South Fork American River Tour

Click on the map or follow the links below for mile-by-mile river descriptions:

You'll find another detailed mile-by-mile river tour of the South Fork, with several fun photos, at Bill Tuthill's California Creeks web site.

Warning

The difficulty ratings were taken from the excellent new brochure published by the California Department of Boating and Waterways, in conjunction with the El Dorado County Parks and Recreation Division. (You can pick up these brochures at the major put-ins or at The River Store.) These ratings apply only at moderate water flows. Above 6,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), some of the rapids increase in difficulty and should be run by boaters with advanced skills only. See these charts for more information about interpreting water levels.

Unless otherwise noted, all the photographs in these pages were taken at moderate "summer" flows. Don't depend on the pictures or descriptions here to tell you how to run the river. Know your abilities, go with trusted and experienced companions, and make sensible decisions about when to run the rapids and when to walk. If you are boating in the off season, please see the Winter Boating page for precautions and emergency information.