It’s no surprise that I love water. So when I was in California last year I was checking what kind of water activities I could do. I was already in Sacramento for the weekend to watch a Cirque du Soleil show and was pleasantly surprised to learn that you can actually go tubing on the American River (it runs through Sacramento).

The route

There’s a spot to lazy float just about 20 minutes away from the city and it lasts from 2 to 4 hours, depending on how fast the river is running. You start at the Sacramento Bar Park and end at the River Bend Park.

This segment of the river is usually pretty calm, specially in high summer when there’s not much rain water flowing through.

What to bring

Definitely don’t forget to wear sunscreen! I recommend wearing a t-shirt, a hat and water shoes (to protect your feet) as well. Otherwise I brought pretty much what I always bring with me when I float down the Limmat:

• Water
• Sunglasses
• Snacks
• Phone
• Wallet
• Car keys
• Microfiber towel

American River Raft Rentals

Since I’m just visiting, I obviously don’t have any gear with me so I need to rent it. I got everything I needed from American River Raft Rentals and conveniently they’re pretty close to the place you can start. They’re located just about an ~8 minutes walk from where you can launch your boat. Additional conveniences are that they offer a shuttle (every 30 minutes) back to the store and that rentals are one-way, so there’s no need to carry any of your gear back to store. They offer rafts of multiple sizes, kayaks and standup paddleboards (SUPs). In my case I’m on my own and I’m very comfortable with a SUP, so it was an easy decision for me. The SUP was not inflatable but rather from some styrophone-like material that was incredibly thick, heavy and uncomfortable to carry all the way to the launch spot. I think they were going for a very sturdy material so that no customer can damage it. Nonetheless, the equipment seemed relatively well kept and they allowed me to swap the SUP paddle for a kayak paddle, which was nice as I like the additional maneuverability and flexibility that gives me.

Safety-wise, I was not too impressed with the rental store. I was a bit surprised that they were asking me if I wanted a helmet but at no point bothered asking much more important questions such as if I could swim or if I had used a SUP before. When I prompted into why I would need a helmet for tubing down this segment of the river when it’s so relaxed they just answered “oh we just have to ask” 🤷. I guess this is an american thing where they’re trying to rid themselves of any potential legal responsibility. At least they showed me a map of what to expect:

Regardless, they were nice, I got my equipment and got on my way. The walk to the starting point was a bit annoying as the board was incredibly heavy and difficult to carry (barely anywhere to hold it).

Tubing on the American River

Once I got to the river, I was very pleasantly surprised by how clear and clean the water looked, just like in Switzerland! I went on the 15th of August and on that day the river was flowing at 3500 cubic feet per second, which according to this website is somewhat untypically high for August (historical average is ~1700). According to the store the water was 15 degrees, which should be incredibly chilly, but I actually think it was warmer as I found it pretty ok, it was a hot day and it was refreshing to go in the water during the ride.

I started early at 10am, as I still needed to drive 3 hours back to the Bay Area that day, so I definitely did not intend on floating for too long. The people are the store told me the San Juan rapids are about one third of the way, roughly an hour away, so to save time I decided to paddle forward until I reached the rapids. I’m not going to lie, it was a bit intimidating as I was getting closer, since you can clearly hear the water moving and the drop. It took me about 25 minutes of paddling forward in a gentle pace to get there. I met a nice couple kayaking on the way. They said they have been going down this river and doing this route for the last 10 years every weekend, pretty impressive!

The rapids in the end were actually pretty easy, specially if you follow the recommendation of staying on the left side there’s not much rapids at all. Afterwards the river was fairly calm and beautiful! It took me two hours to go through the whole ride. The route is quite scenic and there’s lots of nature to enjoy.

I can thoroughly recommend doing this ride if you’re around the Sacramento area in summer and I would definitely go again!