North Fork Stanislaus
Calaveras Big Trees area (Hwy 4) · near Arnold / Murphys · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Rivers & Whitewater
At a glance
- Season
- April–June · Spring snowmelt-dependent (acts free-flowing despite distant upstream reservoir)
Permits and booking
- Permit
- Stanislaus National Forest. Effectively free-flowing (Spicer Reservoir sits 14 miles up at 6,300ft). Spring snowmelt run — flows vary year to year.
What is here
- Activities
- guided-rafting · kayaking
Worth knowing
- Minimum age
- 12–15 depending on flows
- Good for a first timer
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Operators
- OARS · All-Outdoors
- Outfitters
- All-Outdoors California Whitewater · Sierra Mac River Trips
Rivers & Whitewater detail
- Nickname
- The Spring Snowmelt Favorite
- Class min
- III
- Class max
- IV+
- Trip options
- Day trips · Spring only
- Key rapids
- Beginner's Luck · The continuous gradient to McKay's Point
- Intl tip
- Calaveras Big Trees State Park — with its giant sequoia groves — is right here on Hwy 4, making a natural pairing with a spring river day. The Gold Country towns of Murphys (wine tasting) and Arnold are nearby for the post-river meal.
The guide
The North Fork Stanislaus is a springtime favorite among California's Class IV+ crowd — a steep, continuous, high-elevation run…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to North Fork Stanislaus — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.26, -120.305