Rock Gardening

Mendocino Kayaking in 2020

Wahoo!  It's time to get excited about kayaking in Mendocino County.

Grab your calendar and let's plan to paddle and play in 2020!

Liquid Fusion Kayaking is an owner/operated instructional kayak company based in Fort Bragg, California. We teach sea kayaking, whitewater river kayaking, surf kayaking, rock gardening, and guide wildlife and nature history tours. If you haven’t kayaked in our Mendocino Waters, NOW is the time to make plans to get here. If you have kayaked in Mendocino before, then you know how awesome it is. Let us help you plan a new kayak adventure and help you share it with your family and friends.

Winter and Spring Mendocino Kayaking

Private Kayak Lessons

In the winter months, we are teaching kayak rolling and private sea, whitewater, and surf kayak lessons. This is also the best time of year to catch us in the office for planning adventures.

Kayak roll lesson

Whitewater Kayaking in Mendocino County

In the spring, Mendocino County’s Eel River is running. We teach classes and guide trips on the Eel. The Eel River is a gem in the spring with gorgeous, wilderness scenery. The Eel River offers lots of fun rapids and options for Class II and Class III whitewater and multi-day whitewater trips. Check out our Mendocino Whitewater Kayak Adventures.

Whitewater Kayaking on Mendocino County's Eel River

Sea Kayak Classes and Mendocino Sea Kayak Club

In the late spring, kayakers can get ready for summer kayaking with our sea kayak classes and introduction to kayaking lessons. The Mendocino Coast is a beautiful place to build your sea kayaking skills. Join us for a private lesson, weekend class, or our Mendocino Sea Kayak Club. We guide sea kayak tours as well but recommend waiting until summer and fall when ocean conditions are usually best and sea bird nesting and seal pupping season is over.

Mendocino Sea Kayak Classes

Summer Mendocino Kayaking

Summer and early fall are typically the best seasons for kayaking on the Mendocino Coast.

Sea kayaking out of Noyo Harbor into the ocean

Kayaking on the Noyo River

Spring and summer kayaking on the Noyo River delights all ages and abilities.  Treat yourself and your family and friends to a Noyo Meander where you will paddle under the lush canopy of the riparian and redwood forest to a song bird symphony.  Our Noyo Meander is an idea first kayak trip.  If you want to try out kayaking or get a friend or family member hooked on kayaking, do a Noyo Meander with us.

Family kayaking fun on the Mendocino Coast

Whitewater Ocean Kayaking

Are you looking for a unique, Mendocino adventure?  If you are adventuresome, able to swim, and willing to get wet – Whitewater of the Sea is a one of a kind ocean kayaking adventure that will rock your world!  In 3 hours, we teach you basic ocean kayaking skills and guide you to kayak and play among the whitewater, waves, and rock gardens of the Mendocino Coast.  Conditions permitting, we will also kayak into sea caves.  This is a super fun kayaking adventure to share with your adventuresome friends and family members.

Mendocino Whitewater Ocean Kayaking

Mendocino Coast Sea Kayaking

If you want to try out sea kayaking without getting your feet wet, check out our Noyo Sea Kayak Tour.  This tour encompasses multiple ecosystems as we paddle on the Noyo River Estuary through the estuary, through the harbor, and out into the ocean.  We have several options for this trip – including joining one of our special tours and paddling your own kayak or a kayak tandem with a friend.  Or you can book a private Noyo Sea Kayak tour and customize the experience – including the option to ride in the front of a tandem sea kayak paddled by a guide.

Sea kayaking in Fort Bragg's Noyo Bay

The Mendocino Coast is a great place to learn to sea kayak and to build your sea kayaking skills.  LFK’s Cate Hawthorne and Jeff Laxier are internationally renowned sea kayak instructors.  They are the ideal instructors for building basics or learning kayak skills for rock gardens or surf.  Check out Liquid Fusion Kayaking’s Art of Sea Kayaking Mendocino Series that includes focused rock gardening and surf classes.  Or join LFK’s Mendocino Sea Kayak Club for ongoing learning and fun.  Custom and private sea kayak lessons and Mendocino sea kayak tours are also available.

Kayaking Mendocino Sea Caves

Fall Sea Kayaking on the Mendocino Coast

Fall is one of the best months for sea kayaking on the Mendocino Coast. We have a bit of flexibility in our schedule for custom sea kayak tours and adventures in the fall – Mendo Your Way!  Grab your calendar and let’s schedule a magical Mendocino sea kayak adventure.

Mendocino sea kayak rock gardening

We are excited about 2020 and look forward to sharing the waters, wildlife, and wonders of Mendocino with you.  Let’s plan an adventure together!

Cheers, Cate and Jeff

Mendocino Kayaking Fun Specialists - Jeff and Cate

Whitewater of the Sea

Ocean kayaking on the Mendocino Coast of California is amazing.

On super calm days, you can explore miles of rocky coastline and sea caves. BUT - the truth is that super calm days are few and far in between. When developing a tour to share the magic of ocean kayaking on the Mendocino Coast, we realized that more days were on the sporty side than the mellow side.

We like sporty!!! In 2009, we launched our Whitewater of the Sea Mendocino Ocean Kayak Adventure.

Whitewater of the Sea - aka - kayaking in ocean rock gardens. On the Mendocino Coast, Liquid Fusion Kayaking has created a unique and fun 3 hour whitewater of the sea adventure for beginning through advanced kayakers. This is a great introduction to rock gardening and a fun way to play in the waves, sea caves, and whitewater in the ocean.

LFK’s Whitewater of the Sea is a 3 hour ocean kayak adventure playing in the rock gardens and whitewater features of the Mendocino Coast. No experience is necessary and some of our best participants are first timers. Seasoned paddlers are amazed at how much they get to do and experience with us in such a short period of time. One or our secrets is using highly maneuverable whitewater kayaks. We have sit on top kayaks for those who do not know how to do a kayak roll and whitewater river runners for seasoned paddlers with a reliable roll.

Earlier this summer, we had international traveler and adventurer Kyle Mulinder aka Bare Kiwi join us for a whitewater of the sea adventure. He is a sea kayak guide in New Zealand and was keen to experience an ocean kayaking experience where the instructors take their students into the rocks rather than avoiding them. Kyle had a blast and shared that LFK’s Whitewater of the Sea Adventure was the highlight of his California tour and one of his top 5 adventures to do globally - Thanks Kyle! That’s a huge compliment. Read more about Kyle’s California trip and see his gopro video on this site.

So what are you waiting for? Get yourself to Fort Bragg on the Mendocino Coast of California for a

Liquid Fusion Kayaking Whitewater of the Sea Adventure.

If you are on the timid side or not 100% sure that whitewater of the sea is for you, you can schedule it as a private/custom event. If you are adventuresome and ready for some ocean whitewater - use this link to book your trip.

Need more convincing? Here is a video from a recent whitewater of sea adventure with a family celebrating their mom’s special birthday.

Yinz kids from Central PA celebrating their mom's special birthday with an ocean kayak rock gardening and sea cave adventure on the Mendocino Coast of California.