2 Day Whitewater Rafting Trip on the South Fork American River

Sacramento, United States of America

2 Days of river rafting on the American river. If that sounds like a great vacation adventure, you are right! Spend 2 days of thrilling white water rafting on the American river, located 1 hour from Sacramento, CA and 3 hours from the San Francisco Bay Area, 2 nights of camping at our private South Fork American river campground, and 5 awesome meals cooked by our very own camp chef.

There is no better way to experience a California vacation away from the city streets and crowds. Give it a try and you will have the time of your life and bring back memories that will last forever.

***First timers to Experienced Rafters Welcome***

Our South Fork American River two day trip is a 21 mile adventure that covers 2 days. We raft the lower Gorge section of the river the first day and the Upper Chili Bar section of the American river the second day. Arriving at our private riverside campground the night before your trip, our dedicated camp host will escort you to your assigned camp area, show you the facilities, and answer any questions that you might have about your american river rafting adventure..

The morning of your trip you will be served breakfast at 8:00AM (coffee, tea, and hot chocolate is available early for those who just cannot sleep in). After breakfast there is time to relax a little before checking in for the rafting part of your trip.

After a short bus ride to the launching area, your guides will help you with the required river gear and give you a river safety orientation. Then we split up into groups, assign the guides and push off onto the South Fork American river. The trip begins with some bouncy water to warm you up for the afternoon session of big rapids. We stop for lunch where your guides will prepare your riverside buffet lunch. Bathrooms are available during the break.

The afternoon section, called the Gorge Run, begins with some bouncy whitewater and even an out of boat experience through “Swimmer’s Rapid” a fun, small wave train that leads to a huge pond to recover in. A fun way to cool off in the hot summer. Then the river builds and enters the “Gorge”, where the rapids come almost in non stop fashion for 6 miles.

After finishing the Gorge, our buses will meet you with cold drinks and a snack for the 30 min bus ride back to camp where you can clean up, relax a bit, and get ready for a hearty BBQ dinner served by our camp cooks and your guides. After dinner we will have dessert and a slide show of you rafting through some of the big rapids of the day. Enjoy a relaxing time by the campfire before turning in for the evening.

The next day again brings breakfast and a 30 minute ride up scenic Highway 49, the Gold Country Highway. We’ll pass by Coloma State Park, where gold was first discovered in 1848 by James Marshall. Arriving at the launching area, we again give you a refresher on our river safety talk, board the rafts and tackle the Upper Section of the South Fork American river.

Just downstream is our first class 3 rapid, “Meatgrinder”, the longest on the river (not the biggest, though). The morning session is packed with rapids that will challenge and thrill you, the last of the morning will be the famous “Troublemaker Rapid”. After troublemaker, we relax in a more mellow section for about an hour, then pull off at Coloma State park and your guides will prepare our buffet deli-styled lunch with all the trimmings. Then have a lazy float back down to camp to finish our journey on the South Fork American river.