One Day Rafting Trips on the Merced River with Zephyr Whitewater Expeditions

The Merced river tumbles and twists out of Yosemite Valley, gradually mellowing into a raftable whitewater river just 4 miles below the town of El Portal. It is here that our trips begin. Offering abundant whitewater confined by a narrow corridor, this river is a must for the whitewater enthusiast. Indeed, the Merced river offers one of the best whitewater rafting paddle-boat trips in California and our meeting spot is only 1 hour and 30 minutes from Yosemite Valley!

Experience:  Class 3-4 - Intermediate

Our Main Season: Our most popular trip... A full day 16 mile rafting adventure just minutes from Yosemite

Trip Times & Pricing: 

• Meet at 9:30am back by 5:00pm. Please Note: The 7 hour window for each trip includes car parking, bus shuttle, safety talks, on river lunch stop and other possible delays. Actual "on-water" time varies depending on how high or how low the water levels are at trip time.
• From $153 to $178. Minimum age is 10-16 depending on water levels.
• Trips daily from April into July depending on snow-pack
• We utilize paddle rafts and oar paddle combo rafts on our 1-day trips

Trip & Price Includes:

• Wetsuits and/or paddle jackets for spring trips
• All river gear including helmets and life jackets
• Full lunch served on river
• Beverages at trip's end
• Parking and round trip bus shuttle to and from river

Trip Itinerary:

• Arrive 9:30 a.m. or before at our office in Midpines, CA. See trip details for directions
• Park cars, assemble, hand in release forms or fill them out if you did not bring them already filled out
• Board our bus for the scenic 30 minute ride to our launch area
• Start rafting
• Lunch around 1:00 on river
• Start rafting again around 2:00, and continue on down into the Gorge below Briceburg
• Around 3:30 we hit Corner Pocket and Split Rock rapid…plenty of excitement
• Arrive at take-out around 4:00…load up in bus for the 10 minute ride back to your cars.

Meeting Spot:

All Merced  trips meet at the ZEPHYR WHITEWATER MERCED RIVER PROPERTY, located at 6940 State Highway 140, Midpines, CA, 95345. Our property is eight miles from Mariposa, and just across Highway 140 from the Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Resort.  We have a large secure parking area, and the Yosemite Bug Mountain Resort has a great restaurant just minutes from our property.  See our location on Google Maps.

Please read Zephyr Whitewater Rafting's COVID-19 response to rafting in 2021.