Yestetday was a combination of Hot and Cold weather for our Father's day adventure. It was a 107 degree heat and icy cold water on your feet. These combination made a perfect day fun in the sun for our family. As long as you're fully protected by sunscreen, hat , and possible light long sleeve item, you'll be fine. While the heat is overwhelming, the water is another extreme. 20 seconds with your feet in the water......you'll want to get out. It is freezing cold. All the snow up in the mountains are melting and there's more water than I expected. It did not bother us a bit, we had a great time. I remember doing this many years ago but this time it seems much quicker finishing the floating down the river. The flow of the water is much faster that we got done in 2 hours. It took us 4-5 hours before. Advice: Bring food and plenty to drink Bring protection (hats, sunscreen, water slippers, zip lock bags or water proof containers for personal belongings, possible umbrella) Bring water toys, this should add to your fun Check weather/ news before going so you can prepare for the unexpected. read more

I love living so close to the river. The American River is so beautiful and getting out the first day of 1/1/24 was treat. The weather was so nice and everyone was so friendly. Happy New Years :) read more

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Great place to spend time with your family. Very many squirrels, ducks. You can have a barbecue or ride bicycles. Clean toilets. read more

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Great place to spend time with your family and loved ones. Perfect spot to take a retreat and grounding yourself. Go camping and picnic along the riverbank while enjoying seeing ducklings and listening water sound heals you. Clean toilet is the bonus point. read more

Entered theough River Bend Park, which has a $5 entrance fee and walked all along the trails closer to the river. SO many wild turkeys, deer, birds, blooming flowers and fantastic scenery! Absolutely beautiful whether you want to head out for a bike ride, walk or picnic! read more

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Came here ever since I was little for swimming, fishing and boating. It is now my place of solitude and I can enjoy nature while taking photos of their beautiful wildlife! It's peaceful and quiet also. read more

American River - The stork I've chased all over the river lol - Lakes Near Me

wonderful place to shred bmx back in the day sadly the jumps are long gone to the best of my knowledge all it takes is one kid to get hurt and or one karen to complain and all good things shall come to an end longe live the legend of the u-hills bmx action nor cal shredders read more

American River - GENO T 87 U-HILLS - Lakes Near Me

It's beautiful area. I really like this beautiful river. It's fantastic all year round. I believe American River it's fantastic attraction in our country and state. read more

I think it's hilarious that I'm the Duchess of the American River. Sounds like some Game of Thrones title. However I suspect after this review goes up, I won't be Duchess for long. Anyway, I grew up on this river. Back in the day (I'm dating myself now) I would get on my bike, meet up with friends, ride the bike trail, explore the river, skim some rocks and cruise back home in time for dinner. (Then again I read an article about how the Gen X set was the most "neglected" generation in recent history which is why they over compensate with helicopter parenting - but I digress...) I usually go rafting once a year, I own a six-man raft, and I grew up rafting down this river. Believe it or not, it used to be just families. Now anything goes. Yes, I even witnessed a guy with Mardi Gras beads who got women to flash him. My favorite areas are close to the old Fair Oaks bridge. You know, the one off of Bridge Street where no one is allowed to park anymore? The same bridge where they filmed scenes from The Stuntman featuring Peter O'Toole - yes I saw him in person - and Black Dog with Patrick Swayze. If you want to launch a raft, you can hoof it from Bridge Street to the boat launch across the bridge. You have to be in good shape though and have a lot of people to help. This way you won't have to pay the launch fee! Some excellent trails that go alongside the river are at Bannister Park. Take the horse trail and get lost. Eventually all trails lead to the American River. Fall is a beautiful time of year to watch the running of the salmon. Don't know why they "run" -- easier to say that instead of "swimming upstream" I suppose. And then in winter through early spring, the river smells pretty fishy from those that didn't make it to the hatchery. The American River runs colder in the summer ironically due to the snowmelt that gets released. Just watch out for areas notorious for undertow. Generally speaking, I haven't heard of anyone drowning by the old bridge. And I don't care if your friends do it, don't jump from the footbridge! It's not worth severing a vertebrae. read more

American River - May 3, 2014 - Lakes Near Me

Beware of swimmers itch! After rafting a friend and I noticed red bumps all over our bodies. The water is infected. Likely due to the drought . read more

We came out here for a floating day recently and the best part was the fact that there isn't too many places that offer a clean enough river to safely float in. The water is pretty cold right now, but not overloaded with mercury and the rapids are not incredibly strong. The front entrance offers park passes that are yearly- I suggest getting those if you come to the parks a lot. Plus you are supporting the Sacramento area with the funds. For a day pass is about $8.00 and for boats $13.00, getting a pass is worth it. Inside, there is plenty of parking and many launch areas for boats and or rafts. Warning* there are a lot of bikers on the bike trails- they move fast and they don't stop, be aware of being them in danger as well as yourself. Always look before walking ahead. There overall experience is so much fun! There is a place ahead that rents rafts to you- and once the raft reaches Howe Ave, the ending... a shuttle brings you back up. We just took 2 cars, that is suggested if you don't want to have to walk to far with all your stuff. One car was parked at Sarah's Court entrance and the other at the Sunrise entrance. It worked out perfectly. I suggest having this summer experience. Lots of kids and lots of dogs* definitely family friendly. read more

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This river is a good offering near the SF Bay Area in the Sacramento, CA area. The river is clean and the water is nice. I think there is a dam connected to it. The scenery is decent. People go rafting here with groups, but they also take their own floatation devices like kayaks, floaties and hang out at the river. It's treacherous I'd say, so you better ask around for the best spots, or you risk drowning in a treacherous river...that has guided rafting. It's a good place to visit if you are a local or a tourist. FUN! read more

The fam had so much fun here for 4th of July weekend! It was big lit. We coming back in August to do it all again read more

American River - Lakes Near Me

This is my new go to paradise! There are many serene tranquil pockets up and down this river. It's beautiful! I appreciate that it's close by and peaceful, perfect for these times. The bike trail is great if your a cyclist. It goes from EDH/Folsom to Discovery Park. My favorite location is off Sunrise Blvd just a little past Gold River before you cross the river over before the overpass to go into Fair Oaks. Nice hiking trails also. It's peaceful enough to meditate or read. The only noises you really hear are cyclists passing by or ducks. I hope you also enjoy this beautiful location. This summer will be the summer for rafting, looking forward to it! Get out there and enjoy the great outdoors and leave your phones in the car! read more

Had the greatest time on the river! Very relaxing you can swim down it, float on tubes, or load onto a huge float! The water is consistently frigid. RESPONSIBLE drinking is allowed but not on holidays. Pros: super chill, great for all ages, lots of places to stop and relax Cons: always cold, prepare and be responsible read more

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I don't frequently write reviews. Usually I hit the beach on the weekends but decided to change it up this time and hit the river. I'm so glad I did river bend park was great water was nice a clean not deep so great for the kids will definitely be going back soon. read more

Beware of Swimmer's Itch! Part of my group (including me) noticed red itchy bumps over our skin after our trip down the river. Apart from that, it was a really fun time! There were a few areas where you could dive into the water. Fun people as well! read more

I have always been scared of "river itch" so I have been avoiding the river my entire time living in Sacramento, until someone from the park mentioned why their dog was being so calm when mine approached him. She said she took her dog to swim in the river a couple times a week and it really helped mellow him out. So of course, I decided to take my hyper German Shepard since she loves water so much. I have to tell you, it was cold, but other than that we all had such an amazing time. The river is so large that you can likely find a personal space somewhere regardless of how packed it it and let your dog off leash (shhhhh) so he/she can swim with you. My family and my dog love river days and have made it a regular part of our summer/spring-weekly routine. read more

Great summer spot to hang out with friends and of course, river tube! Definitely make your way here early, we got to the river around 10am on a Saturday morning and it was already ridiculously crowded. There is a place to rent tubes, but purchasing our own tubes beforehand saved us a lot of time. You can find decently priced 2 person tubes with an attached cooler at Sports Authority or Big 5. You can park for free outside of the park, but the walk to the river is a bit far. It's definitely worth paying the $3 to park in the parking lot right by the launch point. Especially, when it gets to a whopping 100 deg out, I would not want to make that 15 min trek in that kind of heat, but I am quite fragile, you may have a lot tougher skin, literally! According to the girls I was with (who frequent that area), the amount of police patrolling the park has greatly increased over the last few years. They were pretty thorough about checking everyone's things (alcohol is not permitted on the river), but as long as you didn't have any bottles or obvious beer cans, they let us take into the river what we had with us (multiple snacks and other beverages). DO NOT forget to bring a paddle or two with you, we were ill prepared and had to muscle our way out of certain "dead spots" in the river that we got caught in. It was tiring, a little annoying and definitely killed my relaxing vibe! There is a portion of the river that adds a little thrill to the lazy floating though. You'll know when you hit these baby rapids, and just make sure you hold on to your loose items. On that note, I was very glad that I bought a dry bag. I got mine from Big 5 for $19.99, it had more than enough room to hold 2 wallets, 2 cell phones, extra change of clothes and then some. There are different areas to stop during your floating adventures. We watched as people beached themselves on certain shores, sun bathed and had a great time. Apparently, there's a popular "island" called Gilligan's island, where people usually get off, but that particular day the island was roped off. I was also told that there would be food vendors along these stop off points, but that too was a let down, there were no vendors anywhere! Thank goodness for soggy PBJ sandwiches or else I would've been starving lol. Without making any stops along the river, it took about 3 hours to float to the end. Very fun and relaxing. A more than awesome way to hang out with friends on a warm summer day. Some people went all out and had giant party floats that held 10+ people! We saw quite a few bachelorette parties and the expected bro fest. Overall, a great experience and can't wait to do it again! read more

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Beer floats are a Sacramento tradition, and the American River is he place to float! Launch at Sunrise and get off at River Bend and get ready for a party on the water. You can bring as much booze as you can float, so long as its not in glass containers. Water is best in July and August. Be sure to launch around noon and then you can take your time with your float. Along the river you will find hundreds of party-goers, tons of inflatable watercraft, and a few rope swings. During the summer it's a party every weekend, so grab a few friends, a tube, some beer, and join in on the fun!! read more

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I've been coming to the river via the La Riviera access point for over 10 years and a couple months ago I was there with my son and his dad because he was meeting us there to bring us some lunch that he bought us and to play with our son on his break from work. As we were walking back towards our cars from the river there was a guy who worked for the park I guess and said that he's giving tickets to cars that didn't pay to access parking by the river and asked which cars are ours and if we're leaving so we said we were on our way out of there anyway and left. Never ever in all of the times I've been here over the years have I had to deal with anything like this. I have a hard time accepting the fact that the government wants me to pay money to come to the river with my family for like 10 minutes. It's ridiculous. Other than that this is a pretty cool spot and if you come here just park across the street at the shops and walk here because it's not worth paying to access a public river and it's not worth getting a ticket for either. read more

Loved, loved my entire experience at water rafting. It was my first time and I got to share that with my family so it was even better. The weather was perfect and the drive up there was not bad at all. Parking is a little crazy and for us first timers it can be a little frustrating but none of that took away from all the fun. I would definitely recommend it to anyone from any age group and we will be doing more rafting soon. :) read more

American River - Group pic - Lakes Near Me

Awesome, quite place both for fishing and relaxing on your own. Clear place, no trash and litter. Don't forget to use sunscreen!

Awesome trip. Water cold but got an awesome tan and hung out with awesome friends. Definitly be back! read more

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I really enjoy coming here during the summer it's a nice place to hang out, swim, do activities read more

American River - Lakes Near Me

This is a 5 star River. Definitely better than those lame rivers. The American River really does all the things you'd expect a river to do. My only complaint is that it's too cold sometimes. Hopefully the river will hear my complaint and do something about it. read more