Thinking of tubing on a weekend? Come early. By 10am the lot is very likely to be full. It's $12 per car. We would take 1 car with all the floaties and air pumps and park around 9am. On our recent trip we inflated 14 floaties using a combination of 4 different air pumps and it took us an hour. Last year we were not as prepared and needed to used the free public pumps. Never again. It took forever. It took us 4.5 hours to get to the end at Sunset Beach and that was with a 30 minutes lunch break. It's always fun. We've been making it an annual group thing and each time it gets better and better when we are more prepared. read more

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If you are planning on tubing, the new Russian River Shuttle makes Steelhead Beach the perfect spot to start your adventure! The $5.00 round trip fee (per person) includes free parking, drop off at Steelhead Beach, and pick up at Sunset Beach, all in a comfy air-conditioned vehicle. When you arrive at Steelhead Beach, be prepared to stand in a long line to pump up your tubes at the pump stations. Alternatively, we brought with us an inflatable kayak pump for our kayak, and a "Compressed Air Duster" (Amazon: https://a.co/d/bMSSmrV) which blew up 4 huge tubes with headrests in under 10 minutes! We put that in our dry bag, and were happy to have the kayak pump to deflate everything quickly at the end of our trip. Hot Tip: Once you are ready to get in the water, follow the path on the far south of the picnic area which takes you slightly upstream. You will find a perfect spot to plop in your tube and relax while the gentle current starts you on your fun journey! read more

Steelhead Beach - Ride the Russian River Shuttle! We were all smiles on the bus at the end of our Russian River tubing adventure! - Beaches Near Me - Forestville, California

My rating is for the river float access, and not for the beach itself. Nothing like floating down the river with some bros and brewskis. Steelhead beach is an excellent spot to start your river float. The parking lot at the beach fills up earlier in the day but they will allow you do use their designated drop off spot to drop off your floaties and equipment before heading to the El Molina high school lot where a shuttle will pick you up and take you back to the beach. At the beach, there is a public floatie filler pump thing or whatever attached to the bathrooms but it's pretty slow and there's a line so I'd recommend bring your own pump. You can float down the river to sunset beach where the shuttle can take you back to Steelhead beach or El Molina high school where you started! A day well spent! read more

I came on July 20th weekend and I had such an incredible experience floating down the river. If you didn't know, there is a shuttle service for only $5 per person that shuttles you from a parking lot to Steelhead and back from Sunset beach. It was so easy and stress free avoiding the crazy crowds fighting for parking in the tiny Steelhead lot. Arrive around 10am and it was madness. Everyone fighting over inflating their floats and crowds rushing to get into the water. The entrance into the water was crowded but everyone spreads out nicely once we start floating down. When I went, the water was very nice and not too shallow where out butts hit the bottom but there were also points where it gets deep (at least 8-10 feet). It was a bit annoying that a group of Kayakers came in full speed running over floaters in the congested departing area and telling us "get out of the way!" Umm we don't have control where we're floating and we're literally entering the water. A few floats got turned over by then. Other than that, everyone was very polite and respectful. The water was nice, cool and refreshing. Wasn't too muddy and I could see down about 4-5 feet. Some tips: lots of people were losing their phones in the beginning. Make sure you have a good attachment to your phone with a necklace or some kind of chain attachment. I was keeping my entire body in the water but I still got my legs burnt so wear sunscreen (im an idiot and didn't put it on my legs). You can rent floats there for $25 which is a rip off because you can buy a float at harbor Freight for $15. I would also bring your own electric pump. We had a hand held one and inflated 8 floats in under 10 mins. The pumps at Steelhead are super slow and people are sitting there inflating their entire groups for 30-40mins. Moreover, sometimes the floats will slowly deflate 2-3 hours in and it's nice to have your own pump to reload air into your floats. Even some of the new ones we bought got a little soft 3 hours in. The website says it takes 4.5 hours to go from Steel head to Sunset beach but it only took us about 2.5 hours. We didn't dock on any beaches and just floated down and I did speed us up a bit in the shallower areas since you can become stagnant due to low flow areas. Overall I had such a great time and I'll definitely be back. read more

Sadly due to our continuous drought floating here is more of a chore than a luxury. We went a few years ago I think in 2020 as a group. There always had to be one person pulling the group down the river, which takes away from the idea of floating, it's more like pulling. The parking lot fills up fast! I believe there is a shuttle system for a cost if you park in the lot at the end. Another paid parking lot might I add. This is not a free experience, sadly you gotta pony up the cash. The vibe during the summer is a party scene. It's like Vegas meets nature. People bring massive amounts of booze, portable speakers blasting whatever they want. If you are a helicopter parent, I don't think this is the place you'd should bring your kiddo. If you're the kind of parent that lets your kid stay up past 10 p.m. and watch rate R movies, come on down! Bathrooms, my favorite topic as you know if you've read my other reviews. There are some located at the main entrance, usually with a line. I believe along the river there are additional portable potties? And at the end there are some super gross port-a-potties. You can only imagine after hours of drinking. Oh yes I almost forgot, the chaos of blowing up your tubes. You are allowed to park for a limited time at the front entrance if the lot is full, so you can blow up your tube, then park somewhere else. We left a designated watcher of everyone's tubes. If you own a nice fast dual action pump, beware, you are the hottest commodity. We were approached by so many people asking "Hey can I borrow your pump?" After a while we figured that we'd be there all day if we let every person borrow our pump, and what if they let someone else borrow it? Then we'd have no idea where it would be. So we had to be mean and say NO! LOL I know this is a lot to process for what should be a calm experience down the river. We did have fun. It took I think 3 hours to complete. All of us were sunburned because you can't turn over like you can on a beach chair. Your body is constantly exposed to the sun. Bring sunblock and maybe a sarong to protect your skin. And of course a hat and sunblock. Have fun fellow floaters. read more

Yikes! It's almost like the shootout scene with Wyatt Earp and Curly Bill Brosius I'm the movie Tombstone. Loud crowds, copious alcohol consumption, and a lot of green herbal burning. Maybe I'm just getting old! read more

I love how you can literally ford the Russian River at Steelhead Beach. I waded across the Russian River and found a comfortable tree branch to sit on and watch the people across the river :) People like to bring their beach towels and blankets for the beach, their dogs, and their children because this is a slow-moving river with a shallow bottom. Both the little girl and the dog in the picture I uploaded have their feet on the ground -- it's a very safe and fun place to bring the family. I read more

Steelhead Beach - Beaches Near Me - Forestville, California

I'm writing this review because I was a first-time inner tube-r this past weekend and had a fantastic time. It's not easy to plan a float trip if you don't have your own inner tubes, but not impossible. Here's how we did it: 1. We first went to Johnson's Beach and rented inner tubes for $10/day (10 am - 6pm). They don't usually let people leave the beach with their tubes because several parts of the river are dammed so it makes it impossible to actually float back to Johnson Beach, but we knew what we were doing so the nice lady gave us the green light. 2. Drove to Steelhead, parked, and dropped all the tubes in the parking lot, and drove the other car to the finish line (Sunset Beach) where we could come back by car at the end of the day. 3. Start floating from Steelhead! It's a little hilly getting down to the water, so if you're carrying floats and a floating cooler it's a little tough. But once you're in, you get 4 hours of solid relaxation on the water. There will be plenty of other floaters in that beach area with you. It's a good time! 4. Land in Sunset Beach (there will be small light-blue signs, but straightforward to spot) and shuttle the inner tubes back to Johnson's Beach before 6 pm. I recommend bringing a hat, waterproof speakers, floating cooler with snacks, and river shoes. The water is quite shallow at times so your feet will graze the riverbottom during several parts. Lastly, to avoid any cuts, wear river shoes! read more

It is with great sensitivity that I wish to report racial basis exhibited by two young women rangers at Steelhead Beach Regional Park, River Road, Forestville, CA on Saturday, June 27th, 2020. I specifically wanted to highlight the poor judgement and behavior of Sonoma County rangers, who were manning the gates on Saturday, June 27th. There were 2 young White women and they were being selective of who they were letting in to park. When we arrived in our van, we were told the parking lot was full and the 2 rangers barely allowed us to park near the front entrance for a brief while, while I dropped off my wife, kids, our pet and the picnic paraphernalia. They rushed us and reminded us it was time to leave after a couple of minutes while we were rushing to unload. After unloading, I had to go and park elsewhere and walk to the park entrance, which I didn't mind honestly. The really hurtful thing was, while my wife+kids were waiting near the gate, my wife noticed that the rangers were allowing some pickup trucks and some vehicles. My wife also noticed that the race of folks being allowed was 'White', while brown people (Hispanics) were being told that the parking lot was full. We are also 'brown' and when my wife walked over and questioned the rangers, they sounded surprised and pretended to be shocked that my wife would even question them about this. Sonoma county park should look into avoiding placing rangers to make these random decisions. They should have some sort of parking count and allow folks to park as long as # of spaces are more than 0. In the meantime, train the rangers to be sensitive and not selective about who they let in. Thank you for reading. I also emailed Sonoma county parks. read more

I bring my dogs here all the time. You're suppose to have them on a leash and rangers definitely come by, especially during the summer months, so I just walk down the trail about a mile and let my dogs play on a deserted beach. They love it! The water is deep enough year round so they can swim and there usually aren't very many people around so I don't have to worry about them running up soaking wet and jumping on some stranger's towel... Grab some beer/friends/bbq/dogs and head to this beach for a sunny day... guarantee everyone will have a good time... read more

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On 7/14/2022 around 7:30 pm our family was having a barbecue, we went to the river for 20 min when we came back someone stole all of our stuff they took 1500 cash from a wallet, Bluetooth speaker a bag with all our personal items, a cooler with all our drinks basically we had to drive back home with our clothes wet. It's so sad that is happening in our community. I tried calling the park but their phone number is out of service, to see if they have surveillance cameras. read more

There are now signs posted at the parking lot entrance that reflect no alcohol permitted Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. Parking is $7 or free for Sonoma County Regional Parks members with valid passes displayed. The parking lot is partially shaded but most of it is exposed to the sun. There are restrooms available with flush toilets and toilet paper. There is no hand soap but paper towels. The beach leading up to the river is mostly gravel or small pebbles. Life jackets are available for free. Highly recommend grabbing one because there are areas of the river that move slow and you may find yourself getting out of your Intex River Run Float to either push or pull to get moving. The life jacket will help with fatigue. An oar also can come in handy to help propel you forward or to steer you away from obstacles along they way. Carpooling is helpful, especially if you plan on beginning and ending in 2 different locales. If you are looking for guidance in planning a float adventure down the Russian River, check out this article located on the 7X7 website composed by Clara Hogan on 09/05/17. https://www.7x7.com/how-to-plan-the-ultimate-russian-river-float-trip-2472336787.html read more

This place is a nice shallow and slow moving part of the river. It is a great place to bring your dogs or your kids. Parking is $7 and dogs are allowed on a leash (although most people let them run free). It can be VERY crowded on the weekends. Like no more parking kind of crowded. But on the week days it is practically deserted. We like to walk our dogs down to the more secluded part of the beach and set up camp. We bring a shade canopy (for the dogs), some towels, and an ice chest. It is a great place to relax and swim for a few hours. read more

Steelhead Beach - The girls having a good time swimming in the shallow river. - Beaches Near Me - Forestville, California

It was A really convenient beach the only bad thing is the parking fee is $7 just for what the beach has in store for us

Very quiet location on the Russian river. We went on a Friday during the day, there were families there but it was peaceful. You can float down to the other beach locations, however the river can get pretty shallow. Steelhead beach has an easy access point, to bring kayaks or floats into the river. You can bring your car up and unload, then walk straight down to the beach. read more

Steelhead is a good place to kick back on a sunny day and read or float around on an inner tube because the river here is pretty shallow and slow flowing. There's a gravel driveway area so you can back your car down closer to the beach and unload canoes or kayaks. It gets very busy in the summertime and sometimes the bathrooms are pretty nasty but that'll happen anywhere along the river in the summer! read more

Lots of people were enjoying the shallow waters of the river, but I also wanted to walk on the trails listed on Sonoma County Parks' website. Not only were they hard to find, but they were so overgrown, I had to turn around. I like a good walk in the woods--but not where you need a machete. read more

Visited for the 1st time this past weekend, recommended from the nice guy at the Produce Stand we stopped at, we were headed to Johnsons Beach but were told we couldn't BBQ there. What a great spot to BBQ and fun for the kids to swim, we were able to find a picnic table, lay out our food spread, BBQ, eat, sit and relax on the chairs we brought and took the kids for a swim on the river. Only bad thing was a party of about 30 people where we were by the water, were smoking weed and cursing up a storm and they also had kids in their party, really people c'mon. read more