[5] The South Fork of the American is "the most popular recreation stream in the West" for whitewater rafting in North America,[6] e.g., 80,000 visitors in 2011.

The river begins at Nebelhorn near Johnson Pass about 10 mi (16 km) south of Lake Tahoe.

[4] According to a U.S. Geological Survey stream gage at Lotus, about 5 mi (8.0 km) above Folsom Lake, the average discharge was 1,458 cu ft/s (41.3 m3/s) from 1951 to 1995.

The trail represents the foothills' various ecosystems including grasslands, oak woodland, chaparral and riparian habitats.

Most of the dams and reservoirs in the basin are operated by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) as part of the 688 megawatt Upper American River Project[12] and Pacific Gas and Electric as part of the Chili Bar Project.