Kaweah River
Three Rivers (Sequoia National Park gateway) · near Three Rivers / Visalia · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Rivers & Whitewater
At a glance
- Season
- Mid-April–June/early July ONLY · Free-flowing (no upstream dam) — snowmelt-dependent, short season
Permits and booking
- Permit
- Commercial outfitters permitted through Sequoia National Forest. Free-flowing river — flows entirely snowmelt-dependent; some years the season is very short or skipped. No dam to guarantee water.
What is here
- Activities
- guided-rafting · kayaking
Worth knowing
- Minimum age
- 15 (typical) · Raised at high flows
- Good for a first timer
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Operators
- Kaweah Whitewater Adventures · All-Outdoors
- Outfitters
- All-Outdoors California Whitewater · Kaweah White Water Adventures · Mountain & River Adventures
Rivers & Whitewater detail
- Nickname
- Non-Stop at Sequoia's Doorstep
- Class min
- IV
- Class max
- IV+
- Trip options
- Half-day and full-day continuous whitewater · Spring only
- Key rapids
- Willows · Upper & Lower Slicky · The continuous gradient
- Intl tip
- Three Rivers is the southern gateway to Sequoia National Park — pair a spring Kaweah run with the Giant Forest and General Sherman Tree (hiking guide) and Crystal Cave (caving guide). The town's riverside lodges and the Gateway Restaurant make it a fine base.
The guide
The Kaweah is California's most relentless commercial run — a free-flowing, snowmelt-fed river at the doorstep of Sequoia Natio…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Kaweah River — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.439, -118.906