Merced River
El Portal / Yosemite Valley · near El Portal / Yosemite Valley · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Rivers & Whitewater
At a glance
- Season
- April–July (upper sections, snowmelt dependent) · Yosemite Valley rafting: mid-May through July (when flows and temperature allow)
Permits and booking
- Permit
- Yosemite timed entry reservation required for driving into the Valley (May–September). Upper Merced below El Portal: outfitter permit through Sierra National Forest. Yosemite Valley raft rentals managed by Aramark (Yosemite concessionaire) — walk-up availability or advance reservation.
What is here
- Activities
- guided-rafting · kayaking · tubing
Worth knowing
- Minimum age
- 7+ (guided sections) · Family-appropriate in Yosemite Valley
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Guides, rentals and operators
- Operators
- Zephyr Whitewater · OARS
- Outfitters
- OARS · Yosemite Valley Raft Rentals (Aramark)
Rivers & Whitewater detail
- Nickname
- Yosemite's River
- Class min
- II
- Class max
- IV
- Trip options
- Full day (upper) · Yosemite Valley raft rental (lower, seasonal) · Half-day outfitter trips
- Key rapids
- Yosemite Valley Float · El Portal Run (Class III-IV) · Cascades (upper, Class IV)
- Intl tip
- The Merced River is what shaped Yosemite Valley over millions of years — the river and glaciers working together created everything you can see from the valley floor. Float it in June with El Cap above you and that geological reality becomes personal. Combine raft rental in the morning with a John Muir Trail day hike in the afternoon for a complete Yosemite day that doesn't involve bumper-to-bumper valley traffic.
The guide
Rafting through Yosemite Valley with El Capitan towering 3,000 feet above you on one side and Half Dome visible upstream is one…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Merced River — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.6762, -119.8117