Everyone knows I’m not the adventurous type, so I was a bit reluctant when a friend suggested introducing me to river tubing on my trip to North Carolina, USA. In retrospect: I am glad I did it! Tubing down the Green River in Saluda was the highlight of my summer! In fact, the experience made me promise to myself to try out more fun stuff in the future. Life’s too short to be afraid.
Location: The Green River in Saluda
The Green River is a dam release river that flows through the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, south of Ashewille. It’s named for its gorgeous deep green color. I’ve learned that after heavy rains, the water can appear somewhat brown. Unfortunately, in my pictures the water seems brown, but let me assure you that it was actually green and reflected the lush trees lining the shore.
Green River Cove Tubing
For our adventure, we decided to use Green River Cove Tubing, a renowned family business that has been running for more than 40 years. They provide a safe, outdoor adventure at very affordable prices: You can either choose to do the six miles tubing trip for $15 or the three miles trip for $10. If you choose to do the longer trip, you usually need to be there at noon at the latest, as the trip can take 4-5 hours. For the shorter trip (which takes about 2-3 hours), it’s recommended that you are there no later than 2-3 pm.
As I did the trip with some other people new to tubing, we opted for the shorter tip.
When you pay for your trip, you must fill in a waiver and acknowledge Green River Cove Tubing’s rules. Be advised that the Green River is not a lazy river but has type 1 and 2 rapids. While tubing, you can encounter rocks, trees, branches and wildlife. Once you have paid for your adventure, you can leave your car keys with the staff. They will walk you over to a shed where you can get your tube.
There’s two parts of the river: One part starts right where the tubing shed and parking lot is. This is considered to be the more exciting part, as it has more type 2 rapids. The other part, beginning a short shuttle bus ride away, is the lazier part of the river.
The two times I have been there (summer of 2022 and 2023), we did the more exciting part, but I would like to try out the other part in the future as well.
Prepare for your tubing adventure: My Top tips!
- Wear light clothes (shorts, a tank top/t-shirt) or swimwear.
- Put on water shoes/old trainers.
- Use plenty of sunscreen before getting in your tube, as temperatures in North Carolina during the summer can be brutal.
- Make sure to bring plenty of water. We saw some Americans who brought coolers and put them in their own tube! Alcohol is not allowed, by the way.
- Leave your valuables and anything else you cannot afford to lose in your car. If you want to take pictures, bring an old mobile phone/camera and put it in a waterproof Ziploc bag. We saw a guy desperately searching for his phone in the water. Basically, a lost cause. Don’t be that guy!
- A large stick can come in useful to push away from the shore/rocks.
My first time tubing: An amazing experience!
If you have never tubed before, it can be a bit awkward to first walk into the water and get into your tube. But once you are in and got comfortable, you are in for a lot of fun! I really loved tubing in the lazy water the best, as it gave you so much opportunity to enjoy your surroundings. The Green River is lined with trees and overhanging branches. At times, you could easily imagine being in the jungle. We also saw some turtles, and we heard that some guys met a water snake.
The rapids were mostly fun as well. You just had to remember to lift your booty as there were rocks in the water. Sometimes you found yourself stuck on a rock or at the shore. Then it helped to have a stick to push away from these obstacles.
In the middle of our trip, it started to lightly rain which was the best! It was such a hot day, and the rain was very refreshing and felt warm and nice on my skin.
The halfway mark of this trip was an old bridge, which we reached after about 90 minutes. The whole trip took us almost three hours, but we just floated lazily and took our time savoring the experience. As it was a hot summer day in July, a lot of people were out on the river, but it never felt crowded.
Everything good comes to an end
Getting out of the tube and out of the river was a little challenging for me, as you had to find your footing on the uneven river floor and find your balance with the slight current around you. But I managed all right. Once back on land, a shuttle bus picked us up and took us back to the parking lot. In the building next to it, there were some changing rooms to change and freshen up.
Hope to see you again, Green River!
All in all, I had the most amazing time tubing down the green river in Saluda. So good that I came back again one year later – and I certainly hope for repeat performances in the future.
Happy tubing, everyone!
