About Whitewater Rafting
For an adventurous vacation nothing offers thrills like the wild and scenic Tuolumne River or the North Fork of the Stanislaus river.
Relax on the Merced River in the Yosemite valley in summer, or endure the extreme whitewater of the Tuolumne river following the spring thaw. Both offer a beautiful look at the rugged, steep, and stunning Sierra foothills.
International Scale of River Difficulty | |
| Class I | Easy - Waves small; passages clear; no serious obstacles. |
|---|---|
| Class II | Medium - Rapids of moderate difficulty with passages clear. Most open canoeists should never tackle anything tougher than class II. |
| Class III | Difficult - Rapids are longer and rougher. Waves numerous, high, irregular; rocks; eddies; rapids with passages clear though narrow, requiring expertise to maneuver; scouting is usually needed. Requires good operator and boating equipment. |
| Class IV | Very Difficult - Rapids are generally longer, steeper and more heavily obstructed. Waves are powerful, irregular; dangerous rock; boiling eddies; passages difficult to scout; scouting mandatory first time; powerful and precise maneuvering required. Demands expert boatman and equipment. |
| Class V | Extremely DIfficult - Long and violent rapids, following each other almost without interuption; riverbed extrememly obstructed; big drops; violent current; very steep gradient; close study essential, but often difficult. All possible precautions must be taken. |
| Class VI or U | Unrunnable |
Whitewater Rafting Terms | |
| Current | Moving water. |
| Gradient | Measured in feet of elevation loss per mile of river. Tells the "steepness" of a river. |
| High Water | River flow is above an expected average. |
| Hole, Hydraulic | Where water flowing over an obstacle flows down, then back onto itself. |
| Eddie | Water flowing upstream behind a rock or other obstacle. Eddies often provide a safe place to get out of the current. |
| Eddie Line, Eddie Fence | Where the water flowing upstream passes the water flowing downstream. |
| Flow | The amount of water passing a point in the river, measured in Cubic Feet per Second (CFS). |
| Laterals | A wave or hole peeling off an obstacle at an angle. |
| Low Water | River flow is below an expected average. |
| Put-In | Where a trip begins. |
| Pool-Drop | A type of river in which rapids are separated by calmer pools of water, often more forgiving than continuous gradient rivers. |
| Rapid | Where there's whitewater! Water flowing through a shallower, constricted, or steeper section forms a rapid. |
| River Right | The right side of the river when facing downstream. |
| River Left | The left side of the river when facing downstream. |
| River Rating | A measure of the difficulty of a rapid or a river on a scale from I-V. |
| Run | The section of river that can be boated. |
| Standing Wave, Haystack | A wave in a river formed by obstacles on the river bottom, where the wave stands still relative to the bank. |
| Strainer, Sieve | Where water can flow through but a boat cannot. A dangerous river feature. |
| Take-Out | Where a trip ends. |
If you want to stay close to where the action is or your activity gets rained out and you want a place to stay here is the full list of places to stay.
This is only a small taste of where this activity can be enjoyed. Tell us about your favorite place! Share your experiences send an email to Recreation Information If you would like to advertise with us, please e-mail our sales department sales department or give us a call at (209) 533-1450. To see the gallery of our current advertisers click here.
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