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Ah November. She finds us cleaning gear, ordering replacement parts, fixing paddles, rolling and storing boats….and yes, still available to raft the South Fork with hardy souls willing to brave lower temperatures so they can see the changing colors and experience a quiet and private day on the water! We’re game if you are!
As a local of course I never take advantage of cool things that are going on in town (Why is that anyway? Do I seriously want to drive and pay money to have a good time like that will make it more fun?? Good for capitalism, not so good for the ol’ checking account. Anyway, I digress but I don’t think I’m alone here.) but since you’re not a local you can go for it…
So on October 17th, come on up to Lotus, raft the South Fork American, book at room at one of our lovely local B & Bs (try the Bella Vista or the Coloma Country Inn in the Coloma valley), and then start a relaxing evening by doing some wine tasting at David Girard Vineyards, just 5 minutes up the road from the All-Outdoors River Center. On the 17th Girard will be hosting not only wine tasting but also “amuse-bouche” appetizers catered by Bocca!
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!)
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.
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.
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.
Now that we’re in the middle of the rafting season our early summer rafting guide school seems far far away…….our most promising and motivated graduates have become familiar faces around the office as they continue to work on their training. I asked one of them, new guide Maria, to write a story for our blog about her guide school experience! We’ve also posted a gallery of photos on our ao rafting Facebook page!
AO Rafting Guide School 2009:
It all started out so simple. A description of the main features of whitewater rafting: rapids, holes/reversals, rocks, how angles play a role in missing or hitting key features of the river, etc. All the information was a bit overwhelming and I found myself zoning at times (something I later regretted immensely). The first day was slow going, looking back now after another month of rafting I understand just how slow it was. With a stop for lunch on a commercial trip it usually takes about 4.5 hours to get from the All-Outdoors put in to the Salmon Falls take out. It took us closer to (more…)
I don’t know what you all think, but how is this for the perfect way to end a day on the American river–no, no, not a cold beer and a slice of pizza over at Marco’s pizza or a fantastic steak at Cafe Mahjaic……No I’m talking serious fun here: a history lesson over at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Park! Come on now that’s a party!
No but really, think about it–you have the kids, you just had an exciting day on the water, you got a little too much sun and you want to kick back and have someone else do the entertaining of said kids for awhile. So, hop in the car, drive 2 minutes from the AO River Center and let Kimberly Shiningstar take over with an evening of storytelling and Native American history. The event starts at 7:30 and runs ’till 9pm–that’s kid bedtime in my world, and then the adults can stay up around the campfire and chat under the stars. Marshmallows optional.
For more info on the event, visit the Marshall Gold Association website.
The River Store (right next door to the AO rafting river center in Lotus) is hosting another year of river shuttle service for the local boating community! They have a couple vans, custom trailers, and the right price–only $7 bucks for a shuttle on the upper or the lower South Fork American River. Get more info and the latest schedule from the River Store website.
Here we are in the height of the summer California River rafting season and you have lots o’ options choose from–great news, but also part of the mixed feelings we in the industry have about dams. On the one hand we tend to be conservation minded and are well aware of dams’ many drawbacks ecologically. On the other hand, dams dramatically extend our rafting season and make water flows much more reliable. We’re able to organize trips and logisitics around scheduled flows and can give guests a pretty accurate idea of what to expect because we are so familiar with rafting the same flows summer after summer.
The mixed bag of dams aside, the end result is that we have three rivers that flow consistantly all summer–the South and Middle Forks of the American Rivers, and the Tuolumne River. The Tuolumne is really a two-for-one deal because not only do we get the class IV section of the main T, but we also get the class V section of the Upper Tuolumne, or Cherry Creek, as it’s more commonly known. We will offer consistant trips on all these rivers for the rest of summer!
(Above: Summer is the perfect time to explore California Rivers with side-hikes and overnight trips!)
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