The river flows for 48.5 miles (78.1 km)[2] through rugged alpine and foothill areas of the Sierra Nevada.

The river begins in Hay Meadow in the Emigrant Wilderness of the Stanislaus National Forest.

It flows generally southwest, past Pinecrest, Cold Springs and Long Barn, then descends west through a canyon to the New Melones Lake reservoir where it meets the Stanislaus River.

Strawberry Dam is part of the Spring-Gap Stanislaus Hydroelectric Project, which uses water from the South Fork and Middle Forks of the Stanislaus River to generate power.

This article related to a river in California is a stub.