Tuolumne River
Groveland / Stanislaus National Forest · near Groveland · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Rivers & Whitewater
At a glance
- Season
- May–September · Best May–July on snowmelt · Late July–Sept on dam-regulated releases
Permits and booking
- Permit
- Commercial outfitter permits required. Private boaters: HIGHLY competitive permit lottery through Recreation.gov. The Tuolumne permit system is notoriously difficult — most private boaters wait years. Book through a commercial outfitter.
What is here
- Activities
- guided-rafting · kayaking · multi-day
Worth knowing
- Minimum age
- 12–14 (9 at low water per OARS)
- Good for a first timer
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Operators
- Sierra Mac · All-Outdoors · OARS
- Outfitters
- OARS · Zephyr Whitewater · Sierra Mac River Trips
Rivers & Whitewater detail
- Nickname
- The T
- Class min
- III
- Class max
- V
- Trip options
- 1-day · 2-day (recommended) · 3-day · Multi-day with camping
- Key rapids
- Clavey Falls · Hells Kitchen · Thread the Needle
- Intl tip
- Groveland, the base town for Tuolumne rafting, is 26 miles from Yosemite Valley on Highway 120 — the Big Oak Flat entrance. Combining a Tuolumne river trip with a Yosemite National Park day makes for one of the great California outdoor weekends. Book both in advance; Yosemite timed entry reservations and Tuolumne outfitter slots both fill months ahead in peak season.
The guide
The Tuolumne is what California rafting people talk about when they're being serious. An 18-mile Wild and Scenic stretch throug…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Tuolumne River — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.8651, -120.0386