Russian River float launch site, looking downriver.
The 7th Annual SCCA RUSSIAN RIVER FLOAT took place on August 20th, 2015.
We paddled canoes, provided by SOAR, 6.5 miles down the Russian River’s Middle Reach, from below the confluence with Dry Creek to Wohler Bridge. This is an intimate, hard-to-access part of the river, home to abundant birds and wildlife. We saw 2 or 3 Great Blue Herons, many Kingfishers, and violet-green swallows, plus fish in the river.
This year we also saw fire-fighting tankers circling as they prepared to land at Sonoma County airport.
It was a beautiful day: the River was low, and fog retreated so the usual upriver breezes dropped, allowing us an easy paddle downriver.Pausing to enjoy self-provided sack dinners, we heard about invasive species and the impacts of river bank armoring projects from Don McEnhill, the Russian Riverkeeper.
