Incredible canyon scenery. Long quiet sections and fun rapids!

A river finally resurrected from the ruins of the abandoned Auburn Dam project!

The starting point is at the confluence of the North & Middle forks of the American river near the hwy 49 crossing. There are some good rapids right at the starting point and about a quarter mile below that just past the historic Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge. There are fantastic sculpted greenstone rock formations in this area. For the next three miles you will have a meandering float through a wilderness canyon setting. (Nudist Zone) When you get to the dam site area you will come up to a series of man-made drops created as a kayak play zone as part of the intake area for the Placer County Water Agency Pump Station Project. This might be a good place to hang out for a while and watch the action if any. There is a portage trail here and you can run it more than once! About a quarter mile below this is a take-out option for those desiring to avoid running the more challenging class 2+ rapids below this point were the river becomes steeper and  rockier before settling down again. On the left is a nice scenic side canyon where Knickerbocker Creek cascades down the canyon. After a quiet float you approach Oregon Bar, the last rapid if you are taking out at the Oregon Bar Takeout (open weekends only). The river takes a leisurely path through rocks until finally a chute appears to the right and which provides a final climax to this section of the run. At this time there are no signs indicating takeout access but there is a large rock pyramid and you can see the road cut. After running the chute you should stop on the right, carry your boat over the gravel bar, raft over a 20' section of water and carry up the bank and to the loading area is about 600' up the road. If you should raft past the take-out, there is a tail along the river you can get up to. You can also continue rafting down into Folsom Lake to the Rattlesnake Bar boat ramp (four miles). Although you will get to run more rapids if the lake is down, you will also need to paddle the lake, which takes 1 to 2 hours depending on your crews paddling strength, the wind conditions and the guides ability to maintain a straight line.

Your guide will need decent guiding skills to handle this run beyond the takeout just below the pump station. You should at least have mastered the Middle Fork run first to gain some experience reading the water and controlling your raft.

Water flows will vary with time of year and time of day in the summer. In spring expect high flows after spring storms and snow melt as the run is fed by the two river forks. If you want to taste the excitement, this is the time to go! There are good flows all day in spring as long as the North Fork flows stay up. On summer afternoons it's a lazy float with shallow rapids in some places. After 4:00 in the afternoon the hydro release from the Middle Fork gradually arrives and the run changes character to a quicker pace with more waves. The sun starts to hide behind the canyon rim. This is probably the nicest time to do this run. Take your time and enjoy the evening bur leave enough time to get out before the rangers want to lock up.

Logistics

• This is a run where hiring our shuttle service make things way easier! We'll take you to put-in and be at the end to pick you up! If not, follow these steps:

• Drop off your take out vehicle first. The lot is a half mile hike and 380ft elevation gain from the river. You drive down afterwards to get the gear.

• Proceed to put-in at the Confluence Area. You want to shoot for a launch around 5:00PM when the river has come up to full flow. Earlier times will be a low water run. Give yourself an hour to pump up and get ready.

• The first rapid is one of the toughest because it tries to push you right into rocks on the right. If you have figured out how to manuever it's easy.

• At takeout, send a fast walker up to get the car. The rangers like to lock up around dark and go home.