2026 Schedule (as of February 26, 2026).
Trip leader contact information is not included. If you're a club member, you'll received monthly emails with trip updates and trip leader contact information. If you're not a club member, then please go to the Membership Benefits page for information about the club, and to to the Contact Us page to contact the Membership Chairperson. Descriptions of all rivers are at Dreamflows.com.
February 21: Rancheria Creek Rancheria Creek is the upper section of the Navarro River. There’s a good description of the run here here. It’s a lovely narrow, very remote second-growth redwood canyon. It’s only boatable for a narrow window after rain, and only suitable for small rafts and IKs. February 28 is a back up date, in case we don't have boatable flows on the 21st. Contact Barry by February 24 if you’re interested.
March 15 (Sunday): Cache Creek Wilderness: (If Cache Creek is too low, we’ll find another river to run). Cache Creek is mostly Class IIs with two Class IIIs, but requires good boating skills due the brush and strainers. We will be running the Wilderness section from the put-in on the North Fork of Cache Creek at the Highway 20 bridge to the take-out on Highway 16 just below the confluence with Bear Creek. The river canyon features interesting geology with layers of sedimentary rock tilted and folded at all angles and bisected by fault lines. There should be plenty of wildlife, like Bald Eagles and Great Blue Herons. This trip will require an early start and will be a long day, but it is well worth it. Need cold water/cold weather gear. Contact Sean by March 10 to sign uo.
March 29 (Sunday): South Fork American. ATL=? A “tune-up” trip on the Class III South Fork. Cold weather gear, including wetsuits or dry suits, will be required. Contact Stew by Tuesday March 24 1 to sign up.
April 19 (Sunday): Cache Creek Wilderness: (If Cache Creek is too low, we’ll find another river to run). See description above. Contact Sean by April 14 to sign uo.
April 25: North Fork American The North Fork is a beautiful Class IV canyon on a free flowing river. Experienced boaters with cold water gear. Contact Sean by April 20 to sign up.
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Multi-day on-river trip! April 28-May 3 (includes drive time): Eel River. Many people have been excited about running the Eel River again, and here’s our chance! This is the closest multi-day trip to Sacramento. We’ll run the stretch from Dos Rios to Alderpoint, 47 miles, Class II-III+. Information can be found at https://cacreeks.com/eel-main.htm. Very green hills in spring, sandy beaches for camping, lots of wildlife and birds. An abandoned railroad track, in various states of decay, parallels the river and makes for unusual scenery. Load gear and drive April 28 to put-in and camp there. Put in April 29, raft two days and camp at the confluence with the North Fork Eel on April 30/May 1 for a layover, raft two more days to takeout at Fort Seward on May 3 and drive home that evening. Contact Stew at mtneer@dcn.org by April 5 to sign up.
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May or June, weekday: East Fork Carson. Class II+ river near Markleeville, extending 20 miles from California snow-capped mountains to Nevada’s sage-covered high plains. This is a one-day trip, stopping at the hot springs for lunch. We’ll camp the night before and the night after the trip, with an option to soak at the Markleeville Hot Springs. We’ll pay to have vehicles shuttled to take-out. Contact Mike if you’re interested.
May 16-17: Merced River. Class IV river with camping at either reserved campsites across from the river (Red Bud area) or BLM campsites at takeout. Arrive Friday night, raft Saturday and Sunday. Either drive home Sunday night or Monday morning (or go into Yosemite for a day). Preference given to Class IV guides and those with vehicles that can haul gear. This trip always fills up, so sign up ASAP but no later than May 9.
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Two multi-day on-river trips – the Rogue and the Snake. The dates are just right so that we can raft the Rogue and then raft the Snake! It’s about a 12-hour drive between the two rivers, and we’ll have 1-1/2 days to drive and re-reprovision. Wendy and Jose will be doing this; contact either one of us for more details. Alternatively, you can raft just one or the other of the rivers.
For both of these trips, we’ll follow the Club’s guidelines to determine the crew (i.e., first priority to club members who applied for a permit on the Rogue, second priority to club members who applied for permits on other rivers, third priority to club members, and fourth priority to guests) with additional consideration given to those who can transport gear, guide, and/or significantly help ensure the trip’s success.
June 3-6 (excludes drive time): Rogue River, Oregon Jose was lucky enough to be awarded a permit for the Wild and Scenic Rogue! The Ca Creeks website says “This is one of the finest whitewater runs in this guidebook, and perhaps one of the finest in the world. Scenery is excellent, whitewater is consistent throughout the run, fishing is good, wildlife is abundant, and camping is superb if somewhat crowded at times. The water is relatively clear and unpolluted…” We’ll run about 40 miles (from Almeda Campground to Foster Bar) over four days. Class II-IV rapids; more info at https://cacreeks.com/rogue.htm. The permit is limited to 16 people. Contact Jose to sign up, preferably by March 25. A $100 non-refundable deposit will be needed to hold your place.
June 8-13 (excludes drive time) : Hells Canyon, Snake River, Idaho. Cory was lucky enough to be awarded a permit for the Wild and Scenic Snake River! We’ll run the entire 79 mile section from Hell’s Canyon Dam to Heller Bar over 6 days. This river has high water, Class II-IV rapids (many of which we’ll scout). Hell's Canyon is the deepest canyon in the US, with large camps, historic locations and homesteads, and great side hikes. More information is at https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/633/main and https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/634/main. Contact Wendy to sign up, preferably by March 25. A $100 non-refundable deposit will be needed to hold your place.
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June 6 (date may change based on release schedule): Tiger Creek section of North Fork Mokelumne. Class IV, 3 miles. We may run it twice! This is an excellent run with lots of rapids and good scenery. Details at https://cacreeks.com/mok-tig.htm. Contact Sean by June 1 to sign up.
June 6: East Fork Carson. Class II+ river near Markleeville, extending 20 miles from California snow-capped mountains to Nevada’s sage-covered high plains. This is a one-day trip, stopping at the hot springs for lunch. Optional camping, before or after the trip, at the Carson River Resort’s beach along the river. We’ll pay to have vehicles shuttled to take-out. Contact Mike by May 27 to sign up.
June 20-21 (date may change based on release schedule): Trinity. Class III Pigeon Point section; camping at reserved campground near the river. Super fun, splashy summer flows are good for smaller oar boats, paddle rafts, IKs and hardshells. Full day of rafting on Saturday and options for a shorter day on Sunday. Contact Brian by June 14 to sign up.
June 27: Mokelumne River. Electra to Middle Bar stretch. This run is a wonderful class 2+ section with nice scenery. It’s a great river to practice your IK skills or to paddle a small raft. There are plenty of rapids, an easy shuttle, and it’s only an hour from Sacramento. Kids with guide-parents welcome. Reach out to Mike to see if it's a fit for your family. Contact Mike by June 24 to sign-up.
July options include Cache Creek IK run and South Fork American (Chili Bar or Gorge). Anyone want to lead a trip? Talk to Wendy!
August 1: Lower Middle Fork American. Family-oriented trip, Class II stretch. Lots of splashy rapids with a remote feeling, even though the run is just outside Auburn. Perfect for IK’s and small rafts. Reach out to Mike to see if it's a fit for your family. Contact Mike by July 29 to sign up.
August 15-16: “New” Klamath. . ATL=? This is our chance to experience the newest river in the country! Four dams were removed in 2024-2025, opening miles of newly restored river for boating (and more importantly, for for salmon migration). We’ll run the 16-mile stretch between the former Copco Reservoir and the former Iron Gate Reservoir, which is the section of river just below the traditional Upper Klamath run. This section starts as Class II and then enters a Class IV canyon and then ends as Class II. Contact Wendy by August 9 to sign up.
August 29: South Fork American. Class III. Stew's annual Boy Scout trip on the Gorge section of the river from Camp Lotus. Club members are welcome to come along in private boats or use any club boat that’s available. Bring your own lunch and buckets for waterfighting! Contact Stew by Monday August 24 to sign up.
September 4-7: Camp Lotus-a-looza. Labor Day weekend. We’ll run Chili Bar on Saturday and the Gorge on Sunday. Family-oriented cap to the summer. Raft one or both days. Monday's plan TBD. Evening volleyball. Pizza oven. Space is limited for camping, day boaters welcome. Contact Mike asap for camping (August 28th at latest) and by September 1 for rafting.
Either first or second weekend in October: Pit River. . ATL= Wendy Wyels. Class IV, for small boats. This river is only runnable a few days a year, when the power company releases enough water for boaters. The river is technical and fast moving. This trip is for experienced boaters and small (10’–12’) boats or expert kayakers. We will camp Friday and Saturday night at the BLM Pit River Campground near Fall River Mills. For more information, check out the descriptions at California Creeks and AWW. Spots are limited. This trip takes some planning and organization, so contact Brian at least a week ahead to sign up.
November 1 (Sunday) from 1:00 to 5:00: Workday at the warehouse. Repair and clean our gear, plus check out our new AED. The workday is usually followed by a pizza party.