About
Outdoor Education Programs at Mother Lode River Center include white water rafting, a Challenge Ropes Course, zipline, outdoor education, and guide instruction. Programs can also include riverside camping and camping, team building with ropes course and ziplining, Swiftwater Rescue Training, and Packrafting. Outdoor Education Programs provide hands-on learning while inspiring a deeper connection and appreciation for the great outdoors, and educational modules can be sequenced and combined to meet group needs.
• Schedule: Programs on the Challenge Ropes Course range from half-day to multiple-days in length and can be customized
Since its founding in 1974, Mother Lode River Center has over 50 years of experience and has safely guided over 300,000 guests down 3 million river miles, with over 50 years with one of the best safety records in the industry. Guided trips are described as top-rated white water rafting in the US and are suitable for first-timers and for those seeking Class IV rapids. Guides receive extensive training as river guides, ropes course facilitators, and outdoor educators, and are highly trained in safety and rescue techniques. At Mother Lode, the mission is to share a love of California’s rivers and to help protect these places for future generations.
Mother Lode River Center helped Rescue 3’s founder, Jim Segerstrom, adapt Swiftwater Rescue Training for river guides and became the first company to incorporate Rescue 3’s Swiftwater Rescue Training into their Guide School, which has since become an international standard for excellence. The organization and members of its team, including Marc Dubois, Scott, Emily and Adrienne Underwood, have been chosen as “River Heroes” by Friends of the River. Over 30,000 guests have volunteered through Mother Lode River Center to write letters in defense of 15 California rivers, and this work has helped keep many California rivers running.
Families have described the experience with comments such as “This place is amazing!” and “Very few things in life can beat a day white water rafting on the American river.”
Last updated July 6, 2026.
• Schedule: Programs on the Challenge Ropes Course range from half-day to multiple-days in length and can be customized
Since its founding in 1974, Mother Lode River Center has over 50 years of experience and has safely guided over 300,000 guests down 3 million river miles, with over 50 years with one of the best safety records in the industry. Guided trips are described as top-rated white water rafting in the US and are suitable for first-timers and for those seeking Class IV rapids. Guides receive extensive training as river guides, ropes course facilitators, and outdoor educators, and are highly trained in safety and rescue techniques. At Mother Lode, the mission is to share a love of California’s rivers and to help protect these places for future generations.
Mother Lode River Center helped Rescue 3’s founder, Jim Segerstrom, adapt Swiftwater Rescue Training for river guides and became the first company to incorporate Rescue 3’s Swiftwater Rescue Training into their Guide School, which has since become an international standard for excellence. The organization and members of its team, including Marc Dubois, Scott, Emily and Adrienne Underwood, have been chosen as “River Heroes” by Friends of the River. Over 30,000 guests have volunteered through Mother Lode River Center to write letters in defense of 15 California rivers, and this work has helped keep many California rivers running.
Families have described the experience with comments such as “This place is amazing!” and “Very few things in life can beat a day white water rafting on the American river.”
Last updated July 6, 2026.
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