Whitewater Rafting and Kayaking
on the North Fork of the Stanislaus River

Photos courtesy of OARS

The North Fork of the Stanislaus River, located in the heart of the Stanislaus National Forest, is a unique high sierra river that thunders through five miles of granite gorges and deep alpine forest glens. From the commercial whitewater rafting put-in just below Sourgrass Crossing, which lies at 4000 feet in elevation, to the take-out near the Giant Sequoia groves of Calaveras Big Trees State Park, the river passes through dark green woodlands, endless wild azaleas and dogwood trees, and old Miwuk Indian sites. The “Stan” offers some of the most technical and intense Class IV whitewater in the state. 

The best flows on the North Fork of the Stanislaus, when commercial rafting outfitters guide people down river, come from the spring snowmelt in April and frequently continue until early June, depending on the winter’s snow levels. Once the snow melts, river flows are controlled by three upstream hydroelectric dams: Union, Utica and New Spicer.

The Stanislaus National Forest does not regulate private non-commercial boaters on the North Fork Stanislaus River, and permits are not required. It is strongly recommended that you book your trip with a commercial whitewater rafting company: this river requires technical whitewater skills to navigate through large hydraulics, tight drops and technical boulder-strewn rapids.

Two commercial whitewater rafting companies offer trips: O.A.R.S. (Outdoor Adventure River Specialists) and All Outdoors. O.A.R.S., a local outfitter based just down the road in Angels Camp, has offered river trips throughout North America, Latin America and Fiji since 1969 and has been repeated recognized as “the Best River & Sea Outfitter on Earth” by National Geographic Adventure magazine.

River trips on the North Fork of the Stanislaus are done exclusively in paddle rafts – fun, maneuverable inflatable rafts powered by four to six passengers with paddles. Paddle rafts offer an active, hands-on challenge and are usually the preferred vessel on most whitewater trips. Paddlers should be prepared for some big rapids, as well as calmer stretches on this river.

Commercial rafting passengers meet at Calaveras Big Trees State Park, (near Dorrington, just east of Arnold) and are returned via shuttle to the same location approximately six hours later. Calaveras Big Trees State Park is located on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada about 20 miles east of Angels Camp off California Highway 4. The park provides sanctuary to one the few remaining groves of Sierra redwoods. These magnificent trees once dominated the cone-bearing forests of Northern California. The park features two groves of some of the oldest living redwood trees in California.

Cap off your evening with a stay at cozy accommodations in any of the local surrounding communities of Bear Valley, Dorrington or Murphys. If you would prefer to camp, established sites are available at Big Trees and there is a developed Forest Service campground located within the Sourgrass Recreation Complex on the site of an ancient MiWuk Indian village. Significant Native American artifacts such as grinding stones and middens have been preserved.

For more information on rafting on the North Fork of the Stanislaus River visit: http://www.oars.com/california/stanislausriver.html