Saluda Outdoor Center — Hotel in Greenville

My partner and I did the tubing excursion a month ago. The waiver you have to agree to before you can go is very real. The walk down the steep hill and stairs to the river didn't bother me much. It is awkward trying to carry a huge tube though. Once in the water everything seemed fine. But soon you start seeing the MANY trees that have fallen into the river. Being that a paddle was not provided, you have to constantly use your arms, and that gets tiring. If you don't, the current will pull you into the tree branches. Near the end, we came upon a lone woman, off her tube, and stuck in a tree's branches. She was pleading for help. Our two inner tubes were tied together with a drink bag that we had brought along. I jumped into the water, which we were told is 15-18 feet deep in some parts. It was very difficult to swim to her, against the current, with clothes and a life vest on, while pulling our two innertubes, and my partner still on his, and I do know how to swim. When I finally reached her, she was in a desperate situation, tired and about to give up. I tried helping her onto her tube, but they are very difficult to get back onto if you get off or fall out of it. It quickly got to a point where I seriously thought the two of us would drown. The woman had taken off her life vest to tie it to her husband's tube. She later said that he didn't want to do that , as she was holding him back, and he left her. After both of us struggling, to exhaustion, I managed to pull her closer to the shore where we could stand on the river bed. We rested and I helped her get her life vest back on. Her husband was making his way back up the side to her, so she floated down to meet up with him. We floated down the rest of the way by ourselves. At the end, we were asked how the ride was. I briefly explained how we two almost drowned. She was nice and refunded our ticket price. I just want to make it clear that this is potentially very dangerous, especially for older people, children, and those who can't swim. As we were leaving, a group of small children were about to head up to the drop off point. I felt very scared and concerned for them. The owners and employees there know how dangerous this is, and gloss over most potential issues, covering themselves with the waiver. I would not work there, sending people, old, out of shape, non swimmers, and children to their possible death, with a friendly smile for them. Just please understand and realize all the risks before doing it on this...

Fun and relaxing experience close to Greenville. The check in process is easy and they can hold your keys for you. Lockers are available as well as changing rooms and (ver clean) bathrooms. There is a food truck there as well for snack beforehand.

Life vests are required to collect and (technically) wear before boarding the shuttle to the tube drop off. If you are in a very large group likes us (12+ people), your group will be split in two for drop off. This was easy as both shuttles (small school buses) arrived to the drop off very close to each other. Make sure to have purchased you drink cooler (if bringing one) before boarding the shuttle.

There is a large parking lot free of cost so parking is definitely not an issue. The parking is separate from 13 stripes so make sure to follow the directions given in confirmation email.

If buying a drink cooler, it really fits two small coolers or one medium sized cooler (so plan accordingly). If going in a group you can also get straps to connect your tubes together.

The drop off is precarious (especially after rain) as it is a land slope down to the river followed by a set of stairs and ramp. Isn’t meant for anyone who may need additional physical assistance. Make sure you are paying close attention to avoid falling. However as long as you take it slow and steady (and maybe have one person carrying tubes and the other carrying any coolers you brought) you should be okay.

The river was perfect time (about two hours) even after a lot of showers. Highly suggest bringing a waterproof speaker or small balls to play with depending on your vibe.

Water is very gentle and smooth. At the end there are some very minor “rapids”. There was not any true sandbar or place to stop midway except at the end in front of 13 stripes (where you get off).

Our one complaint is that they want you to go back to the original start point (rather than staying at 13 stripes for a drink). This may be for liability reasons, or to make sure you don’t lose your life vest (as you leave the tube there but not the vest), or that you have to take the shuttle back and they want to make sure they have enough space for everyone. However it rubbed us the wrong way as we wanted to stay for a drink and dry off before heading back.

Overall fun experience and...

We have floated with Saluda Outdoor Center many times. However, we have recently bought our own tubes and decided to go on our own today. Our plan was to park a car at the Oxbow, as we planned to eat there when we came off of the river. As my son was waiting in the parking lot, Katie, from SOC, came up to his truck and said that he couldn't park there. He apologized and said that he didn't know and that he would move. She continued to berate him and informed him that we couldn't get out of the river at the Oxbow either, as it was private property. He drove to where we were to put in and informed us of this. At this point, we had our tubes inflated and all of our stuff ready to hit the river. With no place to get out of the river, I asked one of the SOC drivers what we should do. He was super nice and accommodating and offered to call Katie to explain the situation. She was very rude and said that we could not get out of the river at Oxbow, even though we had plans to eat dinner there. I asked if we could get out at the bridge and walk up to the restaurant and she said absolutely not and that we would be ticketed for trespassing upon exiting the river. We were prepared to leave and go to lake Hartwell for the rest of the day, when another driver asked if he could help us. We explained the situation and he called someone above Katie and was told that they would make an exception this time. We had a great float down the river and appreciated the help that the other SOC employees offered. One member of our party exited the river before the rest of us and heard Katie say "As soon as they exit the river we are calling the cops and they will be ticketed for trespassing." Our friend talked to another employee and he was assured that we were ok and that the police would not be called. Three employees of SOC expressed to us that Katie was difficult and lacked people skills. She was rude, unforgiving and difficult. Her own coworkers agreed that she lacked experience and was a "hard ass". I hope that SOC will reconsider this policy as even though we didn't rent tubes from them, we did still spend over $100 at the Oxbow. We didn't park a car on their property, nor did we expect to use the shuttle service. We called an uber to pick us up and take us back...