Authorities extend recreational access of Kings River into Kings County

TULARE COUNTY (KFSN) -- Access to the Kings River continues to grow as Kings County authorities open up their portion of the river that's been off limits this summer.

Lindy's Landing in Tulare County says because of that opening, it has had a lot of people out on the water this weekend.

"It's awesome to have the river open and have people come boating," owner Jake Lange said.

Lange says cars have been lining the gate with people trying to get to the Kings River all weekend. And as the boaters and jet skiers poured in, so too did the crowds.

People were just beginning to arrive, now two days later you can still see how busy it has been for Lindy's Landing, and with the Kings County portion of the river being open, the owner says it is only going to get better for them.

Lange says this weekend alone, they had more than 250 people on its river and lagoon sites.

"It is really good to see finally," he said. "We were waiting for this."

Back in March, the Army Corps of Engineers was forced to release water from Pine Flat Dam due to a high volume of snow melt. That increased the flows into the Kings River.

Tulare County shut down its stretch of the river due to the high level and cold, fast moving water. That impacted business for Lindy's Landing for four months.

But Friday, Tulare County opened it back up and recently Kings County did the same. It was a long time coming for people like Kyle Hanson. He says this is his favorite spot.

"We were constantly driving by the water, seeing how high it was," the Kingsburg resident said. "Seeing when they were going to open it, looking it up online."

With another portion of the river being open, he says he and his friends have been having a good time on the water.

"Take your boundaries go a little bit further than you can," he said.

Wyatt Jackson is on the same boat.

"It doesn't feel like summer if you're not out on the river, so now that it is open, I'm really bad," he said.

Folks out here are now just waiting for Fresno County to open its side, and authorities say that will happen when it is completely safe for the public to use.

And Lindy's Landing says since it's Sunday, many people are getting ready to head out. So once it dies down here, they're going to get back to work and start clearing out some more of the sand and debris left behind from the flooding.