South Fork American River Rafting Express Trip

Tổng quát

4 giờ

Vé di động

Need a quick adventure fix? This classic California whitewater rafting trip on the upper 8-mile Chili Bar stretch of the South Fork of the American River offers several hours of rafting for novice and experienced rafters alike. You’ll maneuver through boulder gardens, dodge sneaky holes, and drop into exciting Class III rapids like Meatgrinder, Triple Threat, and Troublemaker (which definitely has the potential to live up to its name). In the calmer stretches, simply bask in the beauty of the scenic Sierra Foothills, or take the opportunity to hop off of the raft and feel the rush of swimming a “swimmer’s rapid.”

About an hour from Sacramento, and just an hour and a half from Lake Tahoe, this quick getaway has you rafting on the American River in the morning and back in time for lunch and plenty of time to venture on to your next destination.

Thông tin khác

Wheelchair accessible

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Service animals allowed

Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries

Not recommended for pregnant travelers

Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health

Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

Please call to speak with an Adventure Consultant if you have any health concerns

Chính sách hủy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Bao gồm

Skilled, professional guide service

High-quality river equipment including paddle, helmet, personal flotation device, and wetsuits and splash tops (included on early and late season trips, cold weather trips, and by advance request)

Transfer to the river put-in from our campground

Gratuities

Cần Quan Tâm

South Fork of the American River

You’ll meet at the OARS American River Outpost on the morning of your trip. After an orientation and safety talk, we’ll take a 25-minute drive to the Chili Bar put-in. Meatgrinder Rapid is the exciting start to the splashy, big-water fun on the upper section of the South Fork. As beautiful river scenes stretch out around us, rapids like Racehorse Bend, Maya, and Triple Threat await us further downstream. After a short section of Class I-II whitewater, we find ourselves at the notorious Troublemaker Rapid. This Class III rapid packs an exhilarating ride and can offer plenty of surprises. As we float by the historic town of Coloma and the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, the trip begins to wind down—but not without a few more stories from your personable and knowledgeable guide. Once we return to the Outpost, we encourage you to explore our nature trails, play campground games, or just savor your time along the river.

4 hours • Bao Gồm Vé

Tùy chọn

South Fork American River Rafting Express Trip

Đánh giá

5.00

20 đánh giá

Tổng số đánh giá và xếp hạng từ Viator & TripAdvisor

The Perfect Day!
BONNIESMQ,
29 thg 8, 2025
- Đánh giá từ Tripadvisor
5.00
What an amazing adventure. Our trip started with the Middle Fork on the American River. Garrett was our guide. He was knowledgeable, he instructions were clear and had a calming vibe. We were a little nervous about Tunnel Chute an Garrett put us at ease. My sister and I spent the night at the outpost in a Glamping tent. The beds were comfortable, clean and the tent was spacious. On the second day, we did the lower South Fork Gorge trip with Sam Q. What a gem. She had a sparkle to her and made the trip perfect. I would choose Oars 100% over other companies . Very professional and have exceptional safety training and always checked in to make sure we felt comfortable .
Our best whitewater adventure yet!
gavinhZ8157EY,
26 thg 8, 2025
- Đánh giá từ Tripadvisor
5.00
OARS, and especially our guide, Bible, were fantastic. We felt safe while having an absolute blast! Our best whitewater rafting adventure so far.
Amazing fun adventure
altbaum,
11 thg 8, 2025
- Đánh giá từ Tripadvisor
5.00
We had an amazing time! Sam our guide was professional, funny, relaxed and informative the whole trip down. She was able to "read" the crowd and communicated clearly and with humor. Ryan the group leader was also professional and funny. Made the day way more fun. The rapids were adventurous and was impressed how the guides can maneuver the river to taylor the trip to your liking. "Wanna take the easy way or the fun way!?" (when they had a choice). We always took the fun way. Highly recommend this tour and OARS with Sam as your guide. :). Lunch was plentiful with healthy choices and allowed for dietary restrictions like gluten free etc options. Lots of fruit, protein and bread choices. Various cookies and chips were also provided. We were definitely full when we went back on the river. Next year Level 4!! Thanks again to Sam for a fun filled day.
An Adventure of a lifetime!!
P776UGjoec,
6 thg 8, 2025
- Đánh giá từ Tripadvisor
5.00
Quick and easy check-in! Tents/Cabins were comfortable with a decent amount of storage space with a perfect little deck in the back. VERY CLEAN Bathroom/showers. Jerry the owner was very welcoming, and the food was fantastic! Our family of five had an amazing experience that we will never forget. Our guide Molly Blount expertly navigated all the rapids and made us feel like we were on a grand adventure by sharing stories along the way of everything from the history of how the rapids were formed to some of the silly stories that were so ridiculously entertaining we are still talking about them. And, she was really patient with our youngest who is 13. 10/10!!! And if we would have had time we would've stayed longer. Overall Amazing!!
Loved OARS
andylT576NS,
4 thg 8, 2025
- Đánh giá từ Tripadvisor
5.00
Fantastic experience, nothing but positive things to say about OARS, our guide Abigail and the rest of the crew! 2 day trip with my 11yo son, his first real rafting trip.
River Family Fun
jmaryrose23,
29 thg 7, 2025
- Đánh giá từ Tripadvisor
5.00
It was a great experience! First time river rafting and it was really thrilling. Our guide, Chase (hope I spelled it right), made everything easy and fun. I recommend this for a good family adventure.
Fabulous Day of GREAT White Water
Journey725492,
27 thg 7, 2025
- Đánh giá từ Tripadvisor
5.00
Fabulous day of GREAT rapids on the middle fork of the American River. Very exciting and Garrett guided us thru SOOO many rapids!!!! The day before we had smaller but also fun white water with Woody down the lower fork of the American River. If you love rapids - this is a MUST Do trip. I want to do Tunnel Chute again!
Great ride and beautiful scenery!
simonemT484KZ,
24 thg 7, 2025
- Đánh giá từ Tripadvisor
5.00
It was a wonderful day. Slow and easy to start with the class 3 rapids at the end of the day. I might have appreciated a bit more interpretation of the landscape but as a retired interpreter I’m kind of a geek that way. We spent the night before in the tent cabins which made for a really relaxing start.
Loved it!
samkD9963YT,
22 thg 7, 2025
- Đánh giá từ Tripadvisor
5.00
Amazing experience, I'll definitely be back again! So much fun and I always leave experiences like this wondering why I don't do it more often. exceptional guides!
Amazing trip
720jeannettev,
8 thg 7, 2025
- Đánh giá từ Tripadvisor
5.00
We had an amazing white water rafting trip with OARS! The guides were super friendly and fun. They were also deeply knowledgeable about the river and safety procedures. They provided a great lunch and were super attentive. Thank you Sam, Kendall and Casey!