San Antonio Creek (Ojai): main run
class: II-III
portages: 1 (tree)
length: ~10 miles
gradient: ~40 fpm
drainage area: ~40 sq. miles
elevation: ~700 (put-in), ~220 ft (take-out)
minimum flow: 150 cfs
optimum flow: 500 cfs
shuttle: 10 miles
The take-out is Foster County Park on the Ventura River 5 miles north of
Ventura off highway 33.  To get to the put-in, continue 7 miles up 33 to
Ojai Ave (highway 150), where you make a right.  Three miles through the
town put-in at a bridge that crosses the creek, by some orange orchards.

     San Antonio Creek is a name given to many streams in California.  Not
to be confused with the one flowing out of the San Gabriel Mountains, the
one next to Lompoc, the San Antonio River that flows into the Salinas, or
Rio San Antonio in Baja (all boatable streams in the region), this creek
originates in the 5000+ ft mountains just northeast of the city of Ojai
(approximately 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles).  From Ojai it flows
through a small canyon with a road by its side much of the way before
entering the Ventura River 7 miles upstream from its mouth.  With a
moderate gradient, this creek doesn't have major rapids, though several
(especially the man-made ones) are class III.  The water quality is also
not that great, coming out of Ojai.  But for a pleasant easy float on a
creek that has some natural scenery and is easy to get to, San Antonio
Creek is one to do (especially if you don't think you'll get hasseled by
cops).

     Our party of four kayakers put-in with about 300 cfs (probably 500 cfs
at the confluence) on Feb 8, 1998 for what may have been the first descent
of the creek.  The general character of the creek is a strong current with
some riffles here and there.  Occassionally there were some playspots with
a wave or small hole.  Within the initial mile the creek flows through
Soule Park Golf Course, and under one golfer's bridge there's a 3 ft drop
with a reversal.  At our flows, it was a piece of cake.  I heard from one
of the golf-park employees that the previous week there was a near drowning
of an inner-tuber in that reversal.  Past the golf course, the creek is in
a more natural setting, with a steep hill to the left and road on the right
(sometimes not noticeable).  In eddies and stuck on brush all along the run
we found oranges - many really good ones (of course there's also some bad
ones in there).  The thick peels keep all the nasties away from the
delicious edible flesh.  There's not a lot of brush to avoid on the run,
though in one spot about 3 miles down, we had a portage around a fallen
tree that obstructed the main right channel.  This was in a section that
was more or less away from the road.  Lots of bamboo grows along the
forested creek sides, which give it an eerie feel.  There were at least two
other spots where low-water road crossings made drops of about 3-4 ft,
though we could run all of these.  After the confluence with the Ventura
River, there was at least 3000 cfs, and it was mainly class I, with a few
nice surfing waves, down to near the bridge above Foster Park.  A couple
hundred yards above the bridge is a substantial rapid (class III-IV) with
one huge hole covering a good part of the river.  Just below the hole is a
large wave train with super rides.
     At our take-out at Foster Park, two "official" vehicles pulled up -
one was a Ventura Co. Sheriff, and the other was with animal control.  We
spoke with both of them.  The information leaked out that we were intending
on running the entire length of the Ventura from the NF Matilija down to
the ocean as soon as we got loaded up (it was only noon), but the deputy
made us wait while he checked the legality of kayaking the river.  Neither
he nor his seargent could find a section against it, but since Ventura Co.
had been declared a disaster area either the past night or previous week,
the authorities probably have more power than they should.  Tom argued with
this guy for a while.  He ended up telling us that if we put back on the
river, he would arrest us.  Bob and Preston didn't want to boat anymore
anyway, but both Tom and I decided it would be worth it to get arrested for
the publicity about the issue and also because this kind of case needs to
go through the courts before it's generally accepted that kayaking on
rivers in Southern Califonia is legal.  But the deputy ended up following
us back to my truck at the put-in, and we decided against it.  Rather, it
would be better to get some newscaster or writer out to make a story about
the issue.  This will probably be done in the next month on one of those
streams where the "officials" try and keep you off (e.g. the Santa Clara
River or the Ventura River).  Would the decisions handed down on the Davey
Hearn case apply to us here in California?  We believe so, but perhaps not
in the event of a declared "disaster area".  I'm not sure if the DC area
was under this kind of assignment when Davey Hearn was arrested.  Anyway
the fight continues for our right to boat on streams in the Southern
California area!

-Rocky Contos
jcontos@ucsd.edu


James "Rocky" Contos                            **an avid whitewater kayaker**
jcontos@ucsd.edu
Neuroscience PhD program