Our group of 8 spent 6 nights in South Lake Tahoe and drove 1.5 hours West to Lotus, CA for the "1/2 Day Gorge Run" on the Lower South Fork of the American River. This excursion was unanimously voted everyone's favorite. Not only was the white water rafting a total blast, but H20 Adventures is an exceptional small business:
1. prior to our trip, Fianna promptly returned my voice messages with answers to all my questions.
2. their website is easy to navigate and their pdf of each tour is informative/helpful
3. they provide wetsuits or high-end paddle jackets for FREE.
4. it seemed like all their employees LOVE their jobs and have fun interacting with customers.
5. our guide (Ethan) offered opportunities to tailor our trip, so he let us stop to do some cliff jumping and navigated the river to allow "spiciness" in our adventure.
6. after the trip on our bus ride back up the river, they shared warm brownies!
7. the Rivers Bend Resort has clean bathrooms with 4 toilets and 4 showers, so we were able to freshen up before our long drive back to South Lake Tahoe.
I strongly recommend H20 Adventures!