Paddle Articles

CP Explorations - Santa Fe Dam

CP Explorations - Santa Fe DamCali Paddlers are known for their passion of exploration. A desire to paddle our waters, and pay respects to the amazing wildlife and nature that lives in our waterways. Thank you to Bret Warner from Stand up to Alzheimer’s for exploring this great state and sharing new areas to paddle. -C.P.

If you live in Southern California then chances are you have been stuck in afternoon traffic on the 210 and passed by the massive Miller/Coors factory. It is, after all, hard to miss its mammoth containers lining the freeway that proudly bear the companies name and logo. Regardless of any possible beer snobbery, I could see how this factory typifies the urban sprawl that lies east of LA. What also typifies inland SoCal, however, is that there is a nature escape right behind the factory where you can easily forget that you are in the middle of the city.

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CP Explorations - Lake Perris

CP Explorations - Lake PerrisOften times when paddling the lakes of Inland Southern California you will be one of the only paddlers in the water. If you go early enough there is a good chance you could have some of the lakes to yourself.  Lake Perris is where I go when I need respite from this solitude. It is by no means like Mission Bay on a Sunday afternoon where one could jump their way to shore along all the 32” wide rental SUPS, but even when I have gone to Lake Perris at 6:00 am in 30/40 degree weather I have seen other craft on the water.  It is a meeting place for the long established Valley Wide Kayak Club, a super friendly group that usually does a 5ish mile paddle there on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. It is the only Inland Lake I have ever seen an OC-1 on, or someone on a racing SUP, at least besides myself. Additionally, it is decidedly less windy than any of the mountain lakes like Silverwood or Big Bear...

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CP Exlorations: Big Bear Lake

Paddle Big Bear

Join us as we explore one of Southern California's most scenic lakes to paddle. Nestled among beautiful alpine backdrops and with a wonderful town beside it to quelch your post-paddle hunger, this SoCal Inland lake is as special as any place we have found. Take a gander with us the multiple launch spots, and great inside tips to ensure you have a great paddle experience here!

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Cali Paddler Explorations - Lake Elsinore

CP Exlorations - Lake Elsinore

Cali Paddlers are known for their passion of exploration. A desire to paddle our waters, and pay respects to the amazing wildlife and nature that lives in our waterways. Please enjoy this series of articles and broaden your paddling horizons. ~C.P.

Lake Elsinore is the largest natural freshwater body in Southern California.  It is not a reservoir nor is it created by engineering.  Since it is owned by the city of Lake Elsinore, it’s main purpose is recreation.

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Cali Paddler Explorations - Lake Gregory

Cali Paddler is stoked to continue its exploration and mapping of amazing places in our state to paddle. We welcome back Team Writer Bret Warner as he explores this alpine  lake in Southern California the mountains ... come paddle Lake Gregory!

Paddle Lake GregoryLocated in the town of Crestline, which is about halfway between Silverwood Lake and Lake Arrowhead, Lake Gregory is the quintessential peaceful mountain lake. The majority of the shore is lined with trees, which adds to the mountain aesthetic, and also severely cuts down on the wind. No Motor boats are allowed so the elusive glassy water you see on magazine covers and Facebook/Instagram is a consistent reality here. In addition everyone just seems stoked to be out playing in the mountains; just walking out to the water the good mood of everyone is infectious.

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Race Recap - Big Bear PaddleFest - Girls-SUPing & Camping!

Cali Paddler is stoked to be able to share this story from Maggie Adams of Blue Paddle SUP who recently went up to Big Bear PaddleFest and got to enjoy the race and the surrounding package. Check it out!

How many girls do you know want to go camping and SUP racing?! Well I know several who did at the Big Bear PaddleFest.  This race is held annually on Big Bear Lake in Big Bear Lake, California. This year was a very meaningful & emotional race for several of us because we had recently lost our good paddle friend Ray Noose to cancer. He attempted to do the 20K race last year, but they had to cancel it do to stormy conditions. 

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Cali Paddler Explorations - Puddingstone Reservoir, Bonelli Park

CP Explorations - Puddingstone ReservoirNestled Northeast of the 10 and 57 junction Bonelli Park serves as an excellent escape from the inland urban sprawl, even though it is in the middle of all of it.  Join us on this Cali Paddler Exploration with Bret as he finds a little inland piece of magic and shares with us all the ins and outs, tips and tricks, and whatever else you might need to know before pushing off.

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Cali Paddler Explorations - Silverwood Lake

Cali Paddler Explorations - Silverwood LakeCali Paddlers are known for their passion of exploration. A desire to paddle our waters, and pay respects to the amazing wildlife and nature that lives in our waterways. Thank you to Bret Warner for sharing one of his favorite areas to paddle, as well as how traveling inland can lead to as good as any paddle along our coastlines.

With thirteen miles of shoreline, many of which are either off limits to boats or are low speed areas, there is plenty of space for longer, mileage building paddles, as well as plenty of beach space for a more leisurely outing.

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California's Best Places to Paddle - The Bucket List of Top Paddles

Best places to paddle in CaliforniaThe 7 Wonders of the (Cali Paddler) World! We are big fans of paddling in our amazing state. And over time, we have found there to be certain paddles that are so amazing, that everyone should have them on their bucket list. So, with New Year's resolutions and inspiration always being shared, we decided to come up with this list.

The places listed are amazing, and something only paddlers can experience. For each one we reached out to a local expert in the region to get tips and insight so that when you launch to check it off your list, you have a positive experience. Enjoy, and be sure to thank each person below and visit their websites.

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