Highly recommended. I booked the "Wohler Bridge Tour" as an outing for my wife and my anniversary. Sadly I failed to read the instructions and went to Rubicon's offices instead of the Wohler bridge launch site (oops!) which meant once I got back into cell phone range and figured out my mistake, we were an hour late to our scheduled time. Bill was waiting patiently and was incredibly gracious. He took my wife and I out for a 2 1/2 hour SUP tour of the Russian River, providing tips and guidance along the way. I'm thankful that I came across Rubicon as I now feel that I have both a strong comfort with paddle boarding and better a sense of the Russian River and where we might go paddle boarding in the future. Bill has a great wealth of knowledge and we appreciated his casual style. It's worth noting that Rubicon's rates are incredibly low, particularly given the personalized attention you get on these tours. Looking forward to coming back. read more

Learned a lot and had a great time. it was good time and would even do it again. the river was beautiful, great location, an excellent experience. read more

Had an awesome time rafting the Eel River with these guys! Greg was our guide and he took us down some nice fun rapids in a 12 foot inflatable boat. Hes been boating all the rivers north of the Bay area for many years and gave us all the history on the changes in the river as we floated past huge boulders that had moved with floods and old railroad tunnels and peaks in the distance. We did a day trip that was about 5 hours with a lunch in the middle. We stopped on a cool sandy beach area and Greg had a nice meal mixed up for us with organic quality sandwiches, potatoes salad, and, all the snacks. We had a food allergy in the group and Greg was super quick to accommodate. The scenery was beautiful and the water was perfect to cool us off on the slow stretches. I think is was about 78 degrees that day. Great was to see some wild scenery and chill out with bouts of excitement. If you are thinking of going: They do 1 day, 2 day and 4-6 day trips as well. The multi days are all in very wild areas with no roads in site and offer an awesome escape into the wildernesses. The boat all the rivers up north of the Bay area. The Russian River (wine and beer tasting floats!), the Eel ( lots of different runs) Cash creek and I'm sure I'm forgetting others. Wear some synthetic clothes and some old sneakers that will get wet. Greg brings waterproof boating attire if you would like, but wasn't necessary. A hat, sunscreen and sunglasses for sure. Other than that not much else, they take care of it all! They will work out pick ups and drips off wherever is convenient. We chose to meet them at the put in because we camped on the river the night before. Highly recommend and Greg will give all the tips on camping. read more

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We had a great time, John was very informative, friendly, excellent instructor!! We had great time, highly recommended!!! River was calm and beautiful. read more

First timer! Had an amazing experience paddle boarding! OMG! I was nervous, but nothing to be nervous at all. Bill & Cory training instructions before and during made me feel super comfortable. I left there feeling like a pro! Looking forward to doing it again! Check out their other excursions @ http://rubiconadventures.com read more

Rubicon Adventures - This is what a first timer looks like! super nervous! Glad I never fell in the water! - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me

We had an amazing day with Johnny out on the Russian river in July. The location is amazing. We only saw one other small group all day!! The rest of the river was packed but we had our own little world to SUP in! Johnny got us all comfortable with paddling and safety before we headed down to the river. We had a wide range of ages - from a 5 yr. old to 53 in our group and Johnny got everyone excited about going. Our 8 yr. old was hesitant for about the first 2 minutes and then was off. Our 5 yr. old ended up spending most of the day with Johnny on his board and had a great time. We cruised up and down the river and saw tons of wildlife. After 90 minutes or so we cruised down river and took a break by the dam and had a snack. We then headed back up river to soak up more sun and water. It really was a great day. Can't say enough good things about Johnny and Rubicon Adventures!! read more

I recently explored the Russian River like never before. My friends and I arranged a guided lesson and experience I will not soon forget. John was an amazing instructor and guide. We scheduled a paddle board excursion on a warm beautiful weekend day. John brought us to the Wohler Bridge, where he outfitted us with paddles to match our height, boards, and an efficient lesson on how to paddle and stand. Then it was off to practice on the river. John helped each of us get started. When we were all standing comfortably, he then led us up river to a fantastic beach. What an amazing adventure we had with Rubicon Adventures. This is a wonderful and affordable way to see the Russian River, and John was a fun instructor. Don't miss this adventure when visiting wine country! read more

Went to the American River the other weekend with a group of 10 people and used Rubicon Adventures for our guides. These guys were pretty organized and a lot of fun! They had our group of 10 and another group of 5, so there were three boats of 5 people each, with one guide in each boat from Rubicon to help steer. On the day of river rafting, we arrived at Camp Lotus, the campgrounds where we were spending night. Rody, one of the Rubicon guides, met us there and we got on a bus with a bunch of other rafters to drive up to the top of the south fork of the American River. At the south fork of the river all of our rafts were waiting us with the other two Rubicon guides. From there we received our life jackets and oars and they explained to us the basic guidelines of rafting and after that we were off! The guide in my raft was Greg, and he was pretty hilarious. We had a good time joking around and we had a lot of water fights with the other two rafts in our group. We would pull up to the side of the other rafts and start splashing them as hard as we could with our oars! At one point in the river, there was an area where there were two bathrooms up on the hill where we could walk up to. At that same area there was a big rock in the middle of the river where we could wade to, and then jump off of into the river! Majority of us jumped off the rock which was a lot of fun, and we floated downstream a little while and swam back to the shore. That was probably the most "scary" part of the entire experience although it wasn't rough at all, it was maybe as fast as jumping into a surge of water at Raging Waters lol. The water level of the American River is so low now days that the rafting part wasn't scary at all. It was probably stage 1 and 2 the entire time. I rafted the same river almost 30 years ago when the water level was high and the rafting was definitely stage 3 and 4 back then... I remember almost getting tossed out because our boat almost flipped over it was so rough! This time all you needed to do was to tuck your foot under one of the front seats and you were fine. At another point in the river(the whole river ride took about 3 or 4 hours) we stopped for lunch and the guides all made us turkey sandwiches for lunch. By then we were starving! Keep in mind we had been paddling the whole time. After that, we got back in and went through a couple more rapid areas and the ride ended right at Camp Lotus. Once we got back to camp we had the option of resting or using the paddle boards that Rubicon brought to the river. Some of us went paddle boarding, the rest of us pitched our tents and made some drinks. That night, the Rubicon guides cooked us dinner which was really good by the way... they grilled some chicken, cooked some pasta and vegetables, some salad and also had birthday cake dessert for one of my friends in my group. The next morning, Rubicon cooked us breakfast which consisted of omelettes and bagels. After that, we cleaned up, said our goodbyes and left the campgrounds. Overall, it was a great experience and would definitely recommend Rubicon Adventures! read more

John is an amazing paddler and coach! As an experienced paddler, I was looking to learn more about paddling on the Russian River as well as getting some training tips for SUP racing. He was extremely knowledgeable, easy-going and eager to share his abilities as a strong paddler. He has fantastic technique and transcends his knowledge of the craft from the very basic up to the most advanced levels. Best coach in the Bay Area! read more

This was such a ridiculously great way to start day. We were in the Russian River area to celebrate a birthday with friends. As so typical we planned to drink wine and eat great food, which we of course did. But to add this adventure to the list of activities was incredible. I highly recommend to break your routine and call these guys up and book a river tour with them. We did about 5 miles total. Started our day at 9am and ended at noon. We were able to cruise up lazily the Russian River or challenge each other to a race. We went on a Saturday in summer and couldn't believe that we had the river to ourselves. We didn't see another soul until the end of trip. So peaceful and beautiful at the same time exhilarating. Cant wait for the next trip. read more

I had a few lessons with John from rubicon, couldn't recommend him any higher. In 3 lessons I think I shaved a full year off the learning curve of learning to sup. And he's one of those people who somehow manages to be a great and patient teacher no matter what. He clearly loves his job. Great equipment too, a big step up from the usual beginner boards most places will rent you. read more

This was an awesome day. John was a great teacher. We had a group of 6 from age 14-72. The river was a bit high for early June, but John made the trip safe and enjoyable for all of us. read more

My family and I have had numerous outstanding experiences paddling with John H. of Rubicon. We've used Rubicon for SUP lessons, SUP rentals for visitors, and SUP Surf lessons and would recommend them to anyone interested in learning to paddle. John has delivered all of the lessons at a level that worked great for my young daughter, teen son, my wife and I. He worked really well with all of our personalities and family dynamics. He's been able to teach technique and keep it fun across skill levels and ages. The equipment we've rented has been in good shape and been exactly what we've needed for the circumstances. We've bought a couple of boards for ourselves but just call up John to rent some boards when we want to have guests join us. Our latest experience with rubicon was SUP surfing lessons with John at Dillon Beach. Not only did he do a really good job teaching us to succeed at a challenging activity, he took a beating in the surf making sure all four of us had the opportunity to learn. He really made an effort for us that we appreciate. I'd recommend Rubicon and John to anyone looking to learn to paddle flatwater or surf. Once there is some more water flowing from the mountains we'll have to schedule a river rafting trip. read more

We had a great time today with Bill from Rubicon. He met us promptly and provided some training on paddleboarding. Bill is very knowledgable about paddling and how to paddle through rapids safely. Then he took us on the Russian River. It was a seven mile run. We stopped once to rest. This was our first time paddling down rapids but we felt well prepared with the instructions we were given. It took us about three and a half hours. If you like paddleboarding and you are reasonably athletic, Id recommend giving this a try. Expect to fall in the water at least once! read more

Just returned from an amazing SUP day on the Russian River-perfect weather, fabulous company and a terrific leader. I have recently taken up the sport and am launching out to find new venues and learn new techniques. I can't say enough good things about our leader, Arline Thomas. She is energetic, friendly, great with people, passionate about the sport and really takes care of the group... Can't wait to go again. read more

SUP (stand Up Paddling) on the Russian River!!! I bought 2 $89.00 Groupons for my teenaged daughter and her friend. It turned out to be an amazing experience for both of them. We met at 9 am near the Wohler Bridge on Russian River. The guides, Bill and John brought the boards, life jackets, everything! They took their time on the lesson and safety issues, which, as the Mom, I really appreciated. They had the girls laughing but were simultaneously very serious. They are obviously experts and very good at what they do. They had them up and running in short order. The girls were a little anxious at first but were exhilarated and confident when they returned. There is very little current up there which makes it a great spot for novices. We can't wait to try it again. I could see this a family adventure or a rocking singles outing. Get out there! read more

We just got back from a fabulous weekend on the American River with Bill and Rubicon Whitewater Adventures. We couldn't have asked for a better experience! We were a big crowd (bachelor/bachelorette party) all with different levels of rafting experience and the whole group came away feeling great! We went up the night before to get settled in at Camp Lotus (fabulous place!!) before the day of rafting. Two of the guides came and found us in our camp to check in and brief us on what was going to happen the next morning. Bill and his crew are the perfect mix of helpful, friendly, professional, laid-back, and great fun. After the day of rafting (where they made a filling and delicious sandwich spread for lunch) we came back to camp and they cooked us a spectacular dinner at our site. We came in with some dietary limitations and Bill accommodated them above and beyond our expectations. With breakfast the next morning, they wowed us again. They put as much care into the success of our party as we did, which meant a lot and wouldn't have been easy to find elsewhere. I would recommend Rubicon to anyone who wants a wonderful river experience. You're sure to get something special from this family operation. More than with the big box companies, you're going to get a personalized trip designed to give you the time of your life!!! read more