Bring Your Own Boat: Paddling the Merced River Through Yosemite Valley

Top: El Capitan above the Merced River. Photo: Keith S. Walklet, NPS (public domain).

Few things beat a lazy summer float down the Merced, with granite walls rising on both sides of the valley. Raft rentals at Curry Village are popular and sell out early, but you don’t need one. The park allows private, non-motorized boats on the river, so you can bring your own raft, kayak, canoe or inflatable kayak and go at your own pace.

Where you can paddle

The Merced through Yosemite Valley is split into sections, each with its own rules. You can only launch and take out at designated spots.

• Clark’s Bridge to Stoneman Bridge (Class I–II): a short upper stretch, open only when the Pohono Bridge gauge is below 4.5 feet. Launch about 100 feet downstream of Clark’s Bridge.
• Stoneman Bridge to El Capitan Bridge (Class I–II): the main float, open when the gauge is below 7 feet. Launch or take out about 100 feet downstream of Stoneman Bridge, on the sandy, unvegetated part of Sentinel Beach, or about 100 feet upstream or downstream of El Capitan Bridge. Most people finish at Sentinel Beach, but you can keep going to El Capitan Bridge for a longer day.
• Below El Capitan Bridge (Class III–V): the river picks up speed and turns into serious whitewater as it leaves the valley. This is for experienced whitewater paddlers only. It’s open when the gauge reads at least 3.4 feet, and everyone on board must wear a life jacket.

Bringing your own boat

• Launch the right way: enter and exit the river on sandy beaches at the designated spots. Carts, wheeled devices and trailers aren’t allowed, and don’t drag your boat across riverbank plants.
• Life jackets: kids 13 and under must always wear one. When the gauge is above 4 feet at 8 a.m., everyone must wear one. On lower days you still need one on board for each person, and the park strongly encourages wearing it.
• Plan your ride back: the float ends about 3 miles downstream of where you start. Leave a second car at the Sentinel Beach picnic area or arrange a pickup before you launch.
• Clean, drain, dry: arrive with your boat clean and dry to avoid carrying invasive species into the river.
• Prefer to rent? Curry Village rents rafts in summer, typically June and July depending on water levels. Rentals are booked in person and often sell out early in the day.

How snowpack shapes the season

The Merced is fed by snowmelt, so each winter’s snowpack sets up the next summer on the river. In a big snow year, the river can run too high for floating until well into summer. In a dry year, it drops below the 7-foot limit early, but by mid-summer you can expect a slower, shallower float, with more spots where you may need to step out and drag. Either way, the best floating usually comes in mid-summer, after the spring runoff and before the river gets too low.

Check the river gauge on the morning you plan to go. The park’s current conditions page links to live streamflow data for the Merced in Yosemite Valley.

Stay safe on the river

• Even on a hot day, the Merced is snowmelt and can be very cold.
• Watch for swift currents and hazards in the water, especially downed trees, which can trap boats and swimmers.
• Sections can close if debris or changing river conditions block passage, even when the gauge is low.

Rules checked against the National Park Service in November 2026. Check the NPS boating page and water activities page for current rules and conditions before you go.