1. Alpine Meadows Road to Floriston

The Floriston Run of the Truckee River offers options depending on your skills, the water level, and time available. Several intermediate access points provide a range of choices. You can either make it a long day trip or just do a couple laps in the evening to enjoy the waves at Floriston. The Truckee River emerges from Lake Tahoe where ancient lava flows dammed the river valley and gave rise to the lake as we see it today. From the lake the river continues on its journey from the mountains to Reno eastward into Pyramid Lake in Nevada. Class One fun from Lake Tahoe to Alpine Meadows. The whitewater section is generally considered to begin at River Ranch or Alpine Meadows Bridge just under a mile downstream, and from here the river flows at a good pace along Highway 89 with some fun Class II/III whitewater before tapering off as you continue on down to Truckee. Low bridges are a hazard and in the past local agencies have closed this section of the river to Recreational boating at flows above 1000 cfs. AW and Tahoe local boaters question the legality of initiating this closure in the past but we would require a local volunteer to pursue this further (contact AW's California staff if interested). Once you reach Truckee, the river runs along I-80 but this is a beautiful valley and it's still a scenic float down toward Boca Reservoir. One of the most popular section is from Boca to Floriston. Here the river gains flow from Boca Reservoir, which also extends the paddling season. The Boca to Floriston run contains class II rapids for 5.5 miles before you reach a short boulder-strewn canyon at Bronco Creek. This long class III rapid (pushing class IV at higher flows) is a lot of fun and provides a good technical challenge before tapering off with some nice play spots as you pass under I-80 at Floriston. There are remains of an old diversion dam here. If you don't have a shuttle, this is a great destination rapid as you can park your vehicle near the railroad tracks at the Floriston exit and hike up to the top of the rapid. Paddle downstream past your parking spot and hike back up to the car. You can easily spend an hour or two at this spot and it's a good alternative for those who are visiting the Reno Whitewater Park but want to get out of town to see another section of the river. Logistics There are several different access points on this stretch. The upper put-in is at River Ranch or Alpine Meadows Bridge along Highway 89 which is accessible from I-80 Exit 185. There are several alternate access points in the first 10 miles where the river runs along Highway 89. The put-in for the popular Boca to Floriston 'Town Run' is off I-80 Exit 194 at Boca. For boaters that don't want to paddle the more difficult rapids above Floriston, there is an intermediate access point on river left about two miles downriver of the Hirschdale Road bridge (the 'Town Run' take-out). This access is reached via Hirschdale Road and an unpaved spur road that ends at a parking area on river left within the Truckee River Wildlife Area. \*\*(Note that a private landowner has been blocking access on Hirschdale Road as of August 2021; AW is working to resolve this issue.) For those continuing downriver to Floriston, the take-out at Floriston is on river right a couple hundred yards downstream of the I-80 bridge at exit 199 (after exiting, drive underneath the highway to a parking spot on river right near the railroad tracks). There's a decent path between the river and the highway that takes you back under the highway to your parking spot. If you are going to put in at Floriston for the short run here, just heads up the dirt road on river right between the river and the railroad tracks. It's about a 15 minute walk to the top of the rapid. Approximate Mileage: - mile 0, Alpine Meadows - mile 10, Town of Truckee - mile 20, Boca - mile 26, Bronco - mile 27, Floriston take-out Alternatively, for you packrafters, if you paddle from Truckee to Reno, it's possible to take the train back to Truckee! Pretty cool shuttle option. Additional Information The Truckee Meadows Water Authority publishes a river recreation map. Download the pdf from the map link to the right or you can pick one up at their offices in town. Call 775-834-8000 or visit the office at 1155 Corporate Blvd. in Reno. Additional Sections 1. Floriston (or Farad) to Verdi, NV (9.8 miles) 2. Verdi to Mayberry Park (8 miles) 3. Mayberry Park to Cottonwood Park (10 miles) see also Reno Whitewater Park at Wingfield 4. Cottonwood Park to Pyramid Lake