Quick Details
Experience the Ultimate Truckee River Rafting Adventure: The Boca-Floriston Run!
River: Truckee River
Section: Verdi to Mayberry
Duration: Half-Day Experience (2-2.5 hours on the river)
Distance: 7 River Miles
Arrival Times: Morning Trip (Meet at 8:45 am) | Afternoon Trip (Meet at 1:00 pm)
Minimum Age: 7 years old
Whitewater Class: Class II-III+ (Adventurous Beginner/ Intermediate)
Raft Sizes: 13′ rafts accommodating up to 6 guests + a guide (varies based on river flows)
Guided Tours: Professional river guide in each raft providing instructions throughout the journey
Highlights:
Beautiful High Desert Scenery- Perfect for adventurous beginners and first-time rafters
- Powerhouse vertical slides and rapids
- Closest whitewater rafting to North Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and Reno
- Historical Wild West setting
- Class III+ “Gorilla Falls” and “Power House”
- Available ONLY on High Water years
Where We Meet
- Truckee River RV Park, 10068 Hirschdale Rd, Truckee, CA 9616
- Amenities include secure parking, clean restrooms, changing rooms, and a general store
- Approximately 10 minutes east of Truckee on Interstate 80
What To Expect:
After Making a Reservation:
- Confirmation email with details and online waivers
- “Trip Details PDF” with driving directions, packing list, and itinerary
Day of the Tour: Arriving at Meeting Location:
- Check-in at the Truckee River RV Park office
- Gear up with PFD, paddle, helmet, wetsuit/splash jacket if needed
- Board rafting bus for a short 30-minute drive to the river
- Quick orientation on river safety and paddling instructions
- Launch into the Truckee River for an exhilarating rafting experience
What to Expect on the Truckee River Verdi to Mayberry Section:
- Beginner/Intermediate trip with Class II-III rapids
- Scenic start from Crystal Peak Park with grassy lawns and cottonwood trees
- Class II rapids lead to exciting features like “Gorilla Falls”
- The longest rapid, Class III “Powerhouse,” provides thrilling challenges
- Finish at Mayberry Park with views of Reno in the distance
- Slide show of photos played on the bus ride back
Availability:
- Runs twice a day from April 20th to early June
- Morning trips meet at 8:45 AM, and afternoon trips at 1:00 PM
- Online booking is available; call for reservations
Why Choose Tahoe Whitewater Tours?
- Experienced river guides prioritizing safety and guest service
- Over 30 years of history on the Truckee River
- Pioneers in opening up the Truckee River for recreational use
- Unmatched expertise in showcasing the beauty of the Truckee River
Experience the Thrill of the Truckee River Verdi-Mayberry Rafting Adventure!
Get ready for an unforgettable rafting adventure just a stone’s throw from North Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and Reno! Our exhilarating Truckee River Verdi-Mayberry run is perfect for anyone looking to add a burst of excitement to their day. We offer trips twice daily, kicking off at 8:45 am and again at 1:00 pm, making it easy to fit this adventure into your busy schedule.
Why do we love this river section? It’s the perfect blend of high desert landscapes and lush, towering cottonwood groves. The Verdi-Mayberry stretch of the Truckee River showcases a unique mix of ecosystems that captivate every rafter. Combine this natural beauty with thrilling class II-III whitewater, and you’ve got the ultimate experience for first-timers and seasoned adventurers alike.
Your journey begins in historic Verdi, Nevada, famed for the first recorded train robbery in the Wild West—the Great Train Robbery of 1870. From here, the river flows east, introducing you to the exciting class II rapids. Get ready for the highlight of the trip: “Gorilla Falls,” a 15-foot tall diversion dam that promises to get your adrenaline pumping!
But the excitement doesn’t stop there. As you navigate continuous class II rapids, each twist and turn brings a new thrill, culminating in the run’s most technical rapid—the class III “Powerhouse.” Feel the rush as you conquer this challenging section, all while soaking in the breathtaking high desert scenery.
The adventure concludes at the beautiful Mayberry Park just outside Reno, Nevada. This tour is available during the spring and in high water years, so plan ahead to catch this spectacular rafting experience. Trust us, it’s an adventure you won’t want to miss!
Book your Truckee River Verdi-Mayberry rafting trip today and make memories that will last a lifetime!
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Type of trip: Adventurous Beginner/ Intermediate rafting
This section is Class II-III+ Meaning Adventurous Beginner/ Intermediate rapids, Family Friendly, perfect for first time river rafters with some exciting moments in the Class III’s. We refer to this section as adventurous beginner due the navigating of boulder gardens and maneuvering needed for a successful run.
As you navigate the river, you’ll encounter a mix of class II rapids, offering a perfect balance of thrill and relaxation. The real excitement comes with the exhilarating “Gorilla Falls” and “Powerhouse” rapids, which add a rush of adrenaline to your adventure.
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 through Class VI at this link
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Guided Whitewater Rafting Tour
All of our tours are guided by a river guide in the back of the raft, who will guide 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 and interact 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 wonderful 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.
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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 4 guests + a guide to keep boats nimble for technical sections as the river flows may cause rapids to be tighter and more technical.
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- Half Day Experience
- 7 River Miles
- Roughly 2- 2.5 hours of river rafting
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Arrival and check in, Transportation to river put in site, Gear ourselves up with rafting gear, Safety talk/ river instruction, Hop into rafts for day, Load back into vehicles, Drive back to meeting location. Say farewell.
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(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 pmFor our tours we ask ours guest be available to check in for the tour 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 days schedule.
Make sure before leaving home to double check drive time and directions to ensure arrival on time. Road construction and slow traffic are common in Lake Tahoe during the summer months and can affect road conditions.
Notify the office if you believe you are behind schedule for the trip.
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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
- 45 minutes from Incline Village
- 1hr 15 minutes from South Lake Tahoe
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Due to the nature of whitewater rafting trips we ask that kids are age 7 years old 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.
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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 you’d be 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 are required that will not come off, such as strap-on sandals, water shoes, booties, and old tennis shoes
Flip flops or Slip on type shoes are discouraged and not allowed for rafting. The reason being if you go for an unintentional swim you will loose 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 on items to consider wearing and packing for the trip: visit our which includes a detailed pack list.
Things to Leave at Home:
While on the river, Everything gets wet, has the possibility to fall out of pockets and be lost in the river. We ask everyone to leave cellphones, wallets, Car keys and valuables home, at our office location 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
- PFDs (personal flotation devices), also known as life jackets
- Paddle
During spring and cold weather trips, we also provide at no additional cost:
- Wetsuits
- Fleece base layers
- Splash Jackets
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This beginner/ Intermediate whitewater river rafting trip is suitable for all ability levels due to its Fun Class II-III rapids and beautiful high desert scenery. This river is perfect for first-time rafters looking for an introduction to the sport of Whitewater Rafting!
We begin the river trip from the beautiful riverside Crystal Peak Park. Grassy lawns, tall cottonwood trees, and snowcapped peaks in the distance create a wonderful setting to begin our rafting adventure.
As we float east away from the Sierra Nevadas towards the Nevada Desert. Swift class II whitewater greats us as the current swiftly moves back and forth around the river bends. Splashy, exciting waves crash through the raft as your guides give out paddling commands. Roughly 3 miles downstream, we reach our first Class III drop, “Gorilla Falls”, A man-made vertical structure that our boats float over with ease. Smile big as our whitewater photographer captures all the action as the boats careen down the slide. Once over the drop, continuous Class II whitewater follows, leading to the most technical and longest rapid, the Class III “Powerhouse”.
As the run begins to wind down roughly 7 miles downstream and 2 hours later, signs of the city of Reno Nevada can be seen.
We finish our trip at the river side of Mayberry Park. Exiting the river onto large grassy fields and plenty of warm desert sunshine.
We exit the boats to our awaiting rafting bus. We collect all the river rafting gear, load it back onto our rafting bus, and drive back to our meeting location to return you to your vehicles.
A slide show of the photos taken is played and enjoyed as the bus ride takes us back. Farewells and thank yous from your guides are given as we finish our day back where we started.
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The river is fed by five different water storage areas: Lake Tahoe, Donner Lake, Prosser Reservoir, Stampede Reservoir, and Boca Reservoir. These dams work together to supply the water that flows into this beautiful section of the river.
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Our season for the Verdi to Mayberry section depends on the river flows, but you can usually join us for this amazing adventure from April into June.
We typically run the Verdi to Mayberry section when the Truckee River is high and fast, thanks to the large spring runoff. After a big winter, the river can be more challenging and thrilling. Usually, we offer a Half-Day trip on the Boca to Floriston section, but when the river is running high, those Class III rapids turn into intense Class IV+ rapids—too difficult for most families and first-time rafters.
That’s when the Verdi to Mayberry section becomes the perfect alternative. It’s an ideal beginner to intermediate run, perfect for families and first-timers looking for a fun and exciting adventure.
However, we can only offer this section when the river is flowing high and fast, making the Boca to Floriston section too challenging.
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Our River Guides
Our guides are the best in the business, focusing on safety and guest service as a top priority. All are extremely knowledgeable about the area’s geology, ecology, and history and just love being on the river. Many with experience on rivers all over the country and across the globe, we’ll know you’ll enjoy each one as much as we do and each will certainly help to make your day on the river the best possible.
Our History on the Truckee River
Our story on the Truckee River began In the 1980’s and 1990’s, back then the Truckee River was not considered a place for paddle sports recreation. At the time government ordinances were in place prohibiting whitewater rafting. In 1997 Tahoe Whitewater Tours owner Mike Miltner fell in love with the Truckee River and began a long quest to allow permitted use, 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 been able to show guests all the amazing elements the Truckee River has to offer with over 30 years of river rafting history.