Had a blast rafting the south fork of the American river! My guide Dionos was fantastic! Very well... read more
Had a blast rafting the south fork of the American river! My guide Dionos was fantastic! Very well... read more
This was a great experience! There is camping included with your stay and hanging around the... read more
Full Day - South Fork of the American River July 16, 2015. First I will tell you about this company/organization, then the actual adventure and what you need to know to plan your trip.
I booked this trip earlier in the year when our family decided to visit the Lake Tahoe area. They require a deposit when booking your trip and the balance is due within 3 to 4 weeks before your adventure. They send you directions, which by the way GPS (cell phones do not work very well in this area) and liability forms for you to complete, you also get a complimentary night of camping with your reservation and breakfast is free whether you stay on site or not, just plan accordingly. We chose not to stay on site and drive from Lake Tahoe, staying in Auburn for the night, then driving to camp the next day. Everyone with this organization is very helpful, fun and pleasant to work with.
Lets get into the actual adventure. Each rafting trip has a different start time, ours started with breakfast at 8am however since we stayed in Auburn we grabbed something on the way, eat a GOOD breakfast the river and sun take a lot out of you. You get there, turn in your wavers, (complete your forms in advance this will save time). The guide goes over a few basic things with you, you get your helmets, life vests, then you jump on the bus to head to the river. The south fork is about 30 minutes from camp. I had reservations about whitewater rafting as I had never done this before so this is one reason we chose the south fork. However your guide (our's was Gordy, I'll talk more about him in a bit) will provide you with all the instructions you need to make your trip fun and safe. Then you get on the water, there are of course rapids which are SUPER FUN and there are some slow spots where your guide will let you get out of the raft and swim and even jump off of some cool rocks.
The South fork is not too bad and I think families will do well on this river, even with small kids. There is a photographer that paddles ahead of the raft and captures all those great money shots of you and your family having a SUPER time. You have the option after your adventure to purchase the entire photo session or just a few shots. I purchased our entire adventure for $125. The pictures were emailed to me 2 days after our trip. You raft about 3-4 hours then break for lunch, sandwich wraps with all the trimmings, peanut butter for the kids, chips and even cookies. There are restrooms at the camp where you begin and there are come composting toilets you can visit during lunch; otherwise you just have to pee in the river. Then you do about another 3-4 hours of rafting, then catch a bus back up to camp. They have soft drinks ready for you when you get back on the bus.
I have to give a BIG SHOUT OUT to our guide GORDY!!! He is from New Zealand, has a super cool accent and has been working in this profession for MANY years, he knows his stuff and took real good care of us, provided good, easy to understand instructions and made our trip a blast!! He has a very good personality, very outgoing and funny!! I couldn't have imagined our trip with any other guide. You can request guides as I asked him upon leaving, however just remember certain guides work certain rivers on certain days, so this may not be possible. I would ask when you book your trip. Gordy does travel back and forth to New Zealand so it may not be possible to get him for your trip.
Here's what you need to know to plan the best whitewater adventure. If you are not staying the night, which again we did not. Therefore I cannot provide a review of the camp grounds. I would recommend that you allow yourself PLENTY of time to drive to the camp, why??? Because the roads to this camp should actually be called the highway to HELL. They twist and wind and go up/down the mountain and the speed limit is VERY low due to this. You can only go about 35 MPH top speed unless you want to wind up at the bottom of the mountain. We drove from Auburn and we allowed an hour to get there and we were almost late. GPS (cell phones) do not get a good signal out there so they are useless, make sure follow the directions provided by AWE. Also the area is pretty remote, no gas stations or stores so plan accordingly.
What to take - sunscreen, a refillable water bottle. We took a few snacks but did not have time to eat them. Smaller children might have time as they would not be rowing as much as the adults. There is a dry bag on the raft to place your stuff so you won't have to keep up with it on the boat. You need to apply sunscreen every 2-3 hours or you will get BURNED, your guide will remind you when there are slow parts of the river. Wear something comfortable, I would not recommend your swim suit as they can shift around and well... show your stuff. I would recommend, a quick dry shirt and some shorts and old sneakers/tennis shoes. Shoes that you don't mind getting wet. Softball/baseball cap, they will fit under the helmets, sun glasses, with a strap. If you forget your sun glass strap they have some for sale in the camp store. Don't take anything you don't mind losing, you will get tossed around a bit in the raft, so either leave it in the car or have your guide place it in the dry bag on the boat. Oh and they have a box at camp where you can store your car keys.
I would say the south fork is mainly for newbies, family's and the faint of heart. If you are an extreme adventure person then do the Middle Fork. We will do that next time if... we ever make it back up to Coloma.
Oh one final thing, DON'T forget to TIP your guide. They work extra hard to provide you with a fun and safe adventure. You will have time after you return to go to your car and get some cash to tip them with.
This company is really good, the trip is super fun. I would highly recommend this trip and say hi to Gordy for us.
My husband, 11 yr old and myself booked a raft trip with American Whitewater Expeditions August of 2014, our first WW raft trip ever. The river is very pretty, clean and lots of fun. I can't say enough about the outfitter we chose and our guide, both FANTASTIC! Great river to raft, lots of twists and turns and ups and downs, be prepared to get wet!
My husband and I both like to raft but have only gone a couple of times. I like to camp but he doesn't so I wasn't sure how our weekend would go. I'm happy to report thanks to the stellar team at AWE - we had a fantastic time! From the moment I contacted AWE to reserve our trip, the service was friendly, welcoming, informative and they were very prompt in returning calls and emails.
We booked two nights of camping and two days of rafting. The South Fork on the first day and Middle Fork on the second. We rented one of their tents and as promised, it was set up when we arrived along with the foam sleeping pads. The campground is small, clean and nicely laid out. Coffee is set up about 6 am which is wonderful for early risers like me. Breakfast is good - eggs, bacon, potatoes, bagels with crunchy peanut butter and nutella! While we were eating we signed the waivers and the guides told us where to pick up our gear and board the bus. Very efficient without feeling rushed.
Side note - the guides are HOT. And, most of them have great accents from New Zealand, Argentina, Costa Rica, etc. If only I were younger and single. :) En route to the river they give you the safety talk and tell you what to expect. Once there, they unload the rafts, you hop in and you are off. The guides do an excellent job of keeping it exciting and safe. During the calm stretches of the river you can jump out and swim if you want. You definitely have to paddle and pay attention to your guide's direction but its not too much work. I was a little sore in one shoulder the next morning. Not bad and I considered it a good workout. You stop for lunch which is buffet style build your own deli sandwiches. I don't eat meat but my husband does and there were plenty of options for both of us. We ended the meal with cookies. Really good cookies.
Back at the campground, the showers are hot with good water pressure. I think dinner was at 6. Again great options for meat and non-meat eaters. Plus, beer and wine.
Each campsite has a little fire pit, a picnic table and a bbq. The perfect set up.
We've already decided we are going next summer to camp for 4 nights and raft for two days. On the non-raft day we are going wine tasting in the area.
If you are considering this trip at all - GO. And, go with AWE. We saw several other raft companies and AWE's equipment and guides all looked to be the best on the river.
P.S. Try to have Gustavo be your guide he's hot and funny.
We went with a party of 44 from kids to adults and had a blast on the lower American River. It was the perfect day, sunny and not to hot and not too cold. I would recommend waterproof sunscreen, water shoes and synthetic athletic clothing that you can get drenched in, because you are in the sun for 5 hours in the middle of the day. They provide life jackets, helmets, and a tasty lunch. The guy in charge hailed from Canada and was a hoot. Our guide was Ray and she was fabulous in directing us down the Class 3 Rapids without spilling anybody out. Despite the drought we had lots of water let out for rafting from the dam above. At the end of the trip, they provide cold drinks and showers.
All of this is well-recorded by Kbar Photo, traveling with us via kayak. Nothing like snapping shots from water level!
We did the Southfork 2 days and the Middlefork on one last day. The guides are 10 stars!!! They all go above and beyond to keep it safe and keep it fun. They are a family - a community. The campground is lovely with great meals, clean bathrooms and showers. We will go back as soon as possible.
The guides were super helpful and nice!! They kept us calm and exited to go rafting!! Five stars!!! It was the best experience of our life!!