North Fork Stanislaus River

Rainbow trout and brown trout swim in these turbulent waters. The very rocky terrain gives experienced rafters some great class 5 whitewater rafting.

North Fork of Stanislaus offers an extremely thrilling raft ride down five miles of steep continuous whitewater rapids on a section of river between Sourgrass, near Dorrington, and Calaveras Big Trees State Park, just east of Arnold. Keep an eye on the weather, and don’t wait for summer there has to be enough snow melt to get you over the rocks.

Rafting trips on the North Fork may be taken with one of three commercial outfitters currently licensed to run the river by Stanislaus National Forest. The Stanislaus National Forest does not regulate private non-commercial boaters on the North Fork Stanislaus River, boaters are encouraged to stagger their launches with commercial trips, to prevent overcrowding. Everyone is responsible for ensuring that they have the proper equipment, skills and experience to safely navigate a very challenging Class IV river. The Calaveras Ranger District has guidelines for put-in, take-out, and parking. More rafting details are here.

For rules and regulations visit the California Department of Fish and Game Website