We had the best experience with Tahoe Whitewater Tours on their Truckee River tour. Everything from check in to the safety briefing was very well run. They don't mean to scare people, but the safety talk was very thorough. They covered a wide range of topics and also talked about how everyone could be an active participant if a rescue was needed.
Our guide Will was amazing. He knew the exact lines to take in the river. He made sure we practiced our strokes so we would be in a good position for the class 3 rapids. He gave us several options on how to approach some of the rapids and we voted as a raft how to take them. Finally, as we approached the 3 class 3 rapids, he repositioned the kids in our boat for optimal safety.
As for the tour itself, you are on the river for about an hour and a half. There are several opportunities to stop at swimming holes, but because it started to rain and hail during our July session, none of the 8 rafts stopped to swim. You start out on a couple of class 1's, then progress to class 2's and finally 3 class 3's. We have done the leisure raft ride along the Truckee River that starts in Tahoe City several times and this ride was a good step up.
They offer a photo package that you can pre order for a cheaper price. The photos turned out great. A little pricey, but you can't get these types of pictures unless you have someone else following you in a car. We and all 8 boats bought the photo package.
At the shop, there is a restroom and a changing room. There is a port-a-pottie at the start and end if you really need it. You need to wear water shoes, no flip flops. Anything you bring will get wet, so make sure you have one of those waterproof phone cases that go around your neck or belt. Don't bother bringing a towel unless you want to sit on it afterwards on the bus. You can leave stuff on the bus, but they warn you it will not be totally secure. The bus moves locations and such and does not stay locked up. They provide cold water at the end.
Finally, I want to talk about safety. We felt pretty safe throughout our whole ride. A lot of that had to do with our guide Will. He did his best to give us early warning of any bumps and the line he planed on taking. We even practiced "high sides" just in case we needed them in the class 3's. At the rapids, they also positioned rafts in a way to provide close assistance if needed. Only 1 person in our group of 8 boats fell out the entire time and it was great seeing everyone jump into action to try to get him pulled back onboard a raft. There was also one time that another raft started to come down a class 3 sideways and our raft quickly started paddling to the middle just in case. They were able to save that raft and get it straight, so we were not needed. Truly, in the tour, every raft looks out for each other. There was another tour company on the river at the same time. They only had 2 rafts and multiple people from each raft did go overboard.
I am so glad we found this company and went with them. They were awesome.