I've rented the big party boat here twice for my birthdays, and I honestly can't even describe how…read moremuch fun we had--it was such a vibe both times! Being out on the water with friends, music going, and just enjoying the lake... unforgettable memories every time. We also added jet skis, which made the whole experience even better. Definitely worth it if you want to level up your day on the water! What really stood out to me was the staff. Everyone was so friendly, patient, and made sure we understood everything before heading out. They explained all the safety details clearly and made us feel completely comfortable getting on the water. If you're planning a birthday, group outing, or just a fun lake day, this is 100% the move. I'll definitely be back again!

My group of friends have rented from here a few times. On our recent visit we rented the boat for 3…read morenights. Check in is at 3pm and they say we have to return the boat back by 10am. However we ran into some trouble not being able to start the boat so we didn't return until 11am. There was no penalty. All the staffs were kind. This time we were welcomed with a choice of water, soda, beer or mimosas. Of coarse we opted for the mimosas. Not sure if this is a new thing but we did rent the biggest boat, the 60' Escapade II. We weren't offered drinks in the past where we rented smaller houseboats. They do have a store where you can get some food including ice cream, drinks, apparel and this is also where you check in. They also have an ice and water station. Houseboating is so much fun. The house boat had everything we needed to enjoy our getaway.

It will reopen in about 2 weeks from when I'm posting this review(05/23/2026). They let us in…read morebecause we traveled from San Francisco and didn't realize that they were remodeling. They still need to add tables, running water, set the restrooms up, open up the restaurant/store and set the boat rental. I expect great things when they open again. Great experience we had today; amazing view, weather and access to get into the lake.

The lake is closed down as of 2025...sadly. I think they…read morehave a buyer from out of state to upgrade all the things that the owners did not fix up to date with the county. Lets just hope this was our yearly family go to spot at the cabins...

The trip lead, Dana, was super well-organized and knowledgeable, regularly checking in on how…read moreeveryone was doing - a great natural leader. Our guide, Kylen (?) was a MASTER oarsman (best I've ever seen...), giving us clear instructions when we came upon some unusually challenging rapids. In some sticky situations that other boats got into, he was right ON IT to help them without hesitation, often seeing a problem before anyone else had. I felt completely safe in his care. He also "read the group" really well, connecting easily with everyone. Despite his amazing professional skill and emotional intelligence, he was very low-key and humble... to me, that's a sign of a lifelong learner. This was our 4th trip with OARS. There's so much care into the preparation, the selection and training of the guides and the well-oiled execution on these trips. We're already planning our next!

I've done a couple trips with OARS now: two on the South Fork of the American River and a 2 day…read moretrip on the Tuolumne. OARS does not disappoint! From incredibly attentive and knowledgeable guides to luxurious camping accommodations, they take care of you. All you have to do is show up and paddle. Maybe you don't even have to paddle if you're sitting in the gear boat. The American River trips are an easy day trip from Sacramento or the Bay Area. If you're looking for a little more adventure, a multi-day guided whitewater trip is so fun, with lots of downtime to swim, look at the stars, play games, and eat yummy food. There's no freeze dried camp meals here. Everything is boated in and prepped on the beach for you. So good. All around, so good.

We rented a tandem kayak from On the Lake Kayak Rentals for a 4 hour rental. They did a great job…read morewith communicating where to meet and made the experience simple and easy. They also recommended a good place for us to have lunch and suggested the best places to kayak that would be away from the wakes from the passing boats. We definitely would rent from them again.

I had a great time! Amanda and Matt were both great and picked me up from the parking lot and set…read moreup the kayak for me. It was a really good kayak brand new good quality and very comfortable. They also went and got me some water because I forgot to bring mine! I crossed over to the other side of the lake and pulled up the kayak and had breakfast on the bank under a tree. Then I kayaked around, saw the boats and the shoreline to complete my four hour half-day trip I feel it was really good value and I would do this again anytime and recommend otjers to kayak on this beautiful lake with this amazing service !

Inspiring tour. Great stories. Gold for everyone!!!!! A…read moregreat time for all ages. Even my 90 year old mother enjoyed it. Mike plans for your level of activity as he has many mining locations that fit the group.

7/2/2021 Have you…read moreever planned for gold? We've never done it before and have always been curious! Truth be told, it was a planned field trip for our son's school but the pandemic caused the school to cancel it not once but twice in a row so our son was really looking forward to panning for gold when we signed up for the field trip. We made the drive out to Gold Rush Originals after making phone reservations a few days before for availability and after checking reviews on Yelp and other sites out of course. We arrived 30 mins early, had some ice cream next door and came over 10 mins early. We had to call Mike just to make sure we were still on as the shop was closed. Mike ended up calling back after my 2nd attempt and said his partner Dave was on his way to meet us. Dave did meet us at the shop with Mike arriving shortly after. These guys are super nice, friendly and extremely social. Mike is very passionate and knows his history, geology and more importantly his gold. Mike knew we had hiked earlier in the day and since we had kids wanted to take us to a local river to pan for gold knowing the kids would have some fun in the water on this hot day. Mike suggested the kids to change into their swim clothes and he brought some boots out for them to try in case they didn't want to wear sandals or sneakers in the rocky river. The tour is $49/per person and includes rubber boots if you need them. They give each person a small vial to put any potential gold in (flakes/dust/etc) if found while panning. No guarantee of course. We ended up with some gold dust and honestly we wouldn't have known how to even look or pan if it wasn't for Mike and Dave. Mike went to an area of Rocks/Boulders and started chipping at the rocks explaining how gold can be on them and where they potentially came from. It's a good bit of gold rush history for our boys. Our kids started off strong watching Mike and panning in the water but ended up enjoying the river more than panning. Good call Mike with the river and swimming clothes which we packed not for this adventure but for the hotel swimming pool we were staying at later. We loved the Mokelumne River! It's beautiful and is a true hidden gem. We met other people that were gold panning there as well and it wasn't super crowded! We'd come back out just to enjoy this river on a hot day! If you're curious about gold panning, you should definitely try it! It's super cool to learn about the history and geology of gold. If you're lucky and come on a hot day, bring swimming clothes, water and snacks! Mike has tons of stories to share!

If you are looking for a experienced, knowledgeable and very personable fishing guide that can put…read moreyou on the fish and will give you a memorable, productive enjoyable fishing day, I very highly recommend John of Xperience Fishing Guide Service. I have fished a good part of my 80 years. I have fished fresh water and salt water with captains and guides from Central America, Mexico (mostly Baja), Canada, the East Coast, the SF bay, the delta and many lakes in northern California. I did not mention these places to impress you with my fishing. I want to impress you with John's abilities as a great guide. He is one of the best people and extremely good fishing guides I have had the pleasure to fish with. He does what he says his goal is...he wants every trip to be fun and create memories. He did it for me, I know he can do it for you also. I look forward to fishing with him again and again and ....... PS: John really knows his stuff. About 4 times, as he was watching my retrieve, he told me I had a fish on even before I felt it.

From the owner: Fishing is a way of life. Guide John Liechty is a fourth generation angler on the western slopes of…read morethe Sierras. With years of fishing knowledge and guiding Xperience, John is able to teach the basics to first time fishing anglers and willing to share advanced techniques and tactics with seasoned anglers. The main goal of each trip is to have fun and create memories. The lakes and reservoirs nestled in the Gold Country offer excellent fishing opportunities, while enjoying the beautiful landscape and wildlife.

I have rented a pontoon from these guys 2 times. Once in 2017 (old location) and this year. I can…read moresay both experiences were great. The first rental was an older boat. The second rental was a 2022 Sun Tracker Party Barge 22 DLX. We had a great time on both occasions. They will hook up the trailer upon arrival and detach upon returning. The staff is friendly and informative. They go over all that you need to rent, operate, and transport your rental. Just bring back the rental clean and unbroken with the tank full and you will have a smooth experience. Pick up took about an hour and returing took about 20min. I will be coming back here when I need to rent another craft. I highly recommend this company.

Yorgo(owner of h20 crafts) made our experience so easy,enjoyable...wonderful! Very Professional…read more Highly suggest and we are now forever customers.

Ted was an awesome tasting associate walking us through our tastings and sharing some great…read moreinsights to the wines we had on our first wine club pick ups and newer additions.

Larissa was very knowledgeable , friendly , shared family wine history and the wine was fabulous…read more Outdoor dining service was great. Thank you!

This review is late, but I really wanted to see how the repair faired during normal use. I had…read morework done almost a year ago for a side panel that came loose and bent back in transit. It was a partial aluminum panel against a window running along the front edge of my trailer. Not a too complicated repair, but you still want the repair to hold up and NOT look like a repair. Customer service was simply amazing. Rachelle was on top of every thing. From my initial call to responding to my calls and emails, and delivery, she was on top of it. Being the face of the company, you always want someone who knows how to take care of you and answer all your questions. If she didn't have the answer, she got back to me in a timely manner. She dealt with my insurance company and I rarely had to relay any information back and fore. As for the repair, the repair looks great. Paint was matched very well, but to be fair, my trailer is only 5+ years old at the time and well-cared for. The biggie was them matching the decals on my trailer for the panel that was repaired/replaced, which was great. The only evidence something was done was with new sealant. That being said, I did find some minor things like a loose marker light that was not properly sealed and secured, and similar things to tighten up. Because I maintain my trailer frequently from washing to tightening things up, like most trailer users should do, it was not hard to spot. Overall, I am very happy with the work provided and incredibly impressed by the service provided by Rachelle. I would highly recommend them from my experience. That being said, I have only taken the trailer out a few times on short trips under mild conditions since the repair. I will provide any appropriate updates if I have any issues.

I've had all my fiberglass repair, work on my boat and my fifth wheel trailer done at Smooth As…read moreGlass and they are in my opinion the best RV & Boat repair shop in the central valley. From the wonderful staff scheduling, the work to the person that does the estimates and all of the employees in the back they are top notch . I highly recommend Smooth As Glass for all your fiberglass boat & RV repair.

Camped at Ironhorse #17 and kayaked and fished in New Melones Lake…read more Ironhorse Campground: While #17 was chosen because of its close proximity to the bathroom/shower, the dangerously steep decline/incline from the parking pad to the tent/fire pit/picnic table will keep me from renting this space again. Trekking heavy gear from the car to the tent was ridiculous in that you had to carefully watch your footing. Going back and forth to unload and then doing it all again when it was time to leave was a precarious total body workout. As for the amenities, the bathroom was clean and had two toilets plus one shower. Although previous reviews said that the showers were coin-operated, the machine has been removed, the one shower is free and has a hand held shower head which pleasantly surprised me. Due to the lack of grading, the shower water does flow into the bathroom stalls. Initially, it didn't look like the bathrooms had any hand soap as there was only an empty bottle left; however, on the day I was leaving, maintenance replaced the empty bottle with a full bottle. If you wash your hands, bring your own soap and towel. On the wall, there are two precious outlets which I really appreciated. Throughout the day, I enjoy having a cup of tea and use my travel electric water kettle to boil my water. Speaking of water there was a water spigot on either side of our camp site which was convenient. If it wasn't raining, I would have used the fire pit which seems to be a rarity these days in CA as many places do not allow them. Camping fee per night is $44 per night plus an $8 booking fee. Due to the wind and rain, my partner and I had the whole campsite to ourselves. Even the RVs left. For next time, I will choose the more flat #13 or #14 to avoid the steep hike to and from the tent. Marina: For boats, there are two ways to get into the water. 1) 30 day quarantine by the Marina, or 2) Hot Water Decomtamination with an appointment with the Marina which will cost around $90. If you're a camper, then parking/launching a boat is included in your camp fee. Glory Hole Launch is open Mon-Thurs from 8am - 4p and Fri-Sun from 6:30am - 8pm. Tuttletown Launch is only open Fri-Sun and closer to the fishing action. As for kayaks, they do not have to go through the quarantine nor the decomtamination. However, the hull needs to be dry which is tough when it's been raining. Moreover, the boat ramps are not kayak friendly as the ramps are VERY steep. To avoid the steep ramps, I used the marina to hand launch my kayak which was slippery and muddy due to the recent rain. Fishing opportunities abound as I witnessed people limiting out on Kokanee and catching nice sized rainbow, small mouth bass, and even blue gills from the shore. If you're into birds, there are lots of varieties, especially turkeys and blue herons. Although I will return, I will make better choices like a flatter terrain for camp site and not camp on potential rain days, if I can help it.

Loved the campground. We were here last week-end in February…read more Good shower and bathrooms. Everything was very clean. Beautiful hilltop views of the lake which is all around. Will come back for sure. Oh and we enjoyed our spiral tour at Maoning Caverns which is nearby!