DIY TUBING TRIP

Park Admission: $7. Oversized inflatable tube: $10.  ‘Watertight’ cooler: $15. Afternoon on the river with your friends: priceless. 

Floating down a sluggish stream draped over an inflated tube, toes dangling in the crystal clear water, is the ultimate summer luxury.  But planning a tubing trip can be a logistical nightmare – floating down a lazy river in the summer sun is all well and good – but then, how do you get back?  Fear not, there is a simple solution  -- the South Fork of the Shenandoah River -- where the hardest trip-related decision you will be forced to make is choosing which ice cream place to visit in Front Royal (full disclosure: I am torn between B & L Custard and Spelunker’s). 

 An exceptionally gorgeous stretch of river, the South Fork of the Shenandoah meanders along the edge of Blue Ridge, past verdant pastures and extensive tracts of forest and is also especially accommodating to river riders --- with an average width of 100 feet – it is a popular spot for paddlers of every ilk, and for anglers.  

GET THERE: Head to the Shenandoah River State Park in Bentonville, Virginia.  There are large bathrooms in the park’s newly-built and well-appointed visitor center (which also includes a small gift store, an interpretive display, and helpful information about the park and surrounding area).  

DO IT:  Once in the park, follow the signs to the boat launch area and park in one of the two sizeable lots.  There are plenty of picnic tables for a pre-float snack if needed.  Pack up your inflatable tubes and anything else on you want on the river (a small, easily stash-able daypack works perfectly for toting your gear) and follow the Bluebell Trail (heading west) out of the parking lot along the river for about a mile until it meets the 2.1-mile River Trail.  Continue on the shoreline-hugging River Trail, or just inflate your tube at hop in at the end of the Bluebell Trail.  To estimate your time on the river, plan it on taking about twice as long to float back to your car as it took you to hike to your starting point (i.e. if you hike 30-minutes it will be about an hour long float back to the parking lot).

Just don’t forget to get off the river at the boat launch area (no matter how tempting it seems to just keep on floating wherever the current takes you). 

Click for a printable map of the park trails

DON’T FORGET:  Bring a dry bag for valuables, sturdy water shoes (i.e. the kind that won’t fall off your feet, in case of have to ‘ford’ any shallow stretches), and a carabineer so you can securely attach the dry bag of said valuables to your tube while out on the river. 

TURN IT INTO A SLEEPOVER: There are cabins and primitive campsites available for rental at the Shenandoah River State Park and riverfront camping is also allowed on the tracts of land owned by the U.S. Forest Service along the South Fork of the Shenandoah River.