Looking to plan a last-minute white water trip for August with a group of friends (us: all in our early to mid 30s)

Max Class III-IV for us since most of us are beginners with a thrill for adventure but some of us are novices and timid.

We're all based in Southern California (LA) so location is definitely important as I don't see us flying anywhere so that's why the Kern seemed like a good option.

Any suggestions for a 1 to 2 night max rafting trip? Quality of accommodations is somewhat relevant (but we do realize this a camping trip) but decent food is probably more important.

Welcome to any and all recommendations. Thanks in advance!

I'm sure that you are seeing the news about the wildfires burning near Kernville and Tehachapi. According to this article "All private and commercial rafting on the upper Kern River is cancelled until further notice due to safety reasons with helicopters working out of the river."
www.kerncountyfire.org/incidents.php?id=417

At any rate, I really don't think that the Kern has very good rafting in August. You might want to try the South Fork of the American River (near Sacramento). It definitely would require a longer drive from L.A., but this Wine and Raft trip looks interesting:
www.oars.com/california/wineandraft.html

Thanks Ivk!

Have you used Oars before? They sound great.

Anyone have any first-hand experience with this outfitter?

We've used Oars. They are a class act. One of the best companies in the West.

If you want a challenging and beautiful whitewater experience, you might look at the Tuolumne near Yosemite. It's a lot closer than the American and more of a wilderness experience. We used Sierra Mac: http://www.sierramac.com/ but there are other outfitters.

There are also companies that run trips on the Kings River which is even closer to you. We haven't done this one yet but have seen groups on the river. Check out:

http://www.zrafting.com/info/apart.htm

Thought about the Tuolumne (since Oars also offers a trip down there.)

Definitely more exciting for us (we've done II-III once before and had fun, but wanted a *bit* more excitement--nothing too crazy though)...the problem is that 2 of the gals coming with us have never rafted before and I worry that a trip down the Tuolumne might scare the pants off first-timers.

What do you think?

We didn't find the Tuolumne too hairy although there is a longer option that is but it's only for very experienced paddlers.

We had a couple of first-timers on our trip and they had no problems. If one does have any misgivings about certain rapids, they can always ride in the gear boat if you are on a multi-day trip.

The best thing about the Tuolumne is the solitude and the chance to hike up to some awesome swimming holes on the Clavey River.