Tubing in Helen, GA is one of those must do on your summer list!
Helen, about 1.5 hours from Atlanta, is a cute town that looks like it came straight from Germany!
I had gone tubing years ago with Cool River Tubing so we used them again. You may hear them called the green tubes and there is one other company up here and people call them the pink tubes. With Cool River you get tubing and this is the only company who offers the shorter route, and at one spot for I think $5 a person, you can get off to go down a water slide. It was closed this year so we did not do it.
1. Pick a day to go, but watch the weather. Unless you are a large group, you do not make reservations. I do suggest you get there as early as you can as the later the day the longer the wait. There is a parking lot across from where you pay. It is $12 a person or pet. They suggest if you see lightening to get to a side and get out till the storm passes.
2. Do you want the long route or the short? I think they say they are 1 hour or 2.5, but they always take longer so plan for that. We did the one hour this week and the water levels were good and it took us 1.45 mins, if water levels are low, it will take longer.
3. Once you get there, go upstairs and buy your wrist bands. They will ask which route you take. Make sure you buy a stick for each adult in your group, they are $5 and you can keep them. This helps you push off rocks when you get stuck.
4. There is a store here that sells everything encase you forgot anything. We found them reasonably priced. They have bathrooms, changing rooms, lockers for rent or you can leave your keys with them and just show id when you come back.
Bring with you the following items:
water shoes for each person
wear swim wear
bring change of clothes
bring a bag to put wet clothes in after
sun tan lotion
frozen bottle of water per person
case for your cellphone to not get wet
water proof fanny pack to keep car keys or anything you may need
I brought a first aid kit in a water proof bag
wash cloth (last time a friend got dirty water in their eye and it was nice to have this with us)
cheap sunglasses
if you have little kids maybe snacks if you think they will get hungry
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5. Be careful as you could hit a rock if you are laying down and get a head injury so just always pay attention and also the main bridge in town have cement beams when you go under it.
6. Snakes, not to scare you but we saw some the day we were there. It is water, so just be on the look out. We saw them mainly near the rocks on the edge.
7. 12 and under have to wear life jackets. They have them for you before you leave the main area. You can aslo bring your own life jackets if you want. This is also where you get the strap if you want to strap tubes together. If I had a younger child or my dog (who can rent a tube too) I would get straps. I will say they can slow you down as it is harder to get two tubes around a rock.
8. A bus will take you from there to about 5 mins away to the shorter ride and then the next stop is the longer ride. They hand you a tube at your stop and you are on your way. You need to hook them together as you get in and you can always unhook them later on. (again make sure you already have the life jackets and straps before you board the bus.)
9. I have a bad back and sitting in the tube was uncomfortable, so know your limit.
10. Sit back and relax and enjoy your float down the river!
A fun place for lunch after is Paul's Margarita Deck. They have great views of river and people tubing. They sell like grilled cheese, hot dogs, hamburger and nacho type food.
We also did gem mining after. To learn about it and other fun things in Helen, click here.
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For other family fun places around the ATL check out my list from the past 10 years of family fun around Atlanta.
Disclaimer: This information was based on a visit we had. In this every changing world everyone could have different experience,prices and policies could change. Please use caution when tubing and be safe.