OARS California Rafting

We spend a great day on toulumne river in August 2023. Jack (or Jacob) did an excellent job. During our 3-weeks-trip through california this was definately a highlight. Its a pure adventure in an awesome countryside. No "traffic" on the river.
@OARS Team: Thank you!
Christian (Daniel, Markus and Patrick)

WOW. Websites, phone/email support, equipment, food and guides. WOW. It was quickly evident compared to the other rafting companies on the same river, how much BETTER OARS was. You could see the longing in the other non-OARS guides eyes as they saw their guide counterparts having so much fun and getting much better food and gear. :D The website and pre-trip information was so detailed and so professional. Our guides were so competent and yet so fun! Teal, son of the famous Eric Hertz (Futaleufu in Chile) was our trip leader and was so serving, and so professional! And great at serving wine! The other guides worked so well together. And Mike was our raft Guide and really made the trip! The 6 of us guys (all husbands and fathers) were so at home between relaxing with delicious food and screaming our heads off on the rapids. It was a blast - and we had a fantastic time! I will definitely be going with OARS again to other places, and definitely recommend THIS trip and THIS company. What a wonderful experience!

I had an amazing time white water rafting the Merced river outside of Yosemite with Oars. It was my first time white water rafting. My guide was very knowledgeable and made the day so much fun. I can’t wait to come back.

Dana was our guide for the Tuolumne 2 day trip. She went out of her way to make sure everyone was having a good time and handled every rapid with grace and ease. The other guides on the trip were also fantastic (Gordon, Jack). A great trip and amazing crew!

Great training before hand, excellent adventure going down, awesome lunch provided. I will definitely be going through oars for my next planned rafting trip out here!

Overview -
Trip: 3 days, ended up rafting 2 with a layover day in the middle
Groups size: 21 people, adults only
Guides: Dakota, Justin, Kas, Chris, Jeff, Rich, Becca, and Todd

This was by far on of the best vacations I have ever been on!!! I decided to take a solo trip to check this off my bucket list and I was not disappointed.

I did a lot of research on what company to choose, and then picked a trip based on drive distance and dates available. I chose then didn't really look into the specifics of this trip besides the recommended packing list. And I am so glad I did. I was blown away by the food options, the organization and skill of all of the guides and the beauty of the location.

As a solo traveler, it was awesome that the guides AND the other guests in the group welcomed me as one of their own. And for the guides specifically, it was great to have such a relaxed, fun atmosphere but still feel completely safe at all times. Think surfer chill atmosphere but with military grade organization and precision :) It was AWESOME.

I think the things I liked the most about this trip were that we didn't see anyone outside of our group the whole time. We also had a bit of a let down since we couldn't raft the middle day but the guides rallied us and made everyone really happy we ended up with a down day! Lastly, we didn't have to spend all of our time in the group. In that I booked this as a solo trip, it was nice to take a bit of time to myself to sit away from the group and the crew was relaxed enough to trip us like the adults that we are to adventure a bit.

Recommendations:
- I loved rafting in June because it was warm enough to wear shorts and a tee, but not feel cold when wet all day.
- pack less cloths than you think you need. I really only had two sets of cloths, one for the day and one for night for dry cloths
- don't worry about the food - there was SOO much of it. I had packed some bars just in case and didn't end up eating any of them.
- pack carabiners - for easy access, just hook your water bottle onto the raft rings!
- sunscreen, make sure to put it on like 20 minutes before getting into a boat. I kept getting wet right after putting it on and spent more time than necessary worrying it was washing off when I didn't have time to put more on.

Shoutout to:
Jeff (my board guide, joke master extraordinaire, and for teaching me to "drive")
Dakota (you know someone is passionate when they actively seek feedback for improvement)
Rich (teaching card games and answering ALL of my rafting questions)
Becca (hands up to girls who flip boats! thanks for teaching me! )
This is who I spent the most time with!

All of the other guides were also amazing in the time that I spent with them! I just didn't spend as much time so I'll leave it to others to give you more specific praise of their work :)

Rebecca our raft river guide was lit.. Full send! Def upped the intensity! Teal was extremely cool!! The professional pics were the best!

OARS is a fun adventurous experience. I just got back from 10 days on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. The crew was great! The sleep kit was perfect,the food was over the top! Fresh homemade healthy meals! We even had ice cream one night in the dessert. I highly recommend this family rafting company.

I did a two day trip with my mom and it was great! Our guide Lizzie was extremely competent and kept us safe while also making the trip super fun. Off the river, the food was excellent and the tent cabins we stayed in were comfy too. Definitely would go with OARS again.

We were met at the gathering place by Ben and driven down to the put in where we were met by trip leader Chris who had the gear boat already loaded with everything except our personal bags and those were soon strapped in and ready to go while we waited for the water level in the river to rise ( dam controlled ) After a thorough safety talk we launched and spent several minutes practicing the paddling commands with out fellow paddle-rafters and then headed for the first drop. This river has great scenery, exciting whitewater with a lot of must make moves to set up for tight chutes, great wave trains and lots of good whitewater fun. We went on several great side hikes and had some nice down time to watch the river run by or to watch other river runners have as much fun as we were having. Sunrise and sunsets were magnificent and the food prepared by our guides Chris and Ben was really tasty. One of the highlights was talking to both the guides, both in the rafts and on shore and they went out of their way to share their knowledge of the river and make this really a great whitewater trip. Watching our rafts being winched up onto the bridge was both a hoot and a pleasure knowing that we did not have to carry them or our gear up the trail to the roadway and the waiting trucks that took us all too soon back to civilization. Great trip and I will be back.

Hands down one of the best vacation experiences I have ever had, if not the single best. My wife and I, along with 2 other couples with whom we are great friends, decided to book a 3 day trip with OARS for their Tuolumne rafting trip over the weekend of Aug 26-28, 2016. The 6 of us were in one paddle boat, and there was a family of 5 in another paddle boat, and then there were 3 equipment boats, one of which had 2 additional guests on it.The guides who accompanied us were: Mike (trip lead and our paddle boat guide), Jeff (other paddle boat guide), Jimbo (equipment guide and had the other 2 guests on it), Mark, and last but not least, Moose. These guys were the bomb.

I cannot recall any experience thus far which has hit every high mark possible in every category. The rafting was phenomenal - lots of challenging but doable rapids, lots of time for side trips and taking it easy as necessary, lots of exceptional food and drink.

From the moment we booked the trip, working with Amanda, we never had any questions or concerns that weren't quickly and thoroughly addressed.

All six of us felt the same way - a perfect vacation! I especially want to call out the guys on the trip. More than the rafting, the scenery or anything else about the trip, their attitudes and experience were what made this trip. In every regard they stepped up and went beyond. They were engaging, and in the normal course of getting to know us, our likes/dislikes, they tailored the excursion, the meals and everything else. I can't say enough good things. Their passion for rafting and providing a first class experience were evident and very, very much appreciated.

I've been rafting with this company over a dozen times on both the Merced and American Rivers. They are a top notch commercial rafting company with professional and personable guides and drivers. The trips are well organized, equipment os in excellent condition, safety is paramount and fun is unavoidable! The food they provide is fresh and delicious, and the scenic views and wildlife are amazing. Always a good time and worth every cent!

Awesome Organization! Just completed participating in their 50th Anniversary of being in business here at Angels Camp. I have been following their business, because my friend, Helen Howard, is affiliated with them somehow and she does rafting trips down the Lower Colorado River, below Hoover Dam down to Yuma. :-) Rafting people are great people! If you want to do any type or River trip, hook up with OARS!!!

Had a great time with the high and fast waters!!! Plan to go out again and explore more rivers!

Sean - " We recently did a trip in Fiji " what are you talking about. I'm in Yosemite booking a trip. Tell me what your trip in Fiji has to do with me booking a trip in California.

O.A.R.S. rocked on our family’s rafting trip. Big water with Class IV and V rapids with the utmost care for our safety and enjoyment. Top notch accommodations, food & fun supported by O.A.R.S. experienced professionals. We loved our trip leader Tanner, our guide Dakota, Teal and Mike.

Spring rafting on the Stanislaus. Great class IV & III rapids. The river can only be run for a short season (1 May through early June). The water is COLD. Take heed and listen to the pre-trip info on how to dress to stay warm.

Awesome guides! Ask for Tom, Rich, or Rebecca.

Professional, funny, knowledgeable, safe, service-focused, good value

Fantastic. They were our guides for the Tuolumne River (Class 5). Highly recommended!

Had great time. Awesome guides. Thanks Allison. None better.