Tour Overview

Season: July - Labor Day Weekend

Difficulty: class I (no previous experience required)

Ages: 6+ (children need to be able to reach the water to paddle. Elderly may be challenged by walking on slippery rocks entering and exiting. Varies with water level)

Total Time: 1.2 miles time on water varies with water level 30 min - 60 min (If you finish under 30 min 2nd lap free!)

Price: $29 adults $24 kids ages 6-16

Meeting times: 10:00 am,  12:00 pm, 2:00 pm, and 4:00 pm by reservation only

Meeting Location: Mack Lloyd Park (aka The Red Barn Park) in Winthrop (not in the town of Methow)

Car keys: The bus driver can hold onto your car keys while you relax on the river

Adventure Tubing

Our Winthrop Tubing trip is the best way to cool off on a hot summer day. The cool waters of the North Cascades makes the hot Washington sunshine quite pleasant.

Check out our media page for more photos of what your adventure on the river can look like!

This isn’t your average lazy river float - here at Methow Rafting we call it adventure tubing. There are a handful of quick and splashy rapids that give this float just the right amount of excitement.

Once through the rapids, the second half of the float is mostly calm and relaxing and takes you right through downtown Winthrop and under two bridges. And if you are lucky you might even spot a songbird or fawn hiding in the riparian habitat.

This trip is by reservation only and begins at Winthrop’s Mack Lloyd Park (aka the Red Barn Park). Here you will be outfitted with the best tubes on the market - the AIRE Rocktabombs: durable with a double-wall design, comfortable with a supportive mesh bottom and handles, and stylish - cherry red. You will also be given a life jacket and optional river shoes. If it's cool out, splash jackets are provided too. Then, a Methow Rafting tubing expert will give you a safety talk and helpful advice on how to best navigate the river in a tube.

We are providing rides from the KOA upon request, pick up times vary so call to schedule a pick up. The meeting location is at the Methow Rafting sign at our take out by the river. 

FAQ’s for tubing

  • It depends what the water levels are! Typically in July the time is 25-35 minutes, August/September is 45 minutes to an hour +.

  • Bathing suit, hat, sunscreen. Its as simple as that! We will outfit you with your tube, life jacket, and river booties. You can wear your own shoes if you wish, we recommend crocs (sport mode) chaco’s, tevas, or keens.

  • Our tubing bus will meet you at the Mack Lloyd Park (aka The Red Barn Park) in Winthrop.

    There is a large gravel parking area to park your vehicle. You do not need to come to our office to check in, once you see the bus at the park go and check in with the driver.

  • Yes! Our AIRE Rocktabombs have a mesh bottom.

  • No. We do not allow dogs on any of our trips and it is not safe to leave your dog in a car in the Methow in the Summer due to extreme heat.

Check our general FAQ page for more info!

Kate Retherford

“We had a really great time tubing on the Methow River. We stayed at the Winthrop KOA and Methow Rafting picked us up, took us to the drop location and then we floated right back down to the KOA. Super fun! Would def do again.”

  • Lots of fun! Weather was BEAUTIFUL! We saw several deer swim across the river. Staff was very pleasant and helpful. We look forward to doing this again and also trying the rafting.

    Wendy Scott

  • We had a great time tubing on the Methow. Sean was a great host and very accommodating

    Marilyn Oltmann

  • We had an amazing tube float down the Methow River thanks to Methow Rafting. They were super energized, great at safety, and had very nice tubes. I highly recommend using them for rafting and tubing if you are in the area.

    Rachel Hurlburt

  • This was a great tubing experience! We called around 3:00 in the afternoon but were able to sign up for the 4:00 tubing time! All the information was super clear - including where to meet up, what to bring, and what to expect. A great time was had by all!

    Linda Johnson