The Golden-based river tube rental company Adventure West River added the St. Vrain Creek for its third location in Colorado last week. The family-owned business is excited to promote family-friendly recreation in Longmont.
Longmont partnered with Adventure West to provide tubing of the St. Vrain Creek. The shuttle service across the creek from Dickens Farm Nature Area transports adventure-seekers to the starting point of the two-mile float. From there, customers enjoy a one to two hour float down a scenic course. A portion of rental fees from visitors and locals benefit Longmont’s recreational services.
Adventure West owner Beth Battilla, who runs the business with her husband Mitch, said the St. Vrain Creek made a great addition to its Golden and Littleton sites for its family-friendly gentle float. Battilla first floated down the creek two years ago while visiting friends in Longmont. One of those friends, Jason Turner, is now the branch manager for the Longmont Adventure West location.
“We were down there and we went tubing down the St. Vrain and we had an absolutely wonderful time,” Battilla said. “We thought it was really family-friendly, we loved the community, and we thought that it would be a perfect fit to expand and have our third location.”
Adventure West launched last Friday, but closed Sunday after water levels rose too high for safe floating. Battilla expects that they can reopen on June 19, but is consistently monitoring levels from Longmont’s River Cams.
“We were keeping track of it and we noticed that the water level and speed of the water was coming to a point because of quick, very hot weather, and quick snow melt that people were we're gonna start to have trouble probably getting out of the take-out and we just wanted to make sure everybody was super safe, especially for our opening year,” Battilla said.
When Adventure West reopens for tubing rentals, customers can make their reservations through its website. Customers are asked to arrive 15 minutes prior to their reservations and check-in at the Adventure West tube trailer adjacent to the creek behind Pinocchio’s Incredible Italian. Adventure West offers a shuttle service with its shuttle and tube rental packages.
Battilla said that safety comes first, and Adventure West was born out of a desire to educate others on how they can protect themselves while enjoying tubing.
“We decided that there was a need for someone to provide a really nice solid commercial-grade river tube that comes with both a life jacket and a helmet, free,” Battilla said. “And we thought there was a need for more education and safety on all the waterways where people tube in Colorado.”
Children 12 and under are required to wear a life jacket, but everyone is encouraged to take this precaution, Battilla said. Though helmets and life jackets come with a tube rental, Battilla encourages customers to rent surf booties for $5 to protect their feet. All minors are required to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Tubes with bottoms are available for small children, and Adventure West offers parents pool noodles to link together their tube with their child’s. Batilla said that while pool noodles are permitted to tie tubes together, straps or rope are a strangling hazard and should never be used.
Batilla said that Adventure West staff plan on tubing the St. Vrain Creek course to test out different flow rates and determine what speeds are appropriate for certain age groups. As an avid user of tubing and other water recreational activities, Batilla looks forward to testing the waters and working with Longmont.
“We're really passionate about tubing in Longmont, and we're thrilled to be partners with the parks department,” Battilla said.
Longmont locals can purchase rentals at discounted prices: Day tube rental($15), Tube/Shuttle bundle($20) and the Family four-pack rental and shuttle bundle($70).
Visitor rental prices: Day tube rental($20), Tube/Shuttle bundle($30) and the Family four-pack rental and shuttle bundle($100).
