Kings River Expeditions gives students and community an opportunity to get outdoors

By Dylan Gonzales

FRESNO (KFSR) － With summer fast approaching, Kings River Expeditions opened its 2024 rafting season on March 28. The site is located at Twin Pines Camp northeast of Fresno.

Kings River Expeditions has a close connection with Fresno State due to its former owner, Justin Butchert, being a professor.

The connections with Fresno State don’t stop there. The university offers a course where students can learn the basics of white water rafting. At the end of the semester, students of the class travel to Twin Pines for a day of rafting at Kings River Expeditions.

New owner Casey Cornell said that another way Fresno State students can get involved with Kings River Expeditions is by being a guide.

“We always set up a booth at Fresno State looking for college students who are interested in guiding. They can always go to our website and go to the careers tab,” Cornell said.

Regular visitors can have an enjoyable camp experience in multiple ways. Kings River Expeditions offers several different packages from which visitors can choose. There are one-day trips, two-day trips and group trips.

Outside of rafting, the one-day trip also includes a barbeque lunch. One-day trips start at $108. The two-day trip is a whole camp experience, as guests get to camp on the 10 acres of land in the campground. It also comes with breakfast, lunch and dinner. The two-day trips start at $305.

Both student trips and corporate events are offered for group trips. The student trip starts at just $84, while the corporate events begin at $165.

With the weather heating up and school getting ready to finish, Cornell believes that May and June are the most popular summer times.

“The water is always pretty chilly, but just the hot air outside makes you feel like you’re just begging to get hit by a wave,” Cornell said.