About the American River Web Site

This web site was created in March, 2003. It inherited a wealth of information from the South Fork section of the Coloma Valley site, which has been in operation since 1995, and we have been steadily adding information about the other forks and the lower American, recreational paddling opportunities on the many lakes in the American River watershed, other recreation such as fishing, hiking and bicycling, and other topics including conservation and natural history. If you have photographs or information you'd like to share, please contact us.

Both The Coloma Valley and The American River are joint projects of Coloma Communications and the Coloma-Lotus Chamber of Commerce.

The American River "look and feel" is based on an original design by Jesse Fowler, and features one of Mark Leder-Adams' legendary photographs of the South Fork of the American River in the upper left corner.

Meet the American River Team

Thanks very much to the following folks for contributing news and information to The American River web site. If you have information that you would like to share with the South Fork boating community, please contact one of the following folks or fill out our contact form. We are also looking for knowledgeable contact people for the Middle and North Forks and Main American. Please contact Donna if you can volunteer or would like to suggest a good candidate.

Mike Bean - Access Coordinator for Gold Country Paddlers. Regional Coordinator for American Whitewater. Chair, Coloma-Lotus Valley Trails Committee. Former private boater representative to the El Dorado County River Management Advisory Committee (RMAC). Webmaster for rivervilla.com.

Bill Center - Owner of Camp Lotus. Point of contact for flow information from SMUD and PG&E. Former El Dorado County Supervisor.

Donna McMaster - Creator and webmaster for theamericanriver.com and coloma.com, member and former president of the Coloma-Lotus Chamber of Commerce. Former chair of RMAC.

Hilde Schweitzer - Kayak and raft guide on the Grand Canyon of the Colorado for Outdoors Unlimited. Private boater representative to RMAC. Regional Coordinator for American Whitewater since 1991.

Theresa L. Simsiman - Active kayaker and spokesperson for the grass roots group ROAR!, dedicated to working on the SMUD relicensing.