Acclaimed author Janice L Green has kayaked more than 20,000 miles over the past 30 years throughout the state of California, exploring its lakes, reservoirs, bays, harbors and slow-moving rivers by kayak. Her love affair with watersports began when she grew up in Minnesota, ‘The Land of 10,000 Lakes.’

Janice bought her first kayak in 1988 when kayaking was relatively unknown. paddle boarding didn’t originate until 25 years later. When Janice first began paddling, she was flying by the seat of her pants by trial and error. Since then, she has paddled over 200 lakes, rivers, bays and harbors and has written several guides where to paddle in California.

As an avid kayaker, Janice recognized the need for a guidebook on flat water paddling locations when she first began paddling unfamiliar destinations throughout California and was unable to find sufficient information about them. In the process of compiling maps, camping and lake information on the different lakes she paddled, she realized she had accumulated an enormous amount of valuable data that could be beneficial to other paddlers who either didn’t have the time to gather the information themselves, or who didn’t want to blindly venture to unfamiliar destinations.

When Janice first began paddling different lakes, she was equipped with very little information. Back then, computers were rare, books on destinations where to paddle in California were even rarer, so all she had was a California road map to lead the way to unexplored territory.

Reflecting back to when she first began paddling new destinations, Janice recalls, “The fear of the unknown was high in the beginning, and so were risks. I suppose you could say I was relying mainly on my physical condition and common sense. I picked the smallest lakes in the beginning and the ones that weren’t as remote.”

The more she explored remote locations, the more hooked she became on paddling serene mountain getaways. Over the years, Janice has been fortunate to have paddled some of the most breathtaking flat water destinations in California. It is her love of kayaking and the peace it brings her that inspired her to share her experiences with you, so that you, too, can enjoy the pleasure of paddling. She hopes others can find the same joy and peace she has found through paddling flat water destinations in California. The latest, 13th edition of Paddling California’s Flat Waters was released in February 2025.

In 2021, Janice wrote Gearing Up to Go Paddling, a comprehensive handbook which contains what you need to know before you go. It features advice and practical tips from her decades of experience. If you are interested in paddling but don’t have a lot of experience or don’t know where to begin, Gearing Up to Go Paddling is a valuable resource on how to maintain your safety and respond effectively to situations that you may encounter. It is the ‘go to handbook’ for the paddling enthusiastic that covers all the basics from your first stroke, to everything else in between.

Paddling California’s Flat Waters and Gearing Up to Go Paddling are a passionate life’s works, drawing on decades of first-hand paddling experience.