The All-Outdoors Whitewater Rafting California River Blog

Fall is a very civilized time to come visit the Gold Country–no summer mayhem, barges of screaming water-fighters, massive party boats…..

You get all the thrills of summer but with more peace and quiet in between.  This is also a great time to check out other gems of this area:  a delicious dinner at Cafe Mahjaic, a peaceful evening at the Eden Vale Inn, and an afternoon wine tasting the day after a fun trip down the American River.  Local wineries include Venezio, Gold Hill Vineyards and David Girard–they’re all within 5 minutes of the South Fork American.  Just a little further up the road are all the Apple Hill wineries with favorite places like Boeger, Madrona, and Lava Cap.   Pack a picnic, buy a chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, and relax in Boeger’s lovely grounds for a truly relaxing day…..

(Above: a lovely view of the Coloma Lotus Valley from Venezio Winery, Right: wine tasting on the South Fork!)

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Looking for some last-minute plans this weekend or feeling like extending your gold country getaway?  Don’t forget the American River Music Festival September 18-20 2009!

The weekend includes a whitewater rafting trip on the South Fork of the American (great for kids if you’re bringing the family), awesome musicians like Jackie Greene,  Blame Sally, and Twilight Hotel, and lots o’ fun in the sweet September air.

Learn more and buy tickets at the festival website.

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…………because we’re nowhere NEAR to being done.  Ok so the boys (and Lynsey) down on the T are packed up and headed back to the Mother Ship, but the South and Middle Forks of the American River are still going strong.

Fall rafting around here is very different than the hustle and bustle of the high summer season.  Many of our river guides go back to school, we begin to consolodate gear for winter cleaning and repairs, and the pace of life slows down considerably.  While the water levels in the river remain consistant, trips change quite a bit–gone are the massive crowds and bumper-boat mayhem of July and August.  Trips are smaller and more intimate and you can feel like you have the whole river to yourself.  The scenery is still beautiful as the bleached colors of summer deepen into fall…..

(Above:    ahh……California rafting on the Middle Fork…..)

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Get ready to celebrate all things American River this September at the American River Festival!  The annual event is held on the banks of the South Fork American River every September and includes all kinds of whitewater events:  a raft race, kayak rodeo, slalom race, kids events, and of course a rockin’ dinner and party on Saturday night.

Besides being a lot of fun for boaters and whitewater enthusiasts of all stripes, the American River Festival also raises money for good causes like the American River Conservancy and the Tuolumne River Trust.  So what’s not to love??  What a cool addition to raft trip on the South or Middle Fork that weekend!

The event kicks off on September 11th (this weekend!) and continues through the weekend.  Learn more about this year’s festival at the River Store’s website.

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If you’re looking for a great end of summer hike, look no further than the North Fork of the American River. This 4.5 mile trek combines rock hopping and lazy floats in emerald pools. You’ll be river hiking along the class IV whitewater section from Iowa Hill Bridge to Yankee Jims Bridge. At this time of year the flows on the river are low because this section is not dammed. So, you won’t witness any of the huge whitewater (that’s when you’ll want to go rafting on this section–wink, wink) but you will see what’s under the water like some pretty incredible boulders and how high the water line is in the spring when the canyon narrows. If you take some goggles, I’d imagine the fish/river creature sighting is pretty good too. Best time to take this hike is in August and September because the water’s low and warm like bathwater.

We took daypacks with sustenance for the day. Be aware that this can be an all day hike. We took our time and spent eight hours in the canyon, with an hour for lunch and a few breaks, but it could probably be done in 6 hours at a steady pace. A good way to add buoyancy to your pack when you’re floating is to put a small, air-filled dry bag inside. If you’re willing to sacrifice the bottom of your pack, I’d also recommend grommeting in a few holes for quick drainage–my pack had no holes and I was water logged and sloshing around after every pool…but the seclusion of the canyon and the escape from the heat made it worth the weight.

The road to Yankee Jim’s Bridge is just off I-80 East close to Colfax. A good place to meet up with your shuttle is at the Weimar Cross Rd Park and Ride on the right side of the Interstate just off the Weimar Cross Rd exit. Take Canyon Way east to Yankee Jims Rd and turn right. The road to Yankee Jims Bridge is pretty much dirt and parking is more secluded. Iowa Hill Rd is 3.5 miles east on I-80 from Weimar Cross Rd–the road is paved and there are more cars parked here typically.

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This is it for the Tuolumne and Cherry Creek rafting in 2009–Labor Day weekend is your last chance to see these rivers until next spring!  The Tuolumne River watershed is dam controlled and the authorities at Hetch Hetchy will be shutting off “raftable flows” after the holiday weekend–this is your last shot!  We have some spaces still available on both Cherry Creek and the Tuolumne this weekend so give us a ring if you’re interested.  There might even be a web special or two worth checking out if you want to save some dough….

(Left: Plenty o’ time to relax on a 2-day Tuolumne rafting trip……)

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If you’ve ever rafted the South Fork of the American River you’ve floated right past–or just downstream of Marshall Gold Discovery State Park.  The park is on the closure list because of budget cuts.

I realize the bottom line is the bottom line, but give me a break–this is WHERE GOLD WAS DISCOVERED.  It’s why we’re the “Golden State.”  It’s why our motto is “Eureka!”  It’s not because someone found lead, or timber, or Hollywood–it’s because a certain someone found GOLD.  Right here in the Coloma valley.

Is this really how much we value our history in this state?  Honestly?  The discovery of Gold didn’t just set off the Gold Rush–it started the settlement of the entire Western United States.  It was a significant moment not just for our country but for the world.   Why is Chile bar called that?  Hello.

Here’s a link to a website with info on what you can do to help prevent the park’s closure.   If this matters to you at all call your representatives and ask them how they can justify the closure of this, of all,  parks.  http://www.keepsuttersmillopen.org/

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The end of summer is fast approaching, but there are still great deals to be had on California rafting trips.  Browse our Web Specials page to find an adventure that works for you, whether its a spashy day in inflatable kayaks and fearlessly facing the *Cookie Challenge* on a South Fork American float trip with the wee kiddies, packing your sleeping bag and camp towel for a two-day river trip on the Middle Fork, or taking the plunge and jumping for the class V swim test before braving the infamous Miracle Mile on Cherry Creek!

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It’s been a fantastic season on Cherry Creek this year but as they say, all good things, they come to an end.  After Labor Day the water level in the Tuolumne River–including its upper section, or Cherry Creek–will drop considerably. 

There will be plenty water for fish, deer, and the hordes of meat bees we all know and love on the T, but there will not be enough water for rafting, extreme or otherwise.  Unless, I guess, your idea of extreme is carrying a heavy inflatable raft over very large rocks and sweating more water than you are actually standing in.  Point being, if you want to raft Cherry Creek this year, you gotta make your plans before the season is over.

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With a few weeks to go of the “high season” for California rafting, the news is all good.  Flows have been lovely all across the board–from the gentle riffles of our class II Tom Sawyer Float Trips on the South Fork of the American River, to the boat-eating gigantor hydraulics of Cherry Creek, which is as tough as California Rafting gets.

At this point in the season, we are only rafting dam-controlled rivers: the South and Middle Forks of the American River, the Tuolumne River, and Cherry Creek.  All of these runs have tightly controlled water levels because of their upstream dams and reservoirs.  For us–and you!– this means continuing raftable flows all summer long, and lots of different rafting itineraries.

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