Registration has only been open for a few weeks and the buses are already nearing capacity for our fall tours along the Eastern Sierra and across Northern California! See below for more details and reserve your spot soon for both don’t-miss, firsthand experiences before they’re gone. Plus, mark your calendars now for our Water Summit in Sacramento, the Foundation’s premier annual event.

NEW & ONE-TIME ONLY! Eastern Sierra Tour: Sept. 12-15

Our new Eastern Sierra Tour in September will journey along the Eastern Sierra from the Truckee River to Mono Lake, and on through Owens Valley and the Mojave Desert to explore a major water source for Los Angeles, this year’s epic snowpack and challenges for towns, farms and the environment.

A one-time only tour, this 3-day, 3-night experience begins in Reno Sept. 12 with a post-dinner kickoff reception. A hotel room that night is included in the registration fee. The bus tour begins the morning of Sept. 13, with overnight stays in the scenic towns of Bridgeport and Lone Pine. The tour ends Sept. 15 at Ontario International Airport in Southern California.

Planned stops include Derby Dam on the Truckee River, the first project built by the newly formed Bureau of Reclamation at the turn of the 20th century that connected the Truckee and Carson River watersheds. We’ll also stop at the Walker and Owens rivers, Mono and Owens lakes, and the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Along the way we’ll hear from water managers, tribes, environmentalists and growers about the myriad demands on the region’s limited water supply.

We’ll also mark the 40th anniversary of the pivotal 1983 California Supreme Court’s Mono Lake ruling during the tour by not only stopping at the majestic Sierra lake but by discussing the importance of the public trust doctrine in allocating water in California and across the West. Register here!

Northern California Tour: Oct. 18-20

Our Northern California Tour in October is one of our most popular annual journeys as it highlights key infrastructure of both the state and federal water projects. The 3-day, 2-night excursion across the Sacramento Valley travels north from Sacramento to Oroville, Redding and Shasta Lake. Experts will talk about the history of the Sacramento River as the tour winds through riparian woodland, rice fields, wildlife refuges and nut orchards.

Participants will get a firsthand look at how this year’s abundant precipitation has filled critical reservoirs of the State Water Project and federal Central Valley Project; explore farming and environmental water uses; visit the location of the proposed Sites Reservoir; and discuss innovations in flood control, groundwater management and salmon restoration.

Stops include Oroville Dam and its reconstructed spillway, Shasta Dam & Powerhouse, Red Bluff Fish Passage Improvement Project & its 1/4-mile long fish screen, rice farms, Clear Creek Gorge salmon spawning ground, Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and more. Find more tour details and register here!

Water Summit: Oct. 25

Be sure to save the date of Oct. 25 for the Water Education Foundation’s annual Water Summit in Sacramento. The day-long summit is the Foundation’s premier event of the year and features engaging conversations about critical issues affecting water statewide and across the West.

Keynote speakers in recent years have included California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot; Erica Gies, science journalist and author; and Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist.

The 2023 event will be held at the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in downtown Sacramento. More information & registration coming soon!