Sierra Whitewater

Auburn, United States

5

Closed now

20 reviews

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Telephone:
+1 530-368-9027
Website:
www.sierrawhitewater.com
Address:
Auburn, CA 95603
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.6 miAuburn
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Bussiness info

Good for Kids
Yes

Today

Today 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Auburn) 06:38 Saturday, 12 July 2025

Business hours

Monday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm

Description

Specialties

We specialize in providing the best whitewater experience possible. No matter what type of group you have, we can personalize each trip to your specific needs, whether it be a birthday party, family outing, or business/​work growth and bonding. With experienced guides and fantastic meal options, we can give you the best whitewater excursion possible on the American!

History

Established in 2007.

We are family owned and operated. We treat our guests like we would like to be treated. We take the time to get to know our clients by name and tailor our trips to meet your individual needs. If you want to swim through a rapid, jump off a cliff-​side rock into the river, get into a splash fight with another raft or take a more low-​key approach, we are all about making you happy. After rafting, we all sit down together and offer free ice-​cold drinks to our guests as well as chips and salsa. And if we can earn your return business, we offer special rates to our return guests. Don’t get lost in a corporate rafting environment. Raft with a company that is dedicated to you have fun — Sierra Whitewater.

Meet the Business Owner

Deric R.

Business Owner

I love meeting new people, having fun and sharing my passion for whitewater rafting with old and new friends. I am a former newspaper editor/​general manager. I taught skiing and ski racing for many years and have a wife and 3 daughters who share my passion for outdoor recreation. I grew up in Davis, went to college in Chico and have always lived in Northern California. I am a die-​hard San Francisco Giants and 49ers fan. I also enjoy a good laugh and can tell a joke or two. I am a pretty decent foosball player and bowler, among other things. Let’s go rafting together so I can learn your story. It’s the people who make rafting fun.

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20 reviews of Sierra Whitewater

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Walnut Creek, CA
We had a great experience with this company in early August. Ascha, who organized our trip, was amazingly easy to deal with, and the whole experience went very smoothly for a great price. We were two families (4 adults, 4 kids total) and our raft guide kept everyone– all ages-​entertained. My husband used to be a raft guide himself and he said that our guide (Luke) was very good from a technical perspective, and really knew what he was doing. Would highly recommend this company.
Place rating: 5
Boulder City, NV
Deric was wonderful to work with and Paige was an excellent guide. My kids and I had a fantastic time and would definitely choose this outfitter again, they helped give our family a great river rafting memory, and are simply great people to get to know. Thank you, Sierra Whitewater Rafting.
Place rating: 5
Fremont, CA
This was one of the best trips! Deric was great and I can’t wait to go back!
Place rating: 5
San Lorenzo, CA
Found a deal on Living Social and called them to ask if we needed to buy through Living social if we would be a group of 8 or 9. Ashca (believe that’s her name) told me they would honor the price and just to let my party call and give them the date and name of the reservation, we had a cut off date and of course no one called by that day but Ascha was kind enough to inform me and added an extra day for them to call. At the end only 6 of us went and to the others that didn’t call THEY MISSED OUT! We had an amazing time our instructor was like part of our group joking, answering questions etc. I highly recommend this company and I will definitely come back next year.
Place rating: 5
Milpitas, CA
My friends and I purchased Groupons for my birthday not knowing much about the company. To our surprise they were pretty amazing! Our guides Karl with a «K» and Christine with «Ch» were the best. With the their sense of humor and all their knowledge about rafting made the trip all the more fun! They were very professional and fun at the same time! I would definitely raft with this company again! Thanks Sierra rafting for making our rafting experience enjoyable!!! One thing I would recommend for everyone is to eat before setting off on your rafting adventures and I don’t mean eating a few hours before. Literally eat before you check in with your party.
Place rating: 5
Lindenhurst, NY
Where do I begin? Whitewater rafting was the first stop on our honeymoon and it was probably the most fun we’ve ever had. Derek and his team emphasized safety and fun and there wasn’t a single moment where we didn’t feel both safe and happy. As someone who really doesn’t like water, this excursion was well beyond my comfort zone, but I’m so ecstatic that we took the plunge (excuse my pun ;)) — would absolutely do it again!
Place rating: 5
Davis, CA
This has been one of thee BEST experiences EVER. The staff was great, super friendly. I don’t have anything negative to say at ALL.
From start to finish the trip was awesome. When my boyfriend and I arrived we were a little hesitant thinking we might be stuck on a raft with quiet people turns out the guide helps break the ice with the other people on the raft. I enjoyed everyone I was with. I mainly enjoyed how they took the time to explain things and informed you of what to expect next .
I would vow for this company ANYDAY. When thinking about white water rafting think about Sierra white water!
I will DEFIANTLY return to do the upper fork next time with them as well.
I was able to swim in rapids & jump off a cliff into the water ! Crossing those off my bucketList !
Place rating: 5
Menlo Park, CA
What a blast. I took my 2 sons, ages 12 and 24 and my youngest son’s 11 year-​old friend. Young and old had so much fun! We went on the Gorge trip on 8⁄18 and were thrilled to have Deric as our guide. He is knowledgeable, friendly, has a good sense of humor and cares about his customers.
From first contact with Ascha to the bus ride back to camp, I was impressed with the professionalism of this whole organization. I had contacted a couple of other rafting companies and didn’t feel like either one of them wanted our business that much. Ascha was cheerful, answered all of our questions and made us feel welcome.
The river was awesome! Some of the rapids were pretty gnarly but Daric knows the river so well that he was able to coach us through them without losing anyone overboard — unlike many rafts that were around us. When we reached a ‘swimming rapid’, I didn’t hesitate to jump into the water. Unfortunately, and it was my fault, but I swam out of the current into slack water requiring that another boat pick me up and paddle me back to Deric’s boat. The others who jumped in the water from our boat, stayed in the current and had no problem so I’d advise staying in the current so as not to embarrass yourself by getting hauled into another boat full of strangers.
This may be a new family tradition and we’ll be back next year for sure.
Place rating: 5
Riverside, CA
Took half day Chili bar on 8÷3÷14 with a group of 6 and had a blast. The staff was outstanding and kept all of us entertained. Our guide Christine was awesome and gave the perfect advise and all of the right times. We will be back and will next time do the full day or 2 day.
Place rating: 5
Sacramento, CA
This was one of those bucket items that exceeding all of my expectations of what whitewater rafting could be. My wife along with our two children had an awesome time riding down the upper portion of the South Fork of the American River. If you’ve never been, I can only say it was like a 3 hour roller coaster on water.
I want to give a special thanks to Wes, our guide, who was not only knowledgeable and funny, but had the experience to give us the most entertaining ride. It helped that we didn’t have to row quite as much as the other rafts with Wes guiding us.
Thanks Sierra!
Place rating: 5
Sacramento, CA
We has SUCH a great time on our trip last weekend! I organized a raft for me and 6 of my family members. Ascha, the owner’s daughter, was incredibly helpful in setting up the trip — in fact, they were entirely booked the only day all 7 of us could make it, but (she told me) she ended up contracting another raft guide just so we could go. Little did we know until we showed up that our guide was the company owner!
The water was PERFECT. We all had a wonderful time chatting, swimming, screaming through some pretty good rapids, and learning more about the area along the river. We stopped for a good jump off a high rock about halfway down, which we thought was fun and scary, until we saw some of the guides jump off a TRULY high cliff — impressive! All the guides seem to love their jobs and know a lot about safety.
There were some parts where the wait was not impressive. We were supposed to show up before noon, set out at 12:30; we didn’t leave until after 1. Then when we left the river and went up the trail, we waited for 20 minutes or so for the bus to show up. That was probably my only complaint! I felt better after they offered us chips & salsa, watermelon, and beer back at Camp Lotus after the trip :)
After a horrible experience trying to setup a trip with WET last summer, I was pleasantly surprised by how smooth the process was with Sierra Whitewater, and how much fun we had on the trip. We’d love to turn this into a yearly family gathering.
Place rating: 5
Seaside, CA
I took my sons and two of their friends rafting down the American with Sierra Whitewater. We had the pleasure of being with 2 guides. It was a blast! They made the trip fun for not only myself but for 4 teenage boys. It was the perfect mix of rafting and swimming.
Of course, the treats after the trip weren’t bad either.
Thanks Sierra!!!
Place rating: 5
Sparks, NV
Great time for my family and I. Our guide was Christina and she did a great job at keeping us safe, yet keeping it fun and exciting. For a business that uses college kids to keep the business running smoothly, they do it like pros and have a great time doing it. I’m sure we will be back. Thank you!
Place rating: 5
Napa, CA
Four of us did the South Fork gorge run last month and had a fantastic time thanks to Ascha, who set it up for us, and Drew, who was the best guide ever. One of the great things about this outfit is that they are small and family-​owned so you really see the pride they take in the quality of the services they provide. Drew was a great guide, the perfect combination of funny, interesting, knowledgable and competent. He made the trip really fun with some of his antics. My brother and nephew were visiting from abroad and had never been whitewater rafting before. They had the time of their life, an experience I know they’ll always remember.
Place rating: 5
Atlanta, GA
Went whitewater rafting yesterday and had a blast! Derek really knows what he is doing, with his advice, tackling the rapids was an ease. As you are going downstream, the imagery is truly something out of a book, wish I had a go pro with me to take some pictures.
Place rating: 5
Hollister, CA
Went on a trip with four friends for a September trip down the south fork. Achsa made the booking simple and was very helpful answering my dumb questions. She also recommended Camp Lotus to park our rv at which was convenient as that is where the launching area is. No driving needed, just walk right to their check-​in area. Our guide Jeff was great. He was very entertaining to say the least. We had no idea what to expect on our first rafting trip but all I can say is that it was one of the best trips I’ve been on. Beer and chips at the end was a nice touch. Will we be returning to visit Jeff, Achsa, Deric, and Drew again? Hell yes! We’ll see you guys next year for the middle fork!
Tip: Buy croakies before you leave. The Camp Lotus store sells them. Also, the water is cold as hell and the trip is like five hours long. If you get cold easy bring/​rent a wetsuit.
Place rating: 5
Davis, CA
Free celebratory beer and chips/​salsa after a day of rafting? Yes, 5 stars for you.
My friends and I snagged an online deal with Sierra Whitewater, a family-​owned rafting company. Derrick was our tour guide and he did a great job keeping our group motivated, informed and enthused the entire trip down the river. Though you could tell that he’s gone a bajillion times cause he’s super knowledgeable about the route, he still seems to have fun and kept us well entertained!
Really glad that I booked with this company for my first time tackling some rapids! It was a great experience and I’d highly recommend going with Sierra Whitewater for your next white water adventure at the American River.
Place rating: 5
Sacramento, CA
I went white water rafting for the first time ever in May and I’m so glad I went with Sierra Whitewater! Everyone was so friendly and nice. All of the guides were well prepared and knew what they were doing. Our guide, Austin was very knowledgeable about the river and kept us entertained the whole time. The owner was also very friendly and took the time to personally talk to everyone throughout the day.
Bring a swim suit, sunscreen, and water shoes. Sierra will take your towel and change of clothes in a van down to the end of the river so you’ll have them when you finish. We stopped midway down for a short break and some snacks. The entire trip was very organized and relaxed. It’s obvious that Sierra wants all of their customers to have nothing short of an excellent experience. I’m looking forward to my next trip with them!
Place rating: 5
Reno, NV
From the beginning this was a very pleasant company to work with. Derrick provided excellent customer service in helping us pick the right trip for our group. He was very professional and sent trip details by email immediately after booking.
We had a great all day trip down the South Fork with Sierra Whitewater. Our guide Travis was very familiar with the river and we felt that safety was always his primary concern. We had an amazing trip and a top notch lunch! Thanks Sierra Whitewater!
Place rating: 5
Elk Grove, CA
We had an absolute blast with Sierra White Water in early August. Everyone was professional, friendly and, lunch was delicious!
Lunch was home made by the owner’s wife. We were treated like famiy.
Our river guide was Travis and he did such a great job. Very friendly! We felt safe with him and had a great time.
We had so much fun, we went a month later in early September and brought MORE people out with us.
I think Sierra Whitewater won some customers for life. We’re going again next year.