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    OARS California Rafting

    4.9 (68 reviews)
    Closed 7:00 am - 5:00 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

    OARS California Rafting Photos

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    Trip was very well organized, and the staff was amazing. Our raft guide, Adam, was fantastic. Safety was paramount and a good deal of time was spent discussing that which made our group feel much better as we were facing some class 4 rapids. Lunch was super and I cannot say enough good things about Oars.

    Judy C.

    I've been on a lot of white water rafting and this was hands down -- the BEST! Our guide Matz on the Merced was very professional and made us feel very safe with just the right amount of humor. What a great guide! The company, OARS had great communication and we felt Covid safe as all of our concerns were listened to and addressed. I highly recommend this company.

    Camping at Clavey right

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    2 years ago

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    Kate R.

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    1 year ago

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    Kate R.

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    1 year ago

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    Kate R.

    Thanks for sharing your experience, Erika! See you downstream!

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    10 months ago

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    Kate R.

    Thanks for the great review, BB!

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    1 year ago

    Liz was a fun and engaging tour guide. The food was incredible and we will be back next year!

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    Kate R.

    Thanks for the review, Lauren! We hope to see you again soon!

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    1 year ago

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Great river trips. Beautiful scenery.Guides that know the river and Melones dam very well.

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    Thank you for the 5-star review, Coleen!

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    4 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - OARS California Rafting

    Review Highlights - OARS California Rafting

    . These guys are at the top of their game and truly love sharing their passion for the Tuolumne with their clients.

    Mentioned in 11 reviews

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    Zephyr Whitewater Rafting - Good times!

    Zephyr Whitewater Rafting

    4.9(144 reviews)
    45.2 mi

    My husband, 2 teenage kids, and I rafted the Merced with Zephyr last week. We could not have asked…read morefor a better trip. Everything ran on time, was super efficient, we felt safe and well-prepared. Eric was our guide, and he did a great job talking us through what to expect, providing us some history and and keeping us entertained on the river. Highly recommend this trip!

    10 Star Review...Our party of 3 rafted w/ our guide, Dustin (and Erica in the 2nd boat) and we had…read morea phenomenal time. Dustin has many years experience, was personable and social, and shared a wonderful outlook on rafting and life which was really cool and perceptive . His safety talk was on point as well. Very likeable and knowledgeable, this Dustin! The facilities were good with clean wooden stalls to change clothes, port-a-potties available, wetsuits loaned to us, and plenty of parking available. We were fortunate in that another party canceled at the last minute, and instead of canceling on us for too few customers, Dustin and Zephyr management allowed us to raft anyway and we got Dustin and Erica to ourselves! Not to mention the whole Merced river to ourselves. What a day of beauty, peace, all mixed in with fun rapids! The photos were great too. The photographer followed us down the river w/ his car and took great shots all the way down! The service and rafting could not be better, with a beautiful river, climate, and great guides to lead us. We'd return in a heartbeat and will return hopefully next year. Thank you Dustin, Erica, and Zephyr.

    Photos
    Zephyr Whitewater Rafting
    Zephyr Whitewater Rafting
    Zephyr Whitewater Rafting - Fun afternoon on the Merced River!

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    Fun afternoon on the Merced River!

    Sierra Nevada Adventure Co - Worry-free loading and unloading of 4 adult-sized kayaks (11.5 feet) in the back of our pickup truck.

    Sierra Nevada Adventure Co

    4.5(55 reviews)
    15.9 mi
    $$

    Great shop right on Hwy 4, in the middle of Arnold. They open at 8, and Bear Valley opens at 9…read more So get there at opening, and drive the 30 minutes. You can be first in line when the lifts open! There were several families there, but service was fast and efficient, and we were on our way in no time. The equipment was in decent shape. They have full Rossi rental packages. The boots were comfortable if not a little basic. The skis were in good condition. Everything looked fairly new. The poles were a little cheap, but who cares--they're just sticks right? We also got a demo package. Nicer Rossi boots plus Atomic skis. The previous week I tried the premium Rossi skis somewhere else, but these Atomics were hot. After I returned them, he offered to sell me a new pair that were on sale. Not this time, but I was tempted. The staff was friendly and knowledgable, without being overbearing or know it all. The were fast too. They sped us through our paperwork, we paid up front, and returned our stuff by 5:30 day of. Great experience overall!

    SNAC is the best! They went absolutely out of their way to help us when we were in a tight spot…read moreduring the recent storms, going way above and beyond to make sure our family was safe. They have the best rental game in town, are so knowledgeable and friendly, and are locals. Hit them up in the winter -- or summer -- if you need gear or some local insight. Could not be more grateful for their whole team!

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    Sierra Nevada Adventure Co - Worry-free loading and unloading of 4 adult kayaks in our pickup truck.

    Worry-free loading and unloading of 4 adult kayaks in our pickup truck.

    Sierra Nevada Adventure Co
    Sierra Nevada Adventure Co

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    Gold Rush Originals - Boots are provided.

    Gold Rush Originals

    4.7(28 reviews)
    1.6 mi

    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!

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    Gold Rush Originals - You'll learn to pan, patiently guided by Mike.

    You'll learn to pan, patiently guided by Mike.

    Gold Rush Originals
    Gold Rush Originals

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    OARS California Rafting - rafting - Updated June 2026

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