Lower Middle Fork American/South Fork American Lotus Run overnight combo
Younger children often have shorter attention spans and energy, so spending a few hours on the river each day may be preferable for a first experience. This combination is a good choice if you are not too sure if a child is going to enjoy a true multi-day vacation river trip. Both these trips are suitable for children from 4-5 years old and are no more than 5 hrs from start to finish. You can book them as ½ day trips, but they can be combined with a stay at our camp in the Coloma-Lotus area and the luxury of hot showers and a private riverside camp. We can on occasions provide additional meals in camp, you can bring your own food to BBQ in camp, or you can elect to eat in nearby restaurants. See Family Specials for details of special pricing and available dates for the overnight trip with meals.
We suggest you start with an afternoon trip on the Lower Middle Fork American River, which meets in Auburn after lunch. The river flows through the steep, rugged and forested canyons of the Auburn State Recreation Area. There are safe beach areas for picnicking and play, together side hikes up creeks into shady dells with waterfalls. Very few people are seen on this trip, but we often see nesting ducks, deer, heron and fish jumping. Late in the season, we also stop to pick the most incredible juicy black berries. After getting back to your car around 6:00 – 6:30 pm, it is 20-30 mins to the Lotus or Coloma area to camp, or there are plentiful accommodations and restaurants in Auburn.
On the 2nd day, you meet at 10:30 am at our camp in Coloma for Lotus run on the South Fork American. We raft the first 4 miles of the South Fork American ‘Gorge’, which is easy and only contains Class 1 & 2 rapids. The trip finishes back at our camp and we serve lunch. After lunch you are free to continue your journey, or the children can play in camp, visit the nearby Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park or take some easy local hikes.
These trips can also be suitable for a diverse family group. We can supply inflatable kayaks on the Lower Middle Fork American for the more adventurous participants, and on the South Fork American, some of the group can continue rafting after lunch into Class 3 whitewater.
Class: 2
Length: 7 miles & 4 miles, ½ days, May-October
Elevation: 700-900 ft
Location: Meeting in Auburn, California. Off I-80, between Sacramento and Truckee
Lower Middle Fork American River Rafting, Distances/Times for travel:
¾ hr E. of Sacramento (36 miles), 1 hr W of Truckee, 2½ hrs NE of San Francisco (123 miles), |
PLEASE ALLOW EXTRA TIME ON
BUSY HOLIDAY WEEKENDS
Other Class 2 easy rafting options for overnight trips:
- East Fork Carson River (usually spring run through June only)
- Trinity River (available as a custom trip, skipping Class 3 section)
- Lower Klamath River (available as a custom trip, or younger kids can be hiked around some Class 3 rapids)
- Family Specials (2-4 day trips on selected dates, kids 20-50% discount)
