2025 will be a great year for whitewater rafting on the South and Middle Forks of the American River!
How do we know? The April snow survey conducted by the Department of Water Resources on March 28th confirmed it : 119% of normal snow water content for this date in the Northern Region. This means there will be excellent flows on the South and Middle Forks of the American River all season. This is the second year in a row we have been blessed with the goldilocks scenario- not too low, not too high, but JUST RIGHT!Â
Help us celebrate 50+ years!
Where did Mother Lode River Center begin?
It is hard to imagine that our company began its journey with one raft and a Volkswagen bus in the Summer of 1974- that was 51 years ago this season. There have been lots of changes along the way and if you are interested in how the company transformed itself into a place called Mother Lode River Center—read on here…..
So what is our spiritual North Star?
We are not only family owned and run, everyone at Mother Lode is a member of a tightly knit team with a single purpose –To run the safest, best organized and most fun river trips and to strive for the preservation of the rivers we cherish. That phrase is from our original brochure from over fifty years ago and these are some ways we show we mean it:
What does the “preservation of rivers” mean?Â
It means there are over 30,000 letters that Mother Lode participants have written in support of 15 of California’s most endangered rivers. It all began with the loss of the Stanislaus River to the New Melones Reservoir. Since then we have worked tirelessly to successfully defend the North, Middle and South Forks of the American, the Tuolumne, Merced, Kings, Kern, Mokelumne, Cache Creek, Sespe, Yuba, Eel, Klamath, Bear and McCloud Rivers over the last half-century. It is a proud legacy attributable to Friends of the River, the California river community, and the last but not least, the MaLode Letter Writing Heroes who have written more letters than all other rafting companies and FOR, combined.
We look forward to celebrating the fruits of those many hard fought battles with you again this season. We are determined to continue the struggle to protect these sacred places for future generations!
See you on the river,
Scott, Greg, Rebekah and the MaLode Crew
New in 2025- Grab your paddle and join us for Junior Guide School for ages 6 to 16!
The Premier Rafting Summer Camp in the Western US
