East Fork Carson River
Markleeville (Alpine County) / into Nevada · near Markleeville · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Rivers & Whitewater
At a glance
- Season
- Late spring–early summer · Free-flowing snowmelt run
Permits and booking
- Permit
- Humboldt-Toiyabe NF / crosses into Nevada. Free-flowing snowmelt run on the east side of the Sierra. A riverside hot spring about halfway down is the celebrated feature. Self-guided and outfitted.
What is here
- Activities
- guided-rafting · kayaking · multi-day
Worth knowing
- Minimum age
- Family-friendly at moderate flows
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Guides, rentals and operators
- Operators
- Tributary Whitewater · Tahoe Whitewater Tours
- Outfitters
- Self-guided / Tahoe-area outfitters
Rivers & Whitewater detail
- Nickname
- The Hot Springs Overnight
- Class min
- II
- Class max
- III
- Trip options
- Overnight and day trips · Spring snowmelt · Riverside hot spring en route
- Key rapids
- The mellow Class II–III stretch · The riverside hot spring
- Intl tip
- Markleeville is home to Grover Hot Springs State Park (swimming guide) — so you can bookend a river hot-spring soak with a developed one. The tiny town's Alpine County setting is one of California's least-populated, most scenic corners. Nearby Ebbetts Pass (Hwy 4) is a stunning drive.
The guide
The East Fork Carson is the Eastern Sierra's gentle overnight classic — a free-flowing snowmelt run east of the crest near Mark…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to East Fork Carson River — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.651, -119.762