Truckee River: Boca to Floriston Run

Type of trip: Adventurous Beginner/ Intermediate rafting
This section is Class II-III+, implying these intermediate rapids are ideal for Adventurous Beginners. It is family-friendly and perfect for first-time river rafters, with some exciting moments in the Class IIIs. We refer to this section as ‘adventurous beginner’ due to the technical rapids in the second half.

The run starts off easy with slow-moving water through boulder gardens, creating a perfect setting to introduce first-time rafters to the river. Following that are long, flat swimming areas perfect for cooling off on a hot summer day. The rapids continue to build throughout the trip towards an exhilarating finish in the Class III+ Floriston Gorge. You and your group have been trained up for this exhilarating finish with rapids such as “Ke-Bob,” the almighty “Jaws,” and the technical “Pinball.”

On this section of the river:

• Everyone is given paddles and asked to participate.
• Everyone should be in good physical shape.
• No Experience is necessary.
• Learn about the river classifications and differences between Class I and Class VI at this link: FAQS

Guided Whitewater Rafting Tour

All of our tours are led by a river guide in the back of the raft, guiding you and your group throughout the day. The guide will show you how to sit in the raft, hold the paddle, and teach you proper paddling techniques. The guide will give paddling commands interacting with paddle strokes while navigating the raft through the river and turbulent sections.

Our goal is to have professional and customer-oriented guides trained to give you a fantastic river experience.

If your guide did a wonderful job and you had a fun experience, tipping gratuities is an acceptable form of showing appreciation to your guide at the end of the tour.

• 13’ self-bailing river rafts are used
• On the Truckee River, our rafts can take up to 6 guests + a guide.
• River flows on the Truckee River fluctuate throughout the year and dictate how many can fit in a raft. Later in the season (July and August), we may only be able to put four guests + a guide to keep boats nimble for technical sections as the river flows may cause rapids to be tighter and more technical.

• Half Day Experience
• 7 River Miles
• Roughly 2- 2.5 hours of river rafting
• Roughly 4 hours total time commitment from arrival to our office to saying farewell

(AM) Morning Trip– Check in for the trip between 8:45 am- 9:00 am
(PM) Afternoon Trip– Check in for the trip between 1:00 pm- 1:15 pm

For our tours, we ask that our guests be available to check in between the above time frames. It is important to arrive on time, as our tours need to follow a strict time frame. The Bus will leave the office roughly 15 minutes after check-in times to keep the day’s schedule.

Before leaving home, double-check drive time and directions to ensure arrival on time. Road construction and slow traffic are common in Lake Tahoe during summer and can affect road conditions.

Notify the office if you believe you are behind schedule for the trip.

10068 Hirschdale Rd, Truckee, CA 96161.

Our Truckee River Rafting Office is located inside the Truckee River RV Park located at the above address. Follow our signs for parking and check-in. Here, you’ll find safe, secure parking, clean restrooms, changing rooms, shaded picnic tables on our patio, and a general store to pick up any last-minute items you might have forgotten, including sunscreen, water shoes, hats, and much more. This is the perfect place to start your adventure.

Rough Drive Times to office location:

• 10 minutes east of Truckee on I-80
• 30 minutes West of Reno on I-80
• 30 minutes from Tahoe City
• 45 minutes from Incline Village
• 1hr 15 minutes from South Lake Tahoe

7 years old
Due to the nature of whitewater rafting trips, we ask that kids be aged seven or above. At this age, kids are good listeners and able to follow guide instructions.
Whitewater rafting like any outdoor adventure activity have inherent risks involved. Unintentional swimming can be common on any type of rafting experience. We ask that all participants be able to listen and understand instructions and directions given by river guides and staff. For this reason we have our minimum age for Class III rapids 7 years old.

• Once a reservation is made, you will receive a confirmation email for your reservation. Details of your group size, date, river, section, meeting time, and location will be a part of your confirmation email. If any changes or adjustments need to be made to your reservation, refer to your confirmation email, date, and name created with the reservation.
• Online waivers from the confirmation email will be available for signature and sharing with other group members. We ask guests to fill out online ahead of time before arrival.
• A “Trip Details PDF” will be attached to the confirmation email. It contains driving directions, a pack list, an itinerary, and other pertinent information for your tour. Reference the Trip Details PDF for information on getting ready for your river rafting day with us.

What to wear

Getting ready for a whitewater rafting trip is similar to getting ready for a day at the beach. Everything that goes on the river will get wet, so dress in clothing that makes you comfortable swimming.
Quick List:

• Bathing Suit or shorts
• Sun shirt or layer to protect from the sun
• Baseball hat – Sunglasses (retention strap if expensive)
• Sunscreen
• Reusable water bottle with a hard point
• Most Important Shoes that will not come off are required, such as strap-on sandals, water shoes, booties, and old tennis shoes.

Flip-flops or slip-on shoes are discouraged and not allowed for rafting. If you go for an unintentional swim, you will lose your flip-flops immediately. If you end up on shore or in a random place, you need to have good footwear to get back to the rafts or to be able to walk along the shoreline.

For a more detailed packing list of items to consider wearing and packing for the trip, click here for our Trip Details PDF, which includes a detailed packing list.

Things to Leave at Home:

While on the river, Everything gets wet and can fall out of pockets and be lost in the river. We ask everyone to leave cellphones, wallets, Car keys, and valuables at home, at our office or locked away.

Gear and Equipment we provide

On every one of our whitewater rafting adventures, we pass out the following equipment to each guest:

• Helmets
• PFD’s (personal flotation devices), also known as life jackets
• Paddle

During spring and cold weather trips, we also provide the following at no additional cost:

• Wetsuits
• Fleece base layers
• Splash Jackets

• For river rafting on the Truckee River, we will meet you at the Truckee River RV Park located at 10068 Hirschdale Rd Truckee, CA 9616 (8:45 am or 1:00 pm) . We share an office location inside an active RV park. Signs will guide you to our check-in and parking area. Follow the signs to the parking area. If you are a larger group, we ask that you carpool as best you can.
• It is best to lock all personal items in your vehicles as we do not have lockers or storage for guest gear. Car keys can be left with the office staff for safekeeping for the rafting portion of the day.
• Restrooms and changing/shower stalls are available next to our office location. The RV park has a convenience store where sandwiches, snacks, and drinks can be purchased. Last-minute items such as sunscreen, sunglasses, hats, or water shoes can also be purchased if needed. Stock may be low at times, so try to have these items ahead of time if you can.

After the Check, we gear up for the rafting portion. Everyone gets a PFD, Paddle, helmet, and, when appropriate, wetsuit and splash jacket.

• We board our rafting bus for a 2-minute drive to the river. This same bus will bring you back to your vehicles after the tour. Feel free to bring and leave personal items that can be stored in our vehicles throughout the day. Wallets, Cell phones, Car Keys should be left at the office however can be stored in our vehicle while out on the rafting tour and will be waiting in your seat at the finish.
• Restrooms are also available at the river put-in location.
• Photo opportunities are available with our in-house whitewater Photographer.
• The River Guides will give a quick river orientation safety talk and paddle talk to inform you about river hazards, do’s and don’ts, and instructions on paddling, which will be given prior to setting off on the trip.
• We push off and enjoy a beautiful day river rafting the Truckee River Boca- Floriston Section.

This beginner/ Intermediate whitewater river rafting trip is suitable for all ability levels due to its progressive nature. It starts small and builds to an exciting finish, with Class II-III rapids and beautiful high Sierra scenery. This river is perfect for first-time rafters looking for an introduction to the sport of Whitewater Rafting! Today, regarding river trips, the Boca-Floriston Run on the Truckee River has everything a first-time rafter and a seasoned rafter could want! Containing technical beginner and intermediate rapids, relaxing pools to swim in, and beautiful Tahoe National Forest scenery, the Truckee has it all. Being the first company to run commercially guided trips down the Truckee, our experience is unmatched!

This half-day tour begins at the historic townsite of Boca, now home to Boca Reservoir. The run starts easy with slow-moving water through boulder gardens, creating a perfect setting to introduce first-time rafters to the river. Following that are extended, flat swimming areas perfect to cool off in on a hot summer day. The rapids continue to build throughout the trip towards an exhilarating finish in the Class III+ Floriston Gorge. You and your group have been trained up for this exhilarating finish with rapids such as “Ke-Bob,” the almighty “Jaws,” and the technical “Pinball.” Finishing the gorge with smiles and high fives, we reach our takeout and the conclusion of our tour.

After concluding the river rafting, we exit the boats and board our awaiting bus. The same bus that picks us up is the same bus that dropped us off at the beginning.

We collect all the river rafting gear, load it onto our rafting bus, and drive back to our meeting location to return you to your vehicles.

Farewells and thank you from your guides are given as we finish our day back where we started.
For those looking for a great introduction to whitewater, join us for an amazing day on our most popular run. It’s the perfect adventure for everyone in your group!

The Boca-Floriston section of the Truckee River is located roughly 30 miles downstream from its source, flowing out of Lake Tahoe. There is ample water flowing in this section due to multiple creeks and reservoirs flowing into the river, allowing us to run throughout every summer. We operate two trips a day beginning our season in late April/ early May, and we usually raft until mid-September.

Water that feeds the Truckee River Boca- Floriston Section comes from 5 different water storage areas. A combination of Lake Tahoe, Donner Lake, Prosser Reservoir, Stamped Reservoir, and Boca Reservoir feeds water that feeds the Truckee River. These damaged water storage resources all feed upstream of the Boca-Floriston Rafting section.

Other rafting companies located near Tahoe City only rely on water from Lake Tahoe, which can affect their operation. Our tours are not affected since we are much further downstream and have five sources of water to rely on.

Due to these five water storage resources, rafting trips are available twice a day, every day all summer long. Our season typically starts April 20th and runs through mid-September. We may not be able to run this section on high water years and significant spring snowmelt until appropriate river flows. If that occurs, we go further downstream to run the Class II-III+ Half Day Truckee River Verdi- Mayberry Section.

Our River Guides

Our guides are the best in the business, focusing on safety and guest service as a top priority. All are highly knowledgeable about the area’s geology, ecology, and history and love being on the river. Many have experience on rivers all over the country and across the globe, and we know you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do. Each will undoubtedly help make your day on the river the best possible.

Our History on the Truckee River

Our story on the Truckee River began In the 1980s and 1990s; back then, the Truckee River was not considered a place for paddle sports recreation. At the time, government ordinances were in place to prohibit whitewater rafting. In 1997, Tahoe Whitewater Tours owner Mike Miltner fell in love with the Truckee River and began a long quest to allow it to be used, giving river runners the freedom to experience this beautiful river. Opposed by many, he fought an uphill battle against local, state, and federal opposition, later succeeding and opening the doors to river rafting and recreational opportunities on the Truckee. Thanks to his efforts and his company, Tahoe Whitewater Tours, He has shown guests all the fantastic elements the Truckee River has to offer with over 30 years of river rafting history.