California whitewater - Feather River - South Fork, Northern Sierra Nevada, Plumas County
Plumas
county,
Little Grass Valley Reservoir to South Fork Diversion Dam section whitewater kayaking, rafting, and paddling information.
CLASS IV 8.3 miles
First this run should be considered a Class V run. There are a lot of tricky rapids and a typical class IV boater will find it very challenging. It's not a class IV run. It's remote, the water is cold and the days are typically getting shorter as the season is in late September and early October.
You can easily run it on an afternoon ONLY IF you know the run very well and can run everything with out scouting. For folks who have never seen the run before plan on a long day. Get an early start (10AM) and plan to be on the water until late afternoon.
Carry
sleeping bags and warm clothing if you've never done the run before. There have been quite a few epics on this run with people being caught unprepared. The nights are very cold this time of year.
Says Eric Petlock
The SF Feather River, Little Grass Valley reservoir
section, should be referred to as a class IV+ (below 350 CFS) and V- (above 350 CFS). Says Rick Stock
The wonderful California scenery and the beautiful way the water current moves down the stream are in themselves reasons enough to come here to paddle. If you've been out of state whitewater rafting and kayaking you might find the rivers here more demanding, so if you're not from around here don't forget that many runs in this state are not easy. This is a pretty decent length section, it's good length for a morning trip. You can pitch a tent
or park your RV at a nearby campground. A bit of exercise and spending some quality time in nature are great attractions for lots of people. This is not the only paddling section in this river system, there are others too. The nearby hotels are a bit away from the river, and if
you make reservations in advance you're all set. Since you're on this site you are probably into whitewater rafting or kayaking, either way around here you'll find a large number of good rivers. Whitewater paddling here in the Northern Sierra Nevada is a great experience. This
stretch of Feather River - South Fork in Plumas County is 8.3 miles long and is a class IV section of whitewater according to American Whitewater.
Briefly about the general area: You might want to pay a visit to McNair Saddle while you're here at Feather River - South
Fork. Throughout the summer months here at Feather River - South Fork, high temperatures typically get into the 80's. All through the dark hours of summer temperatures fall down into the 50's. All through the winter highs are commonly in the 40's with temperatures at Feather River
- South Fork dipping down into the 20's through winter nights. All the water falling down from the sky makes Feather River - South Fork a wet spot; of all the months in a year January is the one with the most rain, and July is when it's the driest.
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