A fun, crazy and cool way to escape the heat of the desert during the summer! I've always enjoyed my tubing trips and this past Saturday was one of the best. Of course it's all about the company you keep and what you make of any situation.
We rented a van and had a designated driver (the ONLY way to do it in my opinion!). Dropped those of us with our own tubes/rafts off up at stop one and the rest went down to the tube rental/main shuttle bus stop where $17 was collected from each person for tube rentals and bus transportation. Our van was parked there to be picked up later. The bus dropped the group off at stop one to join us by the river where everyone gets ready and then we were off! Reports of dirty water and trash are pretty much unfounded in my opinion as everyone tries really hard to keep the Salt clean. The water is cool and the flow was perfect. Marshmallow fights, water guns/cannons along the way, music and fun make the float down the Salt the ideal way to spend an afternoon.
Once we hit the bottom and made our way to shore as a couple of sheriff's vehicles keep watch over the slightly intoxicated crowd, we make our way to the bus stop where we get on the shuttle, go back to the tube rental area to turn tubes in and get in our van for the ride home.
Is tubing the Salt an ideal family activity? Probably not. But it could be on a normal weekend. Just don't bring the kiddos out on big weekends or themed weekends when the crowd can get really big and rowdy and girls flash their boobs for beers. But it's a great place to go with a group of friends. Just be sure that along with your cooler of beer, you pack lots of water, some sandwiches and plenty of sunscreen! Oh yeah, and wear a hat!