We camped at the American River Resort and took part in the river rafting. It's $120/person for 4 hours session. The first two hours were kind of boring, we were just floating around the river, the last 45 minutes were really fun with lot of adrenaline. Our captain Luke from South Africa was fun and he even brought his speaker to entertain us with songs. The pictures taken by the prof were amazing, we're having fun. read more

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Great time! Nice facilities friendly staff and will do it again. Bathroom and showers were clean and maintained well. You have to plan right and avoid waiting in line to shower. Meals were good typical choices for breakfast and nice Happy Hour beer chips salsa cheese then hamburgers hot dogs potato salad chocolate chip cookies for dessert. read more

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It needs new management. We ask them , prior to paying for 2 days , if they had a swimming pool for the 3 kids that we had with us , and they said "YES", then after we set up our trailer we all went to the pool and they said that it's closed for the season , so we asked for our money back so that we could move to a place with a pool and they said , "NO REFUNDS", even though we had only been there for 2 hours. Also , the spots are small , poorly equipped and mosquito infested. I would not recommend this place to anyone. read more

Amazing experience! Super fun and safe trip for families and first timers! Excellent camping facilities and staff! Our river guides have great direction and navigated our family down the river. Two day camping trip was a HUGE success!!! AB read more

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We had a huge party of about 80+ people and I know that can be hard to deal with, but the staff at the camp grounds were very accommodating and super helpful with our group, on the other hand they had major issues with the rafting guides. My group had 99% non-english speakers in it. As I understand that it's somewhat difficult to understand each other most of them understand english pretty well, but have trouble speaking it. When it came to rafting my group of 8 had 2 young kids, 3 teens, and 3 adults including myself, our guide was very egotistical, rude, and constantly yelling towards the non english speakers and myself on one occasion. He would tell them they aren't listening to him when we were and he was being very rough and pushy for no reason. I saw how other guides were treating there groups (our 10 boat group) and they weren't anywhere near as much a D&$K as our guide. Our guide kept telling/yelling at the kids with us to not spray there water guns at others when all our other groups were doing it to us and each other, eventually leading to one of the kids throwing a fit and just refusing to do anything the rest of the trip. When we tried asking our guide questions about rafting as we were curious he would just tell us we weren't at the level where we should be asking questions, telling us we weren't even ready for level 2-3 rafting if we couldn't listen to him and didn't know how to paddle, and saying well never be able to raft a level 4 bc we were so inexperienced like a fish out of water. Our group had no problem forward paddling or backward paddling nor stopping he only said were not doing it correctly bc were not doing it immediately when he tells us to. He kept bragging to us about how he's been down the river over 200 times and we don't know anything about this place so we need to listen to him like He's some kind of god. I didn't really mind it bc most of it was directed at the non english speakers in our group, but it was still very rude and disrespectful as we were just trying to have fun. I was told that another group had a similar issue with their guide and he resorted to capsizing the whole group on a level 3 rapid. I would never recommend this place to someone with a big group nor anyone in general after having to go through his inflated ego the whole trip down. Only bright side of this trip was that it was pretty fun and a great adventure. We talked with the main Guide afterwards about these situations, but I wanted to post this so others don't have a similar experience as us. read more

We did the full day middle fork and south fork trips recently and just had a great time. The trip includes transportation to and from the river. A lunch along the river, consisting of a tortilla wrap and a yummy chocolate chip cookie and refreshments after the trip. First day was the middle fork segment with rapids rated 1-4, including the tunnel chute. As advertised, 2 of 7 rafts in our group capsized. Sparkles was our guide for the middle fork and he was an awesome guide. He was able to do things with the raft that were amazing, like surfing where he had the raft take on water to simulate its sinking. He was also full of trivia and knowledge about everything and made the 7+ hour trip a blast. Gabbie was our guide for south fork. South fork only has rapids rated 1-3 but was surprisingly entertaining. Most impressive is how she yanked me out of the water when I fell over in a rapid. She saved me from a lot of bumps and bruises or worse. Overall I highly recommend American River. They are professional and do a great job. We felt totally safe and taken care off the entire 2 days. They also don't cram the rafts so it's totally comfortable. We are coming back for sure. read more

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED our experience with this excursion group! First time whitewater rafters here!! We loved our experience the first day on the South Fork with our Chilean guide, Camila! She was super sweet and knowledgeable! We felt completely safe in her hands! Well, we had such a good time we went for the Middle fork !! If you're up for fun and a little adrenaline rush, this is for you!! Aiden was our guide and he was awesome! Not only was he knowledgeable and reassuring in all things rafting ( guided us down the "tunnel chute" like a boss!! ), he pretty much knew everything to do with the River, plants , trees, wildlife and local history. Aiden was full of facts, song lyrics and dad jokes and embodied a true zest for life!! Kudos for hiring these two fantastic guides!! They both provided a memorable experience we will never forget!! read more

American River Recreation - South fork - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Coloma, California

BRIAN!! Brian was the best tour guide I have ever had hands down. He is a skilled rafter who knows how to entertain the raft while maintaining professionalism. The river was amazing but Brian who made the trip 100/10! I would recommend anyone coming to American River to request Brian as their guide. Well worth the time & costs and for all ages!! I flew here all the way from LA and would fly again just to experience the river with Brian again! read more

Gilson was an amazing guide! We went down the south fork with an 8, 10, and 13 yr old. Wonderful experience.

Wow. 10/10 Incredible. I came all the way from Canada for this trip and our guide Brian was phenomenal. He made the trip so unforgettable and fun for everyone. Super clear instruction and our group felt super safe the whole time. He prepared us ahead whenever rapids were coming up and made sure we were all clear on what we needed to do. He made sure we got amazing photos from the trip, which we also purchased! I cannot recommend Brian enough. I am definitely coming back and bringing my friends from Canada and booking Brian again! read more

We did the half-day South Fork run. Our guide, Matthias and the whole crew were amazing. They made it fun for all! A lot of calm with some mild rapids and then finish strong for the last hour or so. read more

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My family of 8 did a one day south fork river rafting tour. Brian was our guide and he was great. Being this was my first time I didn't know what to expect. The first half of day was great but when we stopped for lunch which was awful - make your own tortilla sandwich which was some lunch meat, cheese and fixings that had been in the sun with flies hovering over it. Wasn't much at all and it's no wonder my daughter got heat stroke (not much in her stomach) so that was why my four star instead of five. Honestly if you want to go rafting a half day is sufficient to get in some fun and have the experience. A whole day is not ideal on a slight empty stomach and paddling in the hot sun all day. Do better on the lunches guys. Even pre-made wrapped cold sandwiches would have been better. For $165 per person spend a little extra. read more

American River Recreation - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Coloma, California

I went last week on middle fork american river. I found out that AR Rafting was one of the first rafting companies for american river (30+ years) and that it's still family owned. Being on the first entry on google for "american river rafting", I gave them a call and they told me that there was a spot available and that there was a web special (saved $10). I told her that I was sold. After going on the trip, I found our guide was very professional and overall great guide. Highly recommended. Famous for: American River rafting. read more

American River Recreation - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Coloma, California

Great Half Day trip on the American River! Was Great way to start off my Birthday! Was easy to book online. Easy to fine and find parking, check in at location nice out door to sit if you like to enjoy a little lunch ! Make sure you bring water 4 half our on the raft you will get thirsty! Stopped for little break before heading back down the river for the bigger rapid s! Had a Great Guide ( Karina ) big shout to her for making it a Great and safe day!! Gypsey started out with information and instructions!! Thumb s up to American River Recreation!! s to read more

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Gabby (Guide from Costa Rica) was the worst. Super bossy, yelling at us constantly to row in synchronicity and telling us we were ruining her line. She was terrible and we basically went down the river in fear she would yell at us for something we did wrong. Other rafts were laughing and having fun but ours was not great. Beautiful route though. Gabby needs customer service training and learn to be nice to the peeps on the raft. read more

We had a wonderful time river rafting with Mari and crew. First time for my teenage boys who sat in the front and paddle hard. They even get to jump in the water a few times. Totally awesome experience! read more

Today's August 06,2020. It's a Thursday morning and looking for something adventurous to do and this pops up. Staff was very helpful friendly and fun. Best river guide is Brian!!!! For sure will make it way worth your money time and best person to make ur memories with. Had our boat singing even when we were a boat full of strangers! Went the extra mile to keep us on our toes! Just overall the best experience ever! I can't stop talking about it and bought the pictures to keep as memories!!! So if you're looking for something fun to do or even bond with friends and family, this is the perfect thing to do!! read more

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TL;DR: Make sure you have tons of sunscreen on. We were there when it was super hot (100+) and I saw rafters with red sunburned shoulders. We wore rash guards (long sleeve) and hats under the helmets. Lots on sunscreen on face, neck, ears and tops of thighs. Bring water bottle. Come with your adventurous attitude and you'll have a blast! Had a great time on this rafting trip! We were on the South Fork of the American River and went down the Gorge Run which is almost 13 miles. This is rated Class III. We had children aged between 9-12 with us so this run worked out well for our group. When they get older, we can do the middle fork which is rated Class IV. We showed up at 10am, turned in the paperwork that we filled out at home, got fitted for floaty vest and helmet, safety talk and helped carry the boats to the river. Bring a bottle of water on your trip. You can clip it in using carabingers or have it lose in the boat. We didn't lose any bottles. There were 20 of us and we have to split ourselves up into 4 boats of 5 (plus a guide). Took us awhile to do that! Some kids wanted to stay together, some parents wanted to stay with their kids. It eventually sorted out. The beginning is mellow with some easy rapids. Great way to reacquaint with the river and paddling. We pulled over to have lunch by the river. There were many rafters with ARR that day and the picnic area was very crowded. They served deli buffet on an inverted boat. Tortillas wraps with all the fixings (cold cuts, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and extras like hummus, pesto, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts). PB and jelly too. We were on the river last year with a different company and lunch was very different experience because we pulled over at a different spot with a tall rock that we jumped off of. We really missed that have other ARR reviews where they do take you to that spot. Maybe the water level was too high for that spot? Maybe they had too many boaters?? Nothing special about this lunch spot. There was a bathroom a short walk away. Lots of poison oak on the trail, very easy to brush up against your legs. These are compostable toilets. So nice to have this as an option! After lunch, get back on the boats and go through the gorge and some good sized rapids (Satan's Cesspool, Hospital Bar, etc). After the last rapid, all the boats tie together like a long train and there's a sea doo that pulls the boats to the ramp. Our shuttles were huge big buses and they had coolers of cold sodas. I think we got back to the parking lot around 4:30pm. It's a great way to spend the day with nature, family and friends. JC was our guide and she is great! Very knowledgeable and she was the leader that day. She managed the other boats and had 2 big paddles and a bench on our boat. We had 3 adults on our boat and a 10 year old girl in our boat. One minor gripe that my husband and I talked about driving home that day. We had to wait before hitting the big rapids because they were waiting for another ARR boat. We waited maybe 15-20 mins? Maybe more or maybe less. They all hit the rapids together so we had to wait for them. Don't know where they were or why it took so long but would have liked to not hold on to the tree and wait. JC was really nice about that, kept apologizing and most of us were in the tree but not all guides/boats explained anything. The bathrooms were small with tiny stalls and insufficient changing area. No door/curtain and it faces the tents & campers so unless you're tucked into the corner, no privacy. We took in all the beauty of the river during the day. We saw a deer standing in the brush in the middle of the river. Was it stuck? We talked about that. Think it was walking across the river. We also saw a grey squirrel running on the rocks towards the end. Lots of geese and ducks but that's it. No fox like last year! I think we paid $107 per person (adult or kid). If that's lower than what you're seeing, it may be the group pricing. read more

Excellent experience from start to finish. I spoke to Melinda when booking and she did a fantastic job of answering all my questions and explaining the process. We did a two day package which made everything very convenient as it included a campsite, meals, transportation and two days of rafting. I was impressed with the experience of the guides. They both had decades of experience on multiple continents! They made my family very comfortable with the first time rafters I was with. Horacio and Matt were fantastic and we'd be fortunate to have them again. Thanks to all of the hard working staff that gave us a great adventure. read more

I want to report a very unprofessional guide named Brian. He said and behaved very unprofessional Saturday first half of the day. I say he dumped his rant on purpose before trouble maker and my friend got hurt pretty bad probably a broken rib and bruised side ribs as well. Her foot was stuck in the raft and he was posing for a picture. He didn't rescue her and I don't know why he was tipped.. He is not a seasoned sophisicated guide. Pleasw look for a seasoned experience guide and not some adrenaline junkie who is just out for a thrill ride or the money I would not recommend this White Water company. Sad face read more

I don't typically write reviews but we had such a good time that I had. Sparkles (the guide) was great! Great guide, good stories and jokes, and kept things fun. It can be a long day on the river and Sparkles really made this trip worth while. I will definitely be booking with him again. Bryan read more

My first rafting experience at Middle Fork and it was amazing!! I had so much fun, it was a blast! Christian was our guide and he was funny, entertaining and very experienced. Lunch was quite the spread as well, and I recommend bringing a big bottle of water and some snacks. Definitely highly recommended! read more

This is THE place to go if you want to go Whitewater Rafting! I've been coming to ARR with my 2 kids since 2013 -- when it was a mom and pop operation, owned by a couple. Now it's much bigger. But it's still the same GREAT company. The instructors are amazing -- I feel so safe with everyone we've had. In fact, ARR does rescues and lots of safety stuff in the River. Besides the instructors, the whole staff is wonderful -- the people working at the store, the helpers, even the kitchen people are all so sweet and helpful. The equipment is up to date and I really feel like we're with the best company in the River. This is a great experience. 2 days of rafting with a delicious dinner (including drinks) in between. Super fun. read more

This is our 3rd year with ARR let me just say Christian and Zim are thee BEST! Guides EVER! they really make Rafting fun and exciting! Money very well spent never a dull moment. We did a FLIP @ Son of Satan which was a BIG surprise! everyone had an amazing time! we were like "lets do it again!" never wanted this trip to end. The company and great conversations made us want to follow these guides from The American to the Zambezi and to the Pacuare in Costa Rica! PURA VIDA!!!!! lets do the river dance! read more

American River Recreation - The start of a wonderful 21 mile Rafting adventure. - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Coloma, California

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Went for a half-day with our family of 4 (including 2 tweens). Had an excellent time. The guides are all very professional and friendly. They had wet suits if you wanted it as well as helmets and splash jackets. The river had just enough excitement to keep everyone excited. Kids are already talking about "next time". Great fun for the whole family. read more

This was the 3rd time using ARR for our adventure. First time Pablo was our guide and trip went very well. Second time we had less memorable guide whose name I will not mention here. This time our guide was Juan. He was AMAZING! The best guide ever! The best adventure ever! Juan was funny, informative, entertaining and very personable. We were group of 6. He let us switch sides, stopped to show us interesting things, tought us about history of the area, organized "balancing game" and "jacuzzi time", got us safely through the tunnel chute (we were not in sync at the beginning). It was such a memorable experience! We do this once per year, but now we want to repeat the experience this year again! We will ask for Juan again! read more

Did the 1/2 day trip on 8/17/2014. Couldn't have asked for a better trip. River was perfect! Weather was perfect! The entire day was great! No better way to spend a Saturday with your family on the river. The guides are friendly and professional. ARR really has high quality guides and equipment. Felt really safe the entire trip. Highly recommend ARR for a day of fun on the river!! read more

American River Recreation - What great day! - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Coloma, California

My family had a bonding time on the South Fork express trip. Even my 7 year old granddaughter loved it as Kyle, our guide, was so protective and caring to make sure she felt safe. He also made it fun for the teenage grandkids. I recommend this trip for beginners of all ages. The river was beautiful too!! Kyle was AMAZING and the best guide ever, extremely personable and made it a memory that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Ask for Kyle!! Great organization too as everyone was friendly and helpful. It was better than I had anticipated. read more

This is my second review because they deleted my first one. I want everybody to understand what they are paying for. From the moment you arrive to the moment you leave you leaveunderstand no staff has any customer service training. Very rude and yelling at customers! Go with H20 they got u and treat u a lot better read more

Owner Don, had guide Cory. Fantastic guide. Been on 10+ American river trips. Excellent technique; explains to you how to attack the different curl patterns on waves generated by current hitting the rocks. Best guide I have experienced, very good with beginner groups. Took the 12:30 depart trip from ARR campground in Coloma to Folsom lake. Arrived at 5pm. Everybody was dead tired. Bring some power bars wtih you to compensate for the low blood sugar after the rowing. $89.00/person before tax. memorable experience. read more

What an amazing adventure!!! Last weekend we did the half day Chili Bar run. It was awesome. I must say I was nervous from the moment we booked the trip weeks in advanced. I was worried about my 8 year old not being able to keep up with the rowing or even worse, being bounced out of the raft. After listening to Christian, our guide, explain what we would experience and what to do in the event of the unexpected, I felt totally at ease and that my family was in good hands. Christian was confident and experienced. He talked about the history of Coloma and the American River. He also told us many jokes that kept us laughing. The river run was just the right amount of calm mixed with the right amount of wild. It was challenging but never overwhelming. Definitely the highlight of our camping trip. We plan on doing it again. Highly recommend American River Recreation. Thanks, Christian and ARR, for the experience my family will never forget! read more

American River Recreation - Well deserved HIGH GIVE after the "meat grinder." - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Coloma, California

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Amazing experience & amazing staff. Booked a last minute 1 day express trip with this group, booking the reservation was pretty easy, detailed email arrived with all the necessary information. Showed up (directions they provided were clear / easy to follow) and check in was a breeze. Our guide was Marai (sp?) : quick safety walk through, collect your gear, on the raft and you are off! She was a great guide, friendly, informative but not overly serious. We had an absolute blast. Definitely a company I would recommend booking with. Bring & apply lots of sunblock - apply often when on the water. Bring a long sleeve swim shirt - you will be happy you did. Wear a visor under your helmet - your eyes will thank you. Buy some cheap sunglasses and a head strap to keep them on tight. River shoes or old tennis shoes are best - IMO. EAT before you get on the water and have a large snack pre-made and ready when you get back - you will be hungry! Bring water and a few snacks (power bar or granola) on the raft if you are doing a trip longer than a couple of hours. Sit up front - especially on the lower part of the river (the gorge). You will get soaked (if you are lucky) this it is the best seat in the boat. Guides tend to move people around on throughout the trip to take the back or middle of the boat in the beginning and try and switch to the front towards the end of the run (where some of the larger / bigger rapids tend to be). read more

Our party of 8 was able to ride in one raft together. Had a lot of laughs with our guide Andres. I believe that we did the south lower gorge. It was a very beautiful scenic route. Have bathroom and changing rooms on the premises before going on the ride and a little store in case you forget necessary things like sunscreen, water, etc. If you have experience would recommend doing a class 3 or 4, but if this is your first time this was a very nice and easy route with some parts that allowed for more excitement as well. Would definitely recommend preparing to buy the pictures as the photographers caught a lot of great shots of our whole group! read more

I would highly recommend ARR for your next river rafting adventure. It was our boys' first time trying river rafting, and they had so much fun and loved it, it also made it a fun experience with our guide Kevin. He was awesome!!! read more

If I could give this company 10 stars, I would. :) I've used American River Recreation for the second year in a row for my annual family rafting trip. We've used other rafting companies before, but ARR by far is the best!! When I call, Regina is always very helpful and accommodating- she is always happy to give me different quotes for different days, answers all my questions and gives me the best rates in comparison to all the other rafting companies. Getting a discount for loyalty is always helpful and much appreciated! ARR also picks us up, takes us to Middle Fork and back to wherever our campsite is located (both years!). Just like before, they were professional and well equipped. This year, Andres was our rafting guide and he was AWESOME!! No one fell out of the raft this year due to his expertise!! :) He was very funny, knowledgeable and just knew the river inside and out. Next year, we will DEFINITELY be using ARR again and I will be requesting Andres to be our guide! Thank you ARR for the great experience and we'll see you again next year! read more

Worst of All! Generally, I don't write a reviews. But, American River Recreation were worst of all vendors! We went with 16 friends for river rafting. Our guide was Sarita, she was super rude! Not only she spoiled our entire river rafting trip but wasted our precious moment which we wanted to enjoy with our friends. She would scream at us all throughout the rafting. When we complained to owner of rafting he told us - he will evaluate situation and get back to us. As expected..No RESPONSE from him. We are very disaapointed after spending 95 dollar per person for rafting trip and driving 3 hours from bay area we were not able to enjoy our trip. If you are going with your family I would highly recommend please do not select American River Recreation. I don't want any of you to waste your money like we did! read more

5 stars well deserved PROS- The guides were friendly and safety conscious. They really cared. The food was great for camping atmosphere. Lots of variety. We never went hungry It was nice to shower after each day. Everything ran like a clock. This company knows what its doing. The safety talk was very helpful. CONS- Staff licking their fingers and eating while making our food Dirty bathrooms. TIPS- Take Advil before and after. Wear lycra so it can dry. Wear sunblock Switch sides halfway. Paddling is hard work. the neck and shoulders take the brunt. When they say to brace yourself by tucking in your feet, do it! It's easy to fall out Wear an old pair of gym shoes without socks. The water shoes aren't firm enough. Your toes will hurt by the end of the day from pushing them into the raft crevice. read more

My first whitewater rafting experience. My friends and I were glad we went with ARR! -- go pirates! :) -- and Anna was our guide on the day-long Middle Fork run. FYI - you can do a half-day run. It featured Class 3 rapids, which is moderately adventurous for a novice like me. Overall, the trip is relaxing ... but your core / back & abs will get a niiice workout from those periodic rapids. First, it has a great location -- a 1 hr drive from downtown Sacramento that is fabulous for same day rafting, or a super-convenient night of camping. Site is clean and sociable. We have a neighbor (a guide from Rock N Water) join our s'möre-gåsbord :) campfire. We also met a few international ARR guides -- very cool to have a multicultural experience! -- who spoke fluent English. (what heavy accent?) Raft seat 8 people: Our co-ed party of 7 picked-up someone who was travelling stag, plus our guide. On land, our guide strongly advised us to wear the helmets. Life jackets are mandatory. She also showed us how to safely grip our paddles, to minimize any knocked-out teeth. She also instructed us on how to hang onto the ropes and to pull somebody into the raft! It seriously takes your whole body -- like judo! The guide also led drills (on land and initially in the water) to evaluate our teamwork and coordination. Anna re-evaluated weight and collaboration throughout the day, when our group wanted to rearrange ourselves. On a few occasions, she asked us to wait after a particular rapid before doing so. In addition she encouraged us to jump out and enjoy the water and currents. My only complaint is the expensive photo services, but I can't really complain b/c we didn't have a waterproof digital camera or tripods in strategic places! :l The river was crowded on the day we rafted. We did not appreciate other rafters who tried to instigate water fights. While we did have two dudes -- no betties -- fall out of the raft :) I'm glad ARR didn't have any upside-down rafts entering the rapids like one of the other companies. BONUS: relatively clean bathrooms with running water :) and warm water in the sinks read more

These folks really deserve five stars. If you are comparing companies go with this one- it was clear compared to other tours on the river ARR was the most professional and well equipped. Some other companies had shoddy life jackets and clearly inexperienced guides, I am so glad I chose ARR. Pro: everything! The guides are awesome, lunch was great, price was reasonable, everything was well organized and ran well. I didn't feel nervous because I felt I was in good hands with an experienced guide and good equipment. Con: life jackets smell like past users but I imagine all will be like this. During lunch when the bigger afternoon group hadn't arrived I heard another (not mine) guide complaining about "fatties old people and kids" on his boat, which made me feel uncomfortable. Tips: Use the directions they provide as they are concise and easy to follow. Wear sunblock and a hat. Take some Advil the next morning. Tip your guide. Wear synthetic blends, cotton will stay wet which means a cold cold ride back to the car. Go with people who are just as excited as you. read more

We used American River Recreation for a buddy's bachelor party. All the guys that work here are cool, but our raft guide, Christian, made the trip down the river hella fun. He was funny and for sure knows this river like the back of his hand! He took us through all the fun drops, swells, falls, or whatever they're called. We even dropped a gopro in the river and he helped us go back a little and find it! Most importantly, they fed us lunch and I ended at the end of the route alive! For a shitty swimmer fat kid, that's what mattered most. I would recommend American River Recreation to all that wanna spend a day smashing down a river. read more