Wineries Tour and South Fork American River Rafting Trip - 2 Days

Overview

Tour 3-5 wineries for the day in El Dorado County's wine country, and the next day enjoy a white water rafting adventure, all 2.5 hrs from San Francisco.

This trip to the wine region, combined with a day of whitewater raftng, is perfect for those of you looking for a unique adventure.  Your California rafting trip on the South Fork of the American River with a second day touring several award wining wineries in El Dorado County, located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.   Our meet time is 10:00am so you have time to drive the 2.5 hours from San Francisco.

Trip Includes:

• One day touring local El Dorado County Wineries with chauffeured transportation
• Snacks, lovely lunch, and wine-tasting fees on wineries Tour
• Wine tasting during hors d'oeuvres back at camp
• Barbeque Dinner
• One night of camping (the night during)
• One day of rafting, 10-11 miles of river, either Chili Bar or the Gorge
• Four great meals included (lunch & dinner Day 1; breakfast & lunch Day 2)

Download: Winery Tour & South Fork Rafting Trip DIRECTIONS and PACKING LIST.

Our Campground:    We have a beautiful campground, large and spacious.   There are lots of trees which means that there are many sites that can accommodates groups of all sizes.   Very unique to Mariah are our Tent Cabins which are all built on platforms and include deluxe cots, foam pads and deck chairs.   Each houses between 2-5 persons plus the cots, foam pads and deck chairs.

If you are looking to extend your adventure, please consider camping with us an extra night, either before or after your trip.   If we already have a dinner or breakfast on the schedule you are welcome to join us.   The additional camping and meals are for a small add-on price.

Our Menus:   We pride ourselves on the quality and variety of our meals.   We can accommodate many different dietary requirements, so let us know if you are vegetarian, need gluten free, or have food allergies such as to peanuts and dairy.   Breakfasts include pancakes, sausage, build your own egg  burrito, fresh fruit, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and cereals.   Lunches include build your own deli sandwiches; at camp we usually have a barbeque lunch.  Peanut butter & jelly are always available.   Dinners include barbequed steak & chicken, fresh salad, garlic bread, potatoes and dessert.

Day One

10:00 am: Meet, greet, and sign in with your head guide.

10:33 am: Depart for your day-long tour of various wineries in El Dorado County.

12:00 am: Enjoy a lovely picnic lunch at one of the wineries.

1:00 pm: Continue to enjoy the wineries.

3:00-4:00 pm: Return to the Mariah Campground for evening activities: Showers, pingpong, volleyball, relax, play, finish setting up your camp.

5:15 pm: Enjoy hors d’oeuvres, wine-tasting, camaraderie.

6:00 pm: Dinner, slide show, dessert, campfire, more camaraderie.

Whenever you want: Fall asleep under the stars, in your own tent, in rented tent.

(Quiet hours start 10:00pm).

10:00 am We will greet you in the Mariah Wilderness Campground Kitchen where you will meet your driver-guide for the day of Winery Touring. After a 30-minute orientation you will board our Mariah vehicle and head out for this day of wine-tasting. We should be on our way by 10:30 am.

We will visit between three and five wineries, depending on things such as how much fun we are having at one or more of the wineries, the activities the wineries have planned for us, your wishes, and other circumstances which may influence which wineries we visit.

SNACKS: It is our desire to have you enjoy the unique tastes of the different wines so we will be providing small, appropriate snacks throughout the day.

12 NOON We will have prepared a lovely picnic lunch for your enjoyment; your driver-guide will serve it and you will have plenty of time to enjoy it.

MID-AFTERNOON We plan on returning to the Mariah Campground around 3-4PM. So, from whichever winery we find ourselves at, we will board Mariah's vehicle for a relaxing drive back to camp.

Back at camp you may choose to shower, play volleyball, horseshoes, ping pong; walk our unique Nature Trail, sit by the river, read, relax, socialize with old and new friends or shop in the Mariah camp store for a souvenir t-shirt. Around 5:15 P.M., hors d’oeuvres are served and in the Beverage Garden a nice wine-tasting presentation is given by the staff. There is plenty of fruit juice and fresh water available, also. Please feel free to bring your own favorite beverages. 

The dinner bell rings about 6:00PM. BBQ steak and chicken, hearty salad, potatoes, garlic bread, coffee, tea, juice and water are served by your guides. Following dinner is the evening slide show, dessert, and campfire. Then it’s off to sleep under the stars or in one of the great Mariah tent-cabins available to rent.

Day Two

8:00 am: The breakfast bell rings, calling you to breakfast.

9:00 am: Promptly at 9AM we board our river vehicles for the 30 minute drive to Chili Bar.

10:00 am: Launch your boats and begin 5 miles of Class II-III rapids.

12:00 am: Conquer Troublemaker Rapid, the biggest of the river! Have your photo taken as you come through the rapid.

12:30-1:00 pm: Enjoy 5 miles of relaxing Class I-II rapids, & beautiful scenery.

1:00-1:30 pm: Arrive by river to the Mariah Campground and enjoy a BBQ lunch, & slide show.

2:30-3:00 pm: Depart for your next destination.

The day begins at 8:00 am with a delicious breakfast, usually pancakes, sausage, fresh fruit, cereal, juice, fresh coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. However, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate are ready by 7:30AM in Mariah’s unique Coffee Corner.

Promptly at 9:00 am we board our Mariah vehicles for the 30-minute drive to the Chili Bar Put-in, the top section of the river. Chili Bar is named after the Chileans who travelled up from Chili in 1849 to be a part of the Gold Rush of 1849! You already know your guide, and you are already an accomplished paddler, so we launch into the current. The river starts out with exciting rapids so be prepared for a thrill from the beginning. During the first 5.5 miles we will raft through fun and challenging rapids like Meatgrinder, Race Horse Bend, and the Triple Threats.

At mile 5.5 we enter Troublemaker Rapid, the largest rapid on the South Fork; hold on to your hat!! After this fun rapid we'll drift and paddle through gorgeous scenery, enjoying the scenic river and calmer rapids.

At one point, we float past a replica of Sutter's Mill, the site where that first gold nugget was discovered in 1848 that started the California Gold Rush of 1849.

Arriving back at Mariah's campground we enjoy a hearty barbecue lunch. You will have time to shop for souvenir t-shirts in our walk-in store, say goodbye to your guides and exchange email addresses with the other participants. 

You will be ready to depart exhilarated and refreshed for your next destination by 2:30-3:00 pm.