farmington river tubing

While the location is about 1.5 hours from my home, I do this 2-3x every summer with my boys (13 - 16 year old) and their friends. We all always have a great time. Even if crowded - which it is usually not, from the time you park the card till the time you hit the river is MAX 15 mins!Then 1.5 hours (or more if you want) down the river - a couple of fun, fast spots, a couple of slow spots, - nice and easy down the river. In the summer - after the initial dip, river water is actually warm!For $20, you cant go wrong - trust me. Its a lot of fun!

There are 3 segments that can be called small rapids, although only the middle one offers even a small risk of dumping you into the river. For the most part, it's a relaxing float down the river. You can extend your time on the river by not paddling with your arms when your tube slows to a crawl, or by repeating the 3rd "rapids" by using a riverside trail to walk back.

Was a slower pace than they led us to believe. Be prepared to paddle with your arms. Best thing to do is backstroke when you need to maneuver .

Loved this river tubing! What a fun, inexpensive way to spend a summer day. I was looking for something different to do with my teenagers this summer and this was perfect. Most definitely call and make sure the water levels are high. We'd had a bit of rain, so I wasn't worried. I went on a Sunday and was told when I called that the busy time was 1-3pm. We arrived around 1:30 and there was absolutely no wait. A few times in the river, there was some "congestion", where you may be floating near a group of people not in your party, but it really was fine. It was $20 CASH, and you can take as little as 1 1/2 hours, or stretch it out. There are a few rapids, which were quite fun and other areas you were just floating and talking and enjoying the great outdoors. You begin from where you park your car. They ask for your car keys as a deposit. I printed out the waivers at home, so that saved some time once we arrived. There are port a potties on sight also. Wear your bathing suit! You will get wet. At the end, there is a bus that will drive you back up to the lot. Have Fun!

This was a nice and inexpensive attraction we had never been. $18 weekday and $20 weekend for the life jacket, tube and ride. About 1.5 hrs. To get through rapids low level, enjoyable for anyone.

Very quiet. Saw various wildlife. Nothing disliked. Peaceful and serene. Good for 'nature' type photos.

Yesterday my boyfriend and I went to Farmington river tubing for a nice float down. Was a little crowded but with the heat and long holiday weekend that was to be expected. You sign a release, pay 20 per person (18 on the weekdays), you get a PFD and a tube, listen to a safety brief, and down to the river you go! We had a blast, the river flows through wooded areas, with rock faces That jut out. There are rapids that can flip you and rocks that can bruise you (refer to their website)! At the end, you and your tube are loaded into a modified school bus an taken back to the start point. If you want to go again on the same day it's only 10 bucks. Call in the day you plan to go- river and weather conditions effect times and days of operation.Will be going again!

I went with a group of adults and children last summer. The river was barely moving and my tube got caught on a rock in a "rapid" and my tube flipped (my children were far ahead of me). My tube flipped in the second rapid where there was someone monitoring. What they say is true unless your foot is stuck they don't move. Luckily, my friend was there to help me. I was disoriented both under water and above it when she thankfully helped me up. Good thing I didn't smash my head on the rock (no helmets required), because if I did I would be lucky if I survived. I came out of it with a broken hand and the "lifeguards" did nothing to help. They barely held their hand out to help me. My friend helped me to the end of the river because there is no way out.

There is a good mix of lazing along and heading through some rapids. The put-in starts with several riffles right off the bat that are a little unnerving because you're just starting out. The main stretch of larger rapids is pretty short, but you can run them multiple times by walking back up a rock bed to the left side of the river as you head downstream. Generally OK for kids if they're decent swimmers, but I have seen many people of all ages flip over so wear the life jacket and stay close. Check water levels before you go. If it's been dry for several weeks in a row, the rapids aren't as fun. You can run on your own if you want to and arrange a pick-up, but if you do, wear the safety vest.

For $20 you rent a tube and they drive you to and from the start/end point. There are some rapids in some sections of the river. The first time I went I did fall out of my tube going thru some rapids so I make sure I buddy up w/ someone!!! :) If you want to ride it again, it costs another $10. But it's really nice and relaxing to do on a summer day. The ride lasts a good 3 hours depending on the river conditions.

I went with a group of 7 friends and enjoyed the experience, but I'm sure it's much more fun in a non-drought year. The business owners make participants sign a waiver stating that we'll follow the safety rules -- all of which make sense, but are difficult to follow when the water level is at a historic low. You're not supposed to stand up in the river, as the rocks are slippery, but the vast majority of us walked our tubes down the river at least once; had we not done so, we would've been out there the entire day waiting for the nearly nonexistent current to carry us. It was either that or paddle like a mad person for hours -- a lot of us did that also, and it was exhausting. The best advice our friend gave us when organizing the trip was to wear a long-sleeved shirt to keep from getting "rug burn" when our arms rubbed against the tubes while we paddled.Other bits of advice: be careful when tubing on days when rain is forecast, as it's easy to get chilled when the temperature drops from 92F to 72F. If you have Tevas or other good water shoes, wear them -- I wore an old pair of flip-plops, and although they protected my soles, they were too easy to lose in whirlpools, and they were trashed by the end of the float. Bring a change of clothes to leave in your car. If you want to have a picnic, bring your own blanket or portable table -- the owners got rid of the picnic tables because customers were vandalizing them and leaving trash on site. And if you sit on the ground, be very careful to check for ticks when you leave -- a member of our group found 3 deer ticks on her lunch container when she got up.I'd do this again when the water's at a more normal level, and I'd follow all of the advice above!

This place is a bit out of the way from everything, but definitely worth a day trip from anywhere in Connecticut. For $20, you get a good afternoon of fun. They say it lasts two hours, but you can stretch it out. We were there for four hours. Make sure to get the right sized tube -- I saw everyone grabbing blue tubes and only after the river run did I realize I grabbed the wrong size. I suggest holding tubes with someone else. You can easily get caught in the trees. You also have to pay attention or you can really injure yourselves on the rocks along the river. I say the experience is a little long because the rapids are the highlight and they only last a fraction of the overall float time. Otherwise, it's just a float trip. The float trip would be more relaxing, were it not for the large groups of rowdy college kids we experienced drinking beer and smoking cigarettes and throwing their litter in the water. That being said, though, you should still check it out -- but wear TONS of sunscreen!

This is the true definition of a "lazy river" ride with intermittent white water although they aren't exactly rapids. For $20 you wind down the lazy river at your own pace, then they pick you up and drive you back to your car. The water is clean, it's scenic and fun. I would definitely recommend it!

a great way to spend a lazy summer afternoon, floating down the Farmington River on an innertube. Rent a tube at the stand, float for 60-90 minutes, and there is a bus waiting to take you back to your car. Simple, easy, fun.

We make sure to go to Farmington River Tubing once every summer. I've been doing it since I was a little kid and it never gets old. The river has something for everyone. You want a relaxing float? Got it! You want some exciting rapids? Done! You want to see animals in nature? It has that too!I enjoy the rapids sections of the river the most. Although people to wipe out on them sometimes (I just did this past week for the first time ever) I have never seen anyone get injured. Usually people emerge laughing after a spill.The only negative is if the tube pops you are pretty much screwed. That happened to me two years ago and for the last mile I kept having to blow it up by mouth every 5 minutes or so just to make it to the end where the bus picks everyone up to return them to their cars. However, it was just another fun story to tell about the river tubing!