On a sunny summer day in Helen, GA, take a look upstream at the Chattahoochee River. What’s that you see floating towards you? Is it a strange flock of colorful river birds? An extra-terrestrial being from outer space? Some new mutation of algae? No! It’s a flotilla of inner tubes engaged in an essential northern Georgia past time — tubing. No stay in the rental cabins in Helen in the summer is complete without participating in this right of passage.
The mighty Chattahoochee River starts as a spring in the Blue Ridge Mountains and flows down through the mountains, the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest and on through the town of Helen before continuing it’s 430-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico. The portion of the river that flows through Helen is relatively calm making it the perfect site for inner tubes to peacefully float through town. On any warm summer day, you’ll see tourists and locals on brightly colored tubes making their way through town enjoying the “Hooch”; and no Georgia mountain vacation is complete until you “Shoot the Hooch”.
Two tubing companies in Helen gladly provide tubing services in town — Cool River Tubing and Helen Tubing and Waterpark. Both offer different floats down the river and a fun-filled water park with slides and splash pools.
Cool River Tubing
Cool River Tubing offers a short float or a long float down the Chattahoochee River. The short float lasts about one hour and the longer float lasts a little more than two hours. Your ticket to tube includes the inner tube, a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket and shuttle service. And it’s all just a short drive from your rental cabin.
If you want an entire day of fun on the river, buy an all day float pass and passes to the waterpark. The Cool River Tubing Waterpark includes two water slides. One slide takes you through twists and turns while the other slide is more smooth and relaxed. Both slides end in a big splash pool.
Helen Tubing and Waterpark
The other tubing company in Helen, Helen Tubing and Waterpark, also offers a long and a short ride down the river. You can also choose between tubes with open centers and tubes with bottoms, which might better suit younger tubers. Along with your life jacket, you will also get a free shuttle ride to the launch points.
Add a waterpark pass to make it a full day adventure. The Helen Tubing and Waterpark facility features four large water slides and a 1,000-foot long lazy river, perfect for enjoying a float without getting in the river. The park also includes a 25-foot rock wall and lots of room to soak up the sun on a beach chair.
What’s the best part of shootin the Hooch? Returning to the conveniently located rental cabins, where you can catch views of the Chattahoochee River from your deck after you dry off. Tubing in Helen is an activity you won’t want to miss out on and once you try it. What other summer rituals make your trip to Helen special?
