A couple of friends and I decided to go plumbing along the lower American River, a spring-fed body of North California water running through Sacramento. For nearly four hours, we drifted along, each of us in our own heavy-duty, mesh-bottom internal tube with our feet hanging over the sides, twisting and rotating with the slow-moving current as we went. At one point, our group met some easy-to-maneuver rapids, but otherwise, we typically just sat back, tasted on sparkling Water Tubing, snacked on trail mix, and watched the world pass by.
River tubing requires nothing more than a blowup inner tube and some water. By most accounts, this fun activity of letting the river carry you downstream first gained popularity in the 20th century, together with the rise of automobiles. “It goes back to the basic idea of people annoying to beat the summer heat,” says John Bevell, occupant manager of Arizona’s family-owned Saguaro Lake Ranch, which runs tubing trips along the banks of the Salt River. “If you go back far enough, most car tires had blowup tubes inside,” he says, “and there was unavoidably a spare or miscellaneous tube lying about that persons could use to go down, sit in the water, and cool off. It just evolved from there.”
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Other Places Ripe for Tubing
While river Water Tubing is protuberant from coast to coast, some spots stand out for their set, serenity, and individuality. Here are some of our favorites.
Frio River; Texas Hill Country, Texas
While many corms in central Texas head to the Guadalupe and San Marcos Rivers for refrigeration off, the clear waters of the Frio River in the heart of Texas Hill Country provide the perfect float on the state’s newest days. Frio means “cold” in Spanish, and the spring-fed river exists up to its name. Its crisp and shallow waters wind underneath lofty cypress trees and among limestone bluffs a remote 47-mile stretch of spectacular natural scenery that comprises loads of birdlife, such as wood dears, anhinga, and scarlet flycatchers.
Corporations such as Happy Hollow Frio River Outfitters and Frio Stream Cabins provide rental tubes and transport, and the river has multiple admission points. You can also rent pipes at Garner State Park, home to 2.9 Frio River miles, and nightly summer dance parties whole with jukebox tunes a custom dating back to the 1940s.
Rainbow River; Dunnellon, Florida
Just two times north of Tampa is Florida’s Rainbow River, 5.7 miles of mildly twisting waters full with fish like largemouth bass and shad, river otters, and even the infrequent alligator. However, the latter doesn’t ward off rhizomes who come for the river’s crystal-clear waters, inserted among tupelo stands and cypress trees.
Colorado River; Grand Junction, Colorado
Undone in 2020, Grand Junction’s 140-acre River Park at Las Colonias distracts water from the Colorado River to make a half-mile lazy river for tubers and floaters. Scenic and slow touching, this downtown waterway passes together with river islands intended for habitat restoration on one side, and the Colorado Riverfront Trail 24 miles of paved paths that make combining water activities with cycling and rollerblading easy on the other. Make the most of this newly shaped stretch by renting tubes from Grand Junction Adventures, floating down to an fake water wave, then walking vertebral up a dirt path for a repeat presentation. Or you can volume one of Grand Junction Adventures’ shuttles for a DIY plumbing run on the main river, contingent on water levels.
Middle Loup River; Nebraska Sandhills, Nebraska
With spring-fed waters that breeze through the Nebraska Sandhills nearly 20,000 miles of grass-covered sand dunes that turn green during summer months and are alive with nature, including mule deer, turtles and plenty of bird species the Middle Loup River brands for some great tubing. It’s also ideal for challenging out the region’s own clever watersport: tanking, or moving down the river in tanks intended for nutritious livestock. These tanks can fit wherever from four to eight people, contingent on the outfitter, and often come fitted with seats, faultless for taking in the set without getting your bottoms wet. Thedford’s Sandhill River Trips innings tubing and tanking journeys from inside a grocery store, so you can load up on nibbles and book your adventure all in one fell swoop.
Lower Platte River; Slumbering Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan
Combine your tubing journey with a visit to a national lakeshore one known for its enormous sand dunes and much of Lake Michigan shoreline. The Lower Platte River himself is smooth-flowing and clear, and often lined with an unbelievable array of wildflowers during summer months. Look for bursts of cheerful blue harebell and purple beach pea in June, with the remarkable yellow of St. John’s wort future in the season.
Riverside Canoes proposals tubing trips reaching from one to three hours, with the added option of droopy out at the mouth of the river for a bit before infectious the shuttle back. On the leisurely float, keep your eyes unpeeled for great blue herons, gulps and wood ducks.
Mountain Tubing Adventure; Kauai, Hawaii
Water Tubing takings on a different form on this Hawaiian island, thanks to Kauaʻi Backcountry Escapades. Rather than floating along a old-style river, tubers head deep into the lands of a previous sugar plantation for a three-hour journey along open canals, through a handful of tunnels, and even down a few flumes all hand-dug by plantation workers in the late 19th century. You’ll be preserved to views of Mount Waialeale, one of the rainiest spots on Earth, as well as the island’s remarkable coastline. Headlamps are provided for enlightening the tunnels as you pass finished, and the trip ends with a picnic dine and a dip in a natural watering hole.
