Sunshine Rafting Adventures

A nice memorable trip. 7 of us went and had a very good time.

Had a great time with family & friends this summer 2015. We will definitely go back every summer.
Sunshine rafting staff’s are awesome! We had booked our trip to 11am but at that day we caught on traffic and ended up getting there late (12:30), we called & told them. yet they’ve waited for us at the meeting area eventhough we were the last group for the trip. thumbs up!!!

Had a great time with my family in the river. I liked the service they have us. Also good humor that the workers had. Make sure to take water guns, they come in handy. Great customer service.

Fun and super chilled river rafting! It is a tradition for my friends and I to river raft every summer. We loveee! Sunshine river rafting. The personell is attentive and so upbeat. Their customer service goes above and beyond. This is one of our favorite places and it is for sure worth the 2.30hr drive to get there. I advise this place to those who want to relax, and have a blast with good company. Also check out the complimentary pics they take as you go down the stream! … Keep up your good work and amazing customer service sunshine river rafting!

We had a company team build we were treated great such good service and so much fun highly recommend

We have our annual rafting trip … About 2 – 3 boats full usually and have never had a problem. The trip can be a bit long and you do have to paddle but that’s what’s expected this time of year with the way the drought is here. It’s about having fun. Regardless of having to work out or not. Just make sure you take a lot of water. :]

Great service from this company! The river is low so its an easy ride, you’re floating most of the time; paddling isn’t too strenuous with 4 or more people. Thanks for the free souvenir pictures

Great family rafting experience! We took our 8 and 10 year olds and they loved it. Just the right amount of excitement and time on the river.
Booking with Sunshine was easy, the cost was minimal and staff was helpful and professional. We will be back!

We went on a trip this past week and we’re HUGE fans! My family and I have gone the past two years. Its an easy river with spots to stop and eat lunch along the way. Be warned though: California is in a drought so the water has been low. If you don’t want to paddle, then don’t go on this river.
Great change to the flow with having the drivers drive their cars to the end and shuttle them back rather then the year before when all rafters shuttled back to the start after we floated down.
They also take a few pictures of your crew rafting and post them. They are so fun!
The only thing that was confusing was when I booked online. I didn’t see what time we were supposed to leave until after purchasing. Also, the page just kept loading and reloading without me doing anything. I thought I was screwing it up. So for people reading this, you are supposed to be there by 10am and I guess just power through the online booking!

We had a great time on the river thanks to Sunshine rafting. We were able to take advantage of the ‘pay $ 75 for $ 100 credit’ deal on Unilocal just by calling in and mentioning the deal. Justine was super friendly and helped us get a boat reserved over the phone. I highly recommend bringing an ice chest with snacks and lots of bottled water. Bring water guns, other rafts will be ready for battle and you don’t want to be without ammo. Wear water shoes, you’ll need them. The water level was low when we went so we had to do A LOT of paddling and we were all exhausted by the time we reached Horseshoe Park. The return bus was waiting for us there and drove us back to our cars at the end of the day. Finish the trip with a stop for a super yummy ice cream cone at the Knights Ferry creamery. Overall, great fun for the whole family.

This was my worst rafting experience by far… «Lazy river» aka you have to paddle the entire time in this river. They claimed it would take 3 hours and ended up taking 5 hours without any stops. They need to let you know it’s way too shallow and river doesn’t have any downstream. Because it was so damn slow, we were sick of it and would never do it again. I’d highly discourage anyone to go to this river spot.

Although the water was very low, we got stuck a lot we had a wonderful trip. The Guide was very helpful, the ages we’re very appropriate, my daughter is 10 and she had a wonderful time on her trip. We got to go on our own pace taking as long as we wanted. We went in a group so it was nice that we got a group discount.

My friends and I had an awesome rafting experience with this company! I’ve done a float trip before in Nebraska and I wanted to try to recreate that experience in California. After going back and forth between this company and another one, I chose to go with Sunshine Rafting based on their reviews and Instagram pics of people having a great time. I purchased a deal through Unilocal (yes do get it if you’re planning to have a group of at least 4!) three days ago. Unfortunately with the Unilocal coupon code you can’t type it in and redeem online. I sent an email and immediately (even at 7:45am) I got a response back! Kelly was super helpful and I booked my reservations over the phone with my Unilocal deal. Do print out the waiver form online. it makes the check-​in process a breeze. We were in our raft in no time and paddled down the river. With four people in relatively decent shape consistently paddling it took us around four hours to complete the trip. Yes there were a lot of kids with water guns, but most were pretty considerate when we asked them to stop spraying us. Hope to go back once again in the next couple of months!

I have gone a few times and it’s always a blast. Go with a few friends that keep you laughing. Very organized and helpful. Relatively calm and beginner friendly.

Went with a group of five others and this trip exceeded my expectations. We did a full day run ending it a little past Horseshoe and it took us a solid 6 hours to complete it.
The water was pretty low, so we kept having to get out and pull the raft in certain areas, but that’s out of the company’s control. Besides, it was hot and we didn’t mind a nice, cool swim for a while. I’d definitely recommend getting water shoes though as the rocks can be slippery and painful if you’re constantly getting out.
The employees who saw us off were extremely friendly and funny at that. They were great, informative, and straight to the point.
Overall, I’d definitely recommend this trip to family and friends. It’s a great team exercise. Oh! And how could I forget? You can bring your own coolers. We brought two pretty big sized coolers and fit them in the middle just fine. Beers and snacks along the way definitely made this trip even better.

The trip from Orange Blossom to Oakdale was hot and slow because of the low water level. We went on the 4^th of July.
I don’t know who is responsible, but the exit from the river is the most strenuous, most risky I’ve ever seen. It’s a very high and steep bank that was hard to take considering the exhaustion and heat we all had just gone though. It was the exact combination of difficulty to cause potential falls and heat exhaustion making the effort to get up that bank. Both tour companies, and the city/​county should take steps to protect the individuals who are taking these river trips. Don’t take this particular run. Maybe we should all should accept that the river is also too low for rafting.
You paddle all the way and pull the raft over low water areas, and just too darn hot. We’re not doing this run again. You’ll be glad when it’s over.

Great time. Great company. Nice lazy day on the river easy going. Five and six your olds had a blast. Water guns. Swimming. Paddling. Bet it’s more fun with some class two areas. We collected trash on the way. A lot of litter bugs. Do your part to help keep it clean. We will be back for sure.

We had a great time! This was our family’s first time rafting and we really enjoyed ourselves. The equipment was great and the staff was super friendly. There are other companies in town but after this experience we won’t ever try another company! Plus I wrote to them saying how disappointed I was in all the trash along the bank. The owner wrote back a really nice letter staring how their company organizes clean up days and really tries to help with the problem. That made me even more impressed! They have our business from now on!

Sunshine made planning a rafting trip for 10 a breeze. Their website is very informative with lots of good information and the staff is quick and responsive to inquiries. They will provide you with all possible answers to FAQs and details for the day of your trip. Each individual in your party can even pay for their fees separately by just calling in and mentioning the group trip code.
On the day of, they are easy to locate in the parking lot and quick to get you moving along down the river. Sign your waiver aka life away– they are not responsible for any lost/​damage items or injuries. You do a 10 minute orientation with a huge group and then assisted into the rafts.
Their largest rafts hold a max of 10 people. It was cozy but not tight. We were able to fit 2 coolers and several bags of food. The river was easy to navigate with few rough areas, so the majority of the time is spent drinking beer and shooting other rafts. There is one spot where they take your photo, so smile! Photos can be retrieved on their Facebook page by date. There are spots to pull over and have your picnic lunch — pretty easy to spot. The duration of your trip depends on how fast you’re drifting down the river and how many stops you make… We spent a good 4 – 5 hours soaking in the sun :)
Tips:
–Buy a Unilocal deal or a gift certificate on their website for a sweet deal.
–Bring your own water guns because it’s a WAR ZONE on the river.
–Be prepared to get soaked.
Items to pack:
–beer, beer, and more beer
–sunglasses, sunscreen, hat… it’s HOT and there is not much shade
–lunch and snacks
–extra ziploc bags for keys and phones
–trash bags — protect the environment and please do not litter!
–water guns/​PCP pipes… whatever you need to arm yourselves
–waterproof camera

Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream…
Date: Saturday, August 3, 2013
Time: 1100 Hours
Location: Knights Ferry, CA
It was our first time river rafting, and it will definitely won’t be the last. Depending on the snow run off from the Sierra’s, this ride could be a Level I or II. Definitely a perfect fit for beginners.
We had a party of 18 at a reasonable price of $ 30.00 per person. If you reach a party of 30, they can give you a discount of $ 27.00 per person. For the price, it’s a great deal no matter how you look at it.
It was a weekend trip, so we met at the parking lot of 18 210 Sonora Road, Knights Ferry, CA. If it’s a weekday trip, you would meet at 18 000 Covered Bridge Road, Knights Ferry, CA. It’s not a private lot, but a public lot that is owned and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineering. (TIP: It gets hot here, so try to get there early and park underneath a shade. It’ll make a huge difference once you return to your car later in the day.)
There’s two companies operating here, so expect a huge crowd on the weekends. They have the blue-​colored rafts and the blue tent in the parking lot. Sign the waiver form and walk down the path towards the river to get your gear and safety instruction. Make sure to bring a cooler full of beverage and snacks as you will need all the energy later on in the day.
If you have super soakers, you can bring them too as we quickly discovered we were at a disadvantage. Some people brought buckets and others will camp near a bank getting ready for an ambush. Oh yes, you will get wet whether you like it or not. So don’t be complaining that you got soaked by drunkards while rafting in a river. Hey… you’re in a friggin river.
The water is cold. Let me repeat that… the water is COLD, so better get used to it. After a few dunks in the river, you will get used to it. The river is mostly mellow with a few rapids here and there, but the majority of the time you will have to paddle. Since we didn’t get that much rainfall this year, some areas of the river were quite shallow and we did get stuck. No worries, just get off the boat and drag your asses out of there. That’s part of the fun and experience.
You will also encounter lots of Rainbow Trouts swimming underneath under the clear river. Maybe you can bring a net and snag one of those suckers for dinner. I’m not sure if you need a fishing license, though. And if you get tired (which you will) just stop by any banks and shade to frolic in the river and replenish you energy. The trip is 8.2 miles downstream and you will need every ounce of your energy.
And don’t worry about getting lost, it’s hard to get lost unless you stop off a private property and wonder unto a someone’s backyard and hear a banjo playing. If you know what I’m referring too, you better haul yer ass off out of there.
It’s great for the family and friends. Great for kids and beginners. And I can cross one off my bucket list.
One more thing: There’s a bus that takes you back to the parking lot at the end of your trip. The driver looks like Santa’s cousin and drives like a maniac. The bus is actually a converted school bus, so don’t expect a comfy ride. He will get you back there in a flash. He’s probably driven that road a million times, but I would suggest he slow down on some parts as we had a near-​miss with another vehicle crossing the road. That’s the only negative we experienced, but other than that, I would recommend this activity if you haven’t done so.