Merced

The biggest rapid is immediately below the put in pool.   At low flows (250 cfs) try to find a route to scrape down through the rocks.   At 1200 cfs there are nice waves and a horizon line about 2/3's of the way through.    At 3200 cfs, there were some fun big rolling waves.    You can walk over to the river to scout parts of this rapid from several turnouts along the road.

This county park provides a convenient access point and picnic area.  There is plenty of parking, toilets, and picnic tables.   The majority of riffles are upstream of this park, so this makes a good take out for those who have only a short time and want to practice whitewater skills.

Take 4th street, south to its end and walk down to the river.   There is a pretty long riffle here as well as a channel split.  The main channel goes to the right.

There is a large enough shoulder on the northwest side of the bridge for a few cars to park.  A trail leads down next to the bridge.

Looking upstream from the J59 bridge and at aerial photos, I wondered why anybody would bulldoze so much of the land along the river.   When I paddled this section at 3200 cfs, it became clear.  At high flows this area becomes a vast and beautiful flood plain.   We were paddling on a huge lake, yet with a ribbon of fast current.

With the construction of a new bridge over the river, there is now designated river access with plenty of parking on the northwest side of the bridge.   A trail leads down to the river and a sign states fishing regulations.

Downstream of J59, brush hazards are a bigger problem, along with deciding which channels to take.   In a few places, the channel will split, then resplit, then filter through brush.  There is generally a clear channel someplace, but it is easy to take channels that are not so clear.

This bridge makes a good landmark for judging time and distance.    Below this bridge, the river splits around an island, then passes through a gravel pit lake..

The river forks around a very large island.   The left fork loops to the south and back in 1 mile.  The right fork cuts directly across in 1/3 mile, but at the end has nasty tree and brush hazards.  We got through (feb 8, 2011, 3200 cfs), but wasted time trying to find a route, scared ourselves even on the route we did find and fought with berry bushes.    Take the left route.

Mileages from this point downstream are based on taking the right fork but will be adjusted soon.

Some sort of weir backs the river up to divert water into a ditch on the left.  The weir is not visible at high flows, so it is probably just a low gravel weir.

A private bridge at mile 14.57 indicates that there is a weir in the river, immediately downstream.   At 3200, the weir made an excellent looking play spot with a wide wave.    Part of the wave was breaking.    There was plenty of room on either side to paddle around the wave.

There is public parking on the northwest side of the Oakdale road bridge.  From the parking area you can walk out onto the historic Shaffer Bridge.  It is a nice stroll and gives a good view of the river downstream.  The up river view is blocked by the newer bridge.   Public access to the river is prohibited by penal code 602.  Chain link fences completely block access, except where there is a big hole in the fence with a trail leading down to the river.   We were not hassled when we left a car here in February and used this area as a take out.  Might be very different in the summer.

Some water agreements require the Merced Irrigation District to provide certain minimum flows to this point in the river depending on the time of year.   A gauging station is mounted on the downstream side of the Shaffer bridge towards the middle.

There probably are not any or many riffles below this point.

There appears to be a wide shoulder on the north side of the bridge where cars can park.  Trails lead to the river.

There is public river access at this state recreation area.

There does not appear to be any public access to the river in this area.

Public park on the river provides access.  From here down to Hattfield,  the river is notable for one of the most impressive stands of huge Valley Oak trees in the region.

This state recreation area straddles the river.   Parking and access is on the north west side, from Kelley Road.

Hills Ferry Road crosses the San Joaquin at the Merced confluence.   There is a wide shoulder and trails to the river on the south west side of the bridge.   Elevation is about 57 feet above sea level.