American River

Great place to spend time with your family. Very many squirrels, ducks. You can have a barbecue or ride bicycles. Clean toilets.

Great place to spend time with your family and loved ones. Perfect spot to take a retreat and grounding yourself. Go camping and picnic along the riverbank while enjoying seeing ducklings and listening water sound heals you. Clean toilet is the bonus point.

I love living so close to the river. The American River is so beautiful and getting out the first day of 1/1/24 was treat. The weather was so nice and everyone was so friendly. Happy New Years :)

wonderful place to shred bmx back in the day sadly the jumps are long gone to the best of my knowledge all it takes is one kid to get hurt and or one karen to complain and all good things shall come to an end longe live the legend of the u-hills bmx action nor cal shredders

Came here ever since I was little for swimming, fishing and boating. It is now my place of solitude and I can enjoy nature while taking photos of their beautiful wildlife! It's peaceful and quiet also.

It's beautiful area. I really like this beautiful river. It's fantastic all year round. I believe American River it's fantastic attraction in our country and state.

Entered theough River Bend Park, which has a $5 entrance fee and walked all along the trails closer to the river. SO many wild turkeys, deer, birds, blooming flowers and fantastic scenery! Absolutely beautiful whether you want to head out for a bike ride, walk or picnic!

Beware of swimmers itch! After rafting a friend and I noticed red bumps all over our bodies. The water is infected. Likely due to the drought .

I think it's hilarious that I'm the Duchess of the American River. Sounds like some Game of Thrones title. However I suspect after this review goes up, I won't be Duchess for long. Anyway, I grew up on this river. Back in the day (I'm dating myself now) I would get on my bike, meet up with friends, ride the bike trail, explore the river, skim some rocks and cruise back home in time for dinner. (Then again I read an article about how the Gen X set was the most "neglected" generation in recent history which is why they over compensate with helicopter parenting - but I digress...)I usually go rafting once a year, I own a six-man raft, and I grew up rafting down this river. Believe it or not, it used to be just families. Now anything goes. Yes, I even witnessed a guy with Mardi Gras beads who got women to flash him. My favorite areas are close to the old Fair Oaks bridge. You know, the one off of Bridge Street where no one is allowed to park anymore? The same bridge where they filmed scenes from The Stuntman featuring Peter O'Toole - yes I saw him in person - and Black Dog with Patrick Swayze. If you want to launch a raft, you can hoof it from Bridge Street to the boat launch across the bridge. You have to be in good shape though and have a lot of people to help. This way you won't have to pay the launch fee! Some excellent trails that go alongside the river are at Bannister Park. Take the horse trail and get lost. Eventually all trails lead to the American River.Fall is a beautiful time of year to watch the running of the salmon. Don't know why they "run" -- easier to say that instead of "swimming upstream" I suppose. And then in winter through early spring, the river smells pretty fishy from those that didn't make it to the hatchery. The American River runs colder in the summer ironically due to the snowmelt that gets released. Just watch out for areas notorious for undertow. Generally speaking, I haven't heard of anyone drowning by the old bridge. And I don't care if your friends do it, don't jump from the footbridge! It's not worth severing a vertebrae.

We came out here for a floating day recently and the best part was the fact that there isn't too many places that offer a clean enough river to safely float in. The water is pretty cold right now, but not overloaded with mercury and the rapids are not incredibly strong. The front entrance offers park passes that are yearly- I suggest getting those if you come to the parks a lot. Plus you are supporting the Sacramento area with the funds. For a day pass is about $8.00 and for boats $13.00, getting a pass is worth it. Inside, there is plenty of parking and many launch areas for boats and or rafts. Warning* there are a lot of bikers on the bike trails- they move fast and they don't stop, be aware of being them in danger as well as yourself. Always look before walking ahead. There overall experience is so much fun! There is a place ahead that rents rafts to you- and once the raft reaches Howe Ave, the ending... a shuttle brings you back up. We just took 2 cars, that is suggested if you don't want to have to walk to far with all your stuff. One car was parked at Sarah's Court entrance and the other at the Sunrise entrance. It worked out perfectly. I suggest having this summer experience. Lots of kids and lots of dogs* definitely family friendly.