River Runners

You know you are having fun when you do a few miles on a class 2 run and it takes five hours but feels like 20 minutes!

2020...that year when we almost missed wetsuit season. It is so nice to be getting folks out on the river again! @Sierra Nevada Photos

Finally...we are open for business!! Please call us to make a booking or talk about a plan. If you want to social distance, we advise a weekday. Also, we have one spot left in our guide school starting on June 15. It's going to be great as usual. See you soon....

At River Runners Kyle Brook's nickname is "the golden child" because we let him get away with things that no one else is allowed to. Every family has one we figure Kyle emailed me a new guide bio this morning, thought i'd share it with y'all. KYLE BROOK (aka Golden Child) I have been guiding on the South Fork of the American River since I was I teenager. I am currently 27 and am entering my 8th, 9th or 10th season (they blur some) as a River Runners guide. I grew up in Lo...tus playing and swimming in the South Fork with family and friends. I learned how to skip rocks on this river, and now I am currently training to break the world record of 88 skips set by Kurt "The Mountain Man" Steiner in 2014. Outside of my training regimen I work as a Land Survey Party Chief in Berkeley, climb, and play volleyball. Every summer I return to be a River Runners Guide because the experiences I have with guests and co-workers are always special, fun, and truly unique. I am very interested in the history and geography of the South Fork and I believe rafting trips can both bring groups together and give guests the experience of a lifetime. I have rafted on many rivers, and constantly seek to expand my exposure to the beautiful raft-able rivers of the world, but I have always found the South Fork of the American to be a very playful and fun river unlike any other. I have always been proud to be a River Runners guide because of the way our guides raft and treat guests. My goal is to make each river trip a high-excitement, excellent customer service experience for guests both on and off the river, and River Runners has allowed me to achieve this goal season after season. This year, like the rest of the world, I nearly died of boredom while sheltering in place. I learned how vital outdoor experiences to physical and mental health while staring out my windows and growling at the mailman. I am excited to release my pent-up energy while rafting with both returning and new guests on trips this season as well as defend my crown as best South Fork rock skipper.

Hi there, This is John writing from my desk beside the river. I hope you and your loved ones are staying as healthy and happy as possible during the pandemic and the subsequent closing of businesses and social distancing.... As you can imagine, the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting us here at River Runners. We are used to dealing with adversity, but of other varieties, like floods, droughts, heat waves, and hangry river guides. Over the years we have developed methods of dealing with all of those. We thought 2020 would be the year we had everything figured out. And then, boom, we are facing nature in a new way, albeit in a way that is much harder to predict. Personally, I feel like I am running a class V rapid. I guess it's good I have a lot of experience with that. Reservations were coming in so strong earlier this year that our main concern before the pandemic was hiring awesome river guides to make amazing memories. We plan on operating trips as soon as possible. We are committed to setting up our camp and completing all arrangements to make river trips happen. It's anyone's guess when that will be, but I am hoping for a May 1st opening date for our season. Since most of our guests visit later than that date, I don't see much of an interruption to existing plans. If you have booked a trip with us You may be concerned about our cancellation policy. We didn't include a provision for Covid-19, as you can imagine. If you have booked a trip with us, and we cannot do the trip due to the shelter in place order, we will issue refunds 10 days before your trip date. Our normal cancellation policy will apply once shelter in place orders are lifted. If you are thinking about booking a trip with us We have temporarily changed our reservation policy. Until the Covid-19 pandemic is somewhat controlled and lock downs are relaxed, we will allow our guests to make a reservation without putting down a deposit. That means you can call us or email us with the dates you want, and we will put you in the schedule. We are hoping this will help you make summer plans to look forward to, and help us to get ready to make a great trip happen for you! If you would like us to pencil you in please reply to this e-mail or give us a call on 530-622-5110. We have made so many great memories together over the years and we are looking forward to continuing that legacy this summer. Until then, we wish you and your loved one's happiness and health through this difficult time. Best wishes, John -

Remember the fun times when you were all together. When you were drenched in water and sunlight. Don't forget that those days will come again. <3 Sarah

In sickness and in health - River Runners will be running trips as usual in 2020. We have had some inquiries regarding whether the season is canceled and the answer is NO in case any of you are wondering! It is also important to note that a lot of major credit cards offer trip cancellation insurance as a perk, so that is something worth looking into for all your travel plans. Stay healthy and calm out there <3 Sarah Vee

This video lives on our homepage and I watch it about once a year. It always gets me excited about rafting season! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrM4WtCARVI&feature=youtu.be

CALLING ALL COMMERCIAL RIVER GUIDES - ACA instructor Travis Cobb is coming out west again to facilitate two SWR classes this year. Travis' classes have had great reviews over the last two years from guides around Coloma and beyond. The classes are dedicated to guides who work in the industry. Both classes sold out last year so be sure to sign up ASAP. https://riverrunnersusa.com/aca-swiftwater-rescue

Our Advanced Guide School dates have also been finalized. Get some Kaweah River time this year with Daniel, John and Travis. riverrunnersusa.com/advanced-whitewater-guide-workshop

Let the fun begin! Guide School dates for 2020 have been decided. Check them out here. https://www.riverrunnersusa.com/guide-school

Happy New Year everyone! After a much-needed break John and I are back in the office and ready to start the season with some fresh stories to tell of lands far away. We are looking forward to sharing them with you in the 2020 rafting season <3