Lower Salt River: A surprisingly short drive from downtown Phoenix reaches the Salt River, where runoff from the distant mountains waters the desert. Here you can swim, float, and paddle among huge cacti, towering cliffs, and a herd of wild horses.
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Arizona's Pebble Beach, 20 miles northeast of Mesa, is a popular spot to start or finish a leisurely tubing trip down the Salt River. Because no motorized boats are allowed, it's also an ideal place to swim.
You can swim in the Salt River, but be aware that the water is not as clean as your typical swimming pool because of all the folks and animals who use the river daily.
Fun - Wet - and Mildly Dangerous. On a hot summer day - nothing beats drifting down the salt - BUT there are safety concerns. Drownings are all too common here - dure mainly to the exposed root structure along the shore. People often lash the innertubes together, and can't manuver out of the dangerous areas.
Yes, you can bring your own tube to float the Salt River. You will just need to have a vehicle at both the top and bottom launch sites. Is Salt River Tubing OK for kids?
The river was used for irrigation by the pre-Columbian Hohokam culture, by later Native Americans, and by early Euro-American settlers in the 19th century. It currently provides a major source of irrigation and drinking water for Phoenix and surrounding communities through the Salt River Project.
Children must be at least eight (8) years old AND four (4) feet tall to go tubing. SRT policy requires children ages 8-12 to wear life jackets. These can be purchased at our Snack Bar for $15.
Those who don't know how to swim must wear a life vest and should avoid leaving their tube. Music- Feel free to bring speakers or portable stereos, but out of respect for others, make sure they can't be heard more than 50 feet away.
As leaves fall off and the wind blows, salt is dispersed around the surrounding land. Since the salt river is lined by Tamarisk, much of that salt falls into the water, making it salty.
Swimming and sunbathing are popular on the clean, white sand beaches at Antelope Island State Park. The salinity of the water averages about 12%, making it much saltier than the ocean. The water is so buoyant that people can easily float. Freshwater showers are available to rinse off after swimming.
One of my favorite annual trips to lead is a moonlight paddle down the Lower Salt River east of Phoenix. The Salt River is a great little trip either early in the morning, or long after the tubers have gone home—it's serene, has some nice scenery, is convenient to the metro Phoenix area, and offers easy logistics.
We all know cell phones and water do not go well together, so how does one protect a cell phone for a whitewater rafting trip? Our best advice: You Don't. Leave the phone behind! You simply cannot get wonderful professional photos like this with a phone, so don't risk losing your device!
Marshmallows get very sticky when wet, making them the perfect ammunition to lob at other tubers for some lighthearted fun. They also float, so you can pick up discarded ammo and reuse it as you travel down the river.
The morning is the best time to go Salt River Tubing. The last tube rental is at 2pm so at the very least, you need to go before then. Our group arrived at 10:15 am and waited in a short line to rent our tubes. I do not recommend going much later than that because the parking lot and rental area will get very crowded.
The Salt's headwaters tributaries, the Black River and East Fork, increase the river's total length to about 300 miles (480 km). The name Salt River comes from the fact that the river flows over large salt deposits shortly after the merging of the White and Black Rivers.