner said. “This is the best water conditions I’ve seen at this time of year.”

And just in time.

After a cool start to the season, high temperatures and holiday cheer are expected to drive crowds of revelers to the river this weekend, jamming beaches and sending folks down river in boats and on rafts.

The water is flowing well but not so swiftly that it’s overly dangerous. And with Independence Day on the horizon and all three seasonal dams in place, public beaches will be busy and the water ripe for recreation.

“The water is a really nice temperature,” said Bert Whitaker, director of Sonoma County Regional Parks. “It’s flowing 25%-30% above normal. It’s a higher flow, but still has that tranquil feel.”

High winter flows during repeated rainstorms also churned up lots of sediment, leaving deposits in new places and altering the river bank a bit in some places. But it also scoured the weeds from river beaches and flushed out the river. Now it’s settled, the water is clear and the beaches broader.

“It just feels like a rejuvenation,” said John Menth, a teacher, lifeguard and owner of Russian River Paddle Boards.

“It’s really nice to feel that the water is here, and that there’s a lot of it,” he said. “It looks good. … It feels really cleansing.

“I pinch myself that this is my backyard.”

The usual caution around water is still needed, of course. And parents of young children, especially, are urged to keep careful watch.

“The river’s definitely moving faster than years past,” said Ilana Stoelting, supervising ranger for county park’s river beaches.

To help, the park service has resumed its seasonal “loaner” life jacket program, with stands at five popular beaches in Healdsburg and Forestville allowing visitors to borrow a life vest for the day, and then return it when they’re through. Life jackets are stocked at Del Rio Woods, Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach, Steelhead Beach, Forestville River Access and Sunset Beach.

Park personnel also will be roving the beaches, on patrol, though the park system is still hiring lifeguards for the season, Whitaker said.

“Now that all the seasonal dams are in, it’s a little bit more slowed down, but it’s definitely deeper and colder than years past,” Stoelting said.

At this time last year, the Russian River north of the junction with Dry Creek, through which Lake Sonoma contributes water, was flowing at a rate below 40 cubic feet per second.

The lower river, at Hacienda Bridge, was below 50 cubic feet per second.

But reserves in Lakes Mendocino and Sonoma mean there’s more available water to send downstream to augment diminishing natural flows. The Russian River on Thursday was flowing at 183 cfs at the Hacienda Bridge.

The current has been strong enough, especially where the river narrows for an S-curve west of Forestville, that Burke’s Canoe Trips has been shuttling customers to the lower river reaches near Guerneville for paddling trips, just “to make sure they are welcoming even to beginners,” owner Linda Burke said.

Burke said she expected this weekend — after one more check — to rent boats for the full 10-mile run from Burkes’ input off River Road near Mirabel all the way to Guerneville, where clients can catch a shuttle back.

“By choice, we’re really known to be very, very safety oriented,” Burke said, “and with that said, in years when we get excessive water in the winter, we hold back, allowing the river to warm up and clear up.

“Certain parts of the river have S-turns and curves and bends, and it’s in those areas that we watch it closely, because if there’s too much water coursing through it may make it tricky for some people,” she said.

Said Whitaker, “It is actually spectacular water conditions right now.”

And even though the flow rate will continue to decline until it reaches a stable level for the season, it will remain deeper and faster than during recent drought.

The state has authorized minimum instream flows of 125 cfs in the upper river and, in the lower river, 70 cfs.

But Don Seymour, deputy chief engineer at Sonoma Water, said levels are unlikely to get that low and probably would hover closer to 120 cfs at Hacienda Bridge in late summer.

Dams at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville and Vacation Beach between Guerneville and Monte Rio, as well as Healdsburg Memorial Beach, back up the river enough to deepen the water for boating and swimming.

“The water levels are great,” Laba said. “The swimming holes are great. Everybody’s just having a great time.”

Stoelting said visitors to public beaches should be prepared to arrive early and have a Plan B, in the event that parking lots are full.

The Regional Park River Shuttle also runs weekends through Labor Day, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., from the El Molino High School campus at 7050 Covey Road in Forestville to Steelhead Beach Regional Park and Sunset Beach River Park.

All-day tickets are $5, though kids 18 and younger ride free.

Purchase tickets and get more information at SoCoParks.Org/Shuttle.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan (she/her) at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.