Become a River Guide

  Want to do something fun & exciting?!

One great way to be a river activist is to be a river guide

For 35 years Friends of the River has trained river activists and guides. Become a river guide and river educator in our exciting 11 day training! Volunteer to bring the river into the hearts of the public!   Training is for private boaters or those brand new to boating—to hone skills and learn how to protect rivers.

***Now accepting applications for 2010 Guide Trainings***
Click here to download the application (doc)

The Rafting Program is supported by 300+ river guides who are active volunteers for Friends of the River. The Rafting Program strives to enhance public awareness about rivers and water resources, to make river running accessible and enjoyable, and to raise money to support Friends of the River's statewide river conservation and water policy reform efforts.

Rafting Program Guide Training
The Friends of the River Rafting Program sponsors guide training at the basic and advanced levels. Basic training teaches you how to be a competent and safe Class III Whitewater Paddle Guide while teaching you to be an effective advocate and activist as well. Classes are conducted both on river and off. On shore classes include seminars on conservation issues, river hydraulics, safety and rescue information, trip organization, and much more. Our training program is performed at cost in order to be as affordable as possible.  In return, the Rafting Program asks that you make a volunteer commitment to the Program.

The fee for the guide training course for 2010 is $450. What a deal!  Commerical companies charge $600 to $900 just for the raft training.  With FOR you also get conservation and river advocacy training! This money just covers our costs to run the program (i.e. food, camping, equipment). If you are interested in applying, please fill out the application and mail it to us by the indicated deadline. If the deadline has passed, get in touch. If class is not full we may continue to accept applications past the due date.

We accept fifteen trainees per session and are especially looking for conservation minded individuals who enjoy spending time outdoors and playing in the water (previous rafting experience is not a requirement). We will notify applicants of our decision within three to four weeks of the application deadline. You must be a Friends of the River member to participate, so join today!

Logistics

We have two (eleven day) Northern California Basic Guide Training Sessions on the South Fork of the American River, near Placerville.

Spring 2010
March 27-28 and April 3-11

Summer 2010
June 12-13 and June 19-27

The Northern California training on the South Fork American River (Lotus, CA; 45 minutes east of Sacramento, CA) consists of one weekend and one nine-day session. Most guides need at least 9 days of training to become proficient. Therefore, the Rafting Program requires you to come to all three of the weekends during your training period and a minimum of three midweek days. You will get the most out of the training if you can come to the whole program.

Trainees are responsible for most of the daily routine that is typical for running raft trips. During training you can expect to be busy from early in the morning until late in the evening. Flexibility and a sense of humor are crucial during training, e.g., if water flows are uncommonly low on the South Fork, we may need to change our location or schedule.

Requirements

• Good physical condition
• CPR and First Aid Certification (to be aquired and current before training begins)
• Desire to save rivers and have fun 

Guest Paddlers
We encourage you to invite your friends and family to be guest paddlers during training. Guest paddlers are necessary to increase training opportunities. We would like each trainee to invite up to 10 guests, for a total of 10 "guest days." A "guest day" refers to each day a guest paddles. Guests may not come to the first weekend of training, are encouraged to come midweek and the total number of guests for the weekends will be limited. Make sure your guests understand they will be rafting during guide training. Once you are accepted into the training program, you will be provided with an information sheet that you can give to your guests, which will let them know costs and what to bring.

Advanced Guide Training

Advanced Trainings are usually held in late spring on the North Fork American. To learn more click here. 

The Rafting Program hopes you choose to participate in our program and become a rafting guide and river activist. You will meet great people and have a terrific time. Our growing program provides many opportunities for our guides and their friends. If you have any further questions, please contact the FOR office:
(916) 442-3155
info@friendsoftheriver.org