south fork of the american river

There is nothing more refreshing than a raging river! Even though it was a low flow year, it was gorgeous!

This is a great place for recreation that is nestled and away from it all. We even did some gold panning where I found a flake of gold. It looks very family friendly, dogs, and people of all ages can find something for them to enjoy.

Fantastic half-day try, Coloma to Folsom Lake. OARS provided a nice lunch before we started. The guides were great - knowledgeable and well trained. I was with a group including children form 12 upwards. I think 10 and up could handle it.

The water was freezing, but you get used to it. The water is also a bit rough (lots of rapids), so a life jacket is a must. Bring a heavy duty raft.

If you live in California, or are visiting Northern California, make the time for a visit to Coloma. If you want to make it special and go back in time, make the visit camping at Coloma Resort. To get there you go over a 1 lane bridge built for wagons and Model A's, and you have a wide range of choices - camping along the river with your tent, bring your RV, rent a tent cabin so you just need your sleeping bag and food - or rent a deluxe room or house cabin right along the river. Every budget from college student to Bill Gates relatives - at one place. From there walk back over the bridge to the state part and go gold panning (which you can also do next to your camp site), visit the museum, the Indian Village, Sutters Mill where the gold rush started, or the pioneer cemetery with people from all over the world in one spot.

River had a great mix of rapids and calm water to get some excitement mixed with relaxing floating or swimming.

The water released by Dam , makes this is a good river for rafting. THere are many local rafting companies running rafting tours through this river during the season. Water is generally cold.

We spent two nights camping here in a very comfortable tent with the day in between spent on the South Fork of the American River. Our guide, Carl, was fantastic. He knew the river inside and out and guided us along on the sometimes incredibly exhilarating rapids. The whole ride lasted around 4 and a half hours. Mariah's staff were incredibly friendly and put together amazing meals for us, given the situation of the campsite ie. right by the river. The shower/bathroom facilities were perfectly fine with hot water aplenty and a mirror. Would thoroughly recommend the one day rapids but left wanting more!

Great River period! The rafting companies seem to do a great job also. I watched them all day navigating "Troublemaker" from my camp and it looked like wicked fun. I offer a very fun alternative to booking a guide. We stayed at the Coloma Resort on this trip and did a safe, kid friendly perpetual float on tubes all on our own. We kept trying to break the daily float count from between 5 to 7 loops. We'd float from just after "Troublemaker" from the North end of camp down a few miles under the bridge with a short walk back. Remember, the Damn regulates the flow of the water daily so you have some good currents early in the day and a much more peaceful and calm river in the evenings. This makes for a fabulous and safe spot to launch rafts from the North end of the resort. You can then float leisurely to reach some nice swimming holes and exit points which are just a short walk back to where you would start. Highly recommend this for all - River is cold, of course, but nothing like it in the hot sun and maybe a cold beer in your inner-tube cup-holder. Life Jackets are required when floating the river so remember your vest!The river also has great fishing so give that a try at some point too. We were able to catch a few nice size trout and even some "squawfish." Squawfish give a good fight and they are now called northern pikeminnow ....essentially carp/minnow like non-indigenous fish. They prey on Salmon and Steelhead elsewhere so are considered a nuisance and even have a bounty to reduce their numbers elsewhere. Suggested you not feel guilty to terminate any caught. Worms were good for the Trout. Not sure if salmon eggs did much but add a worm. Caught the Squawfish on a lure. Even able to buy a license at local market in Coloma which was good. All in all, great spot, great river and a few options to enjoy the outdoors. Have fun!

Over the past 25 years I've done many rafting trips on both the South Fork and the Middle Fork of the American River and I have enjoyed them all. I've done all of my trips with All-Outdoors. ("AO" is one of the original rafting outfits on the American River and offers trips down several California rivers.) If you live in Northern California or are just visiting, you really need to experience white water river rafting. From "put in" to "take out" AO ensures you a safe trip and a great experience. AO started out many years ago as a family run operation and has continued to provide countless customers with a fun, safe and friendly rafting experience. Their guides are all properly trained and supervised. Conditions will vary due to the amount of water released into each river each day, but you are always assured of having a fantastic time! Be sure to stay in the Coloma area either camping or staying at a B&B.

We had a blast on the river today! We went with the Adventure Connections rafting company. Satan's Cesspool and Hospital Bar were the best rapids. Tons of fun, great guides, and a delicious lunch. I want to do it again!

Disclaimer : I'm not affiliated with the outfit in any way, I mention them because they're the one we went with. There are many other outfits operating along the American River.The South Fork is where beginners usually go for whitewater rafting on American River, as the rapids are not as dangerous (Class 3). There are many outfits here, so choosing among them is probably the most difficult decision you need to make. We went with Whitewater Excitement and did the whole day trip. As their office / campsite is located almost exactly halftway between Chili Bar and Folsom Lake, the trip started with a bus ride upstream, rafted down back to the campsite for lunch, then continuing down to the lake. There are a number of fairly nice rapids, with stretches of calm where you can jump into the water for a (very cold) swim, or just sit in the boat and enjoy the scenery. A couple of the rapids was deep enough that the guide allowed us to jump into the water to float down the rapids. The river brings you past historic Coloma, where the replica sawmill is barely visible past the trees, but you can see the wall erected where the original sawmill that started the California gold rush is believed to have been.It's not cheap, but it sure is fun. Don't forget to budget for photos - up to $100 for the whole CD, or you can pay for individual prints or digital images - (and set aside some time for browsing them) if you want to bring back more than memories (and sunburn if you didn't put on enough sunblock). The photographers that took our photos have their studio a short distance away along Highway 49, and the photos are not available online, only in their office.Tip : if you have a GoPro camera, some of their helmets have a camera mount on top. Alternatively, get the GoPro Vented Helmet Mount (the one that uses straps, not adhesive). Wide mode probably works better than Medium (which I used) - don't use Narrow.

Action white water rafting company co. was very experienced and knowledgable felt safe at all times.

Took the ARTA company white water raft trip. It was a blast and the people working for ARTA were awesome!

I have been on this river many years ago and this may be a great river but the secret is WHICH TRAVEL GROUP DO YOU GO WITH? Make sure they have insurance and are in good standing with El Dorado County - ie recent excerpt re GOLD RUSH RAFTING LLC......."This outfitter is not in good standing.River Use Permit requirements where not met in 2012.River User Day fees of $8,212.00 have not been paid to the County for river use in 2012.River Use Permit Violations issued in 2012 with fines of $3,171.20 have not been paidPermission was not obtained from State Parks in 2012 for use of Salmon Falls take out and fees were not paid to CA State Parks for river use in 2012. Class I ViolationMonthly Use reports for 2012 submitted for the months of August and September on January 22, 2012Monthly Use Reports were late in 2011 and 2012. Class I ViolationsBoat marking requirements were violated in 2012. Class I ViolationsGold Rush operated trips without liability insurance from July 8, 2012 to August 31, 2012. Class II ViolationRUP #02 RevocationPlanning Commission/March 14, 2013Staff Report, Page 2Complaints were received by the county regarding on river rafting behavior by Gold Rush raftsGold Rush closed its PO Box and did not leave a forwarding addressGold Rush has been unresponsive or slow to respond to County letters, emails and phone callsGold Rush did not attend the South Fork American River Outfitters meeting held on January 3, 2013