S&B Tubing — Local services in Albany

Things you might want to take with you: SUNGLASSES, baseball cap or hat that shades your face, sunscreen, a drink (the tubes have cupholders), water shoes (just trust me), an umbrella if there is a chance of rain, and snacks. Cooler tubes are available for an additional 5$.

Health

Scenery (5/5) Wildlife (5/5) Bugs (5/5) Employees (5/5)

Busyness Problems Bathroom

If it's cold, consider bringing a t-shirt to wear while tubing.

If you want to bring alcohol, you can NOT have it in a glass container.

Health: Last year, one of my friend that went tubing cut his toe in the river, but didn't notice it until he got home, and ended up going to the hospital with an infection. He was fine. Recently, I went tubing and I now have (what seems to be) swimmer's itch. I have a few bumps (one on my neck, arm, and back) that itch if I touch them. It's like having less annoying, prolonged mosquito bites that last about a week. So, maybe you want to have health insurance before you go. This is not S&B's fault; it's a river, and it can't be sanitized. I don't say this to dissuade people from going, but I think everyone should know. I've gone twice with my friends, and each time, someone has cut their toe. If you wear protection for your feet, you should be okay. I wear Teva's, my boyfriend just wears old shoes. :P

Scenery (5/5): The scenery was beautiful, even on a cloudy day like the one we went on, we had a lot of fun. It was really lovely the whole way. There were trees everywhere, and when there weren't trees, there were fields, and we passed under a bridge and got to see the local police practice flying a drone.

Wildlife (5/5): There was a fair amount of wildlife on our June trip. We saw a crane, many birds, two snakes (one swimming through the water, and one relaxing on some driftwood), a frog, and a few rodents we couldn't identify.

Bugs (5/5): There were no mosquitos when we went out in late June, but there was a spider on one of our tubes.

Employees (5/5): All of the employees we spoke with were very nice, and helpful!

Busyness: It is VERY busy on weekends. VERY VERY BUSY. The kind of busy where you should get there an hour or two before they open. They are open on weekdays, which is probably a better time to go if you are able. If you go on a weekday, you shouldn't need to get there early. When we went on a Tuesday around 2pm, there was no line.

Problems: There was a guy drinking beer in his back yard as we passed, looking at the people pass, which was just a little bit weird. Also, our trash bag for the cooler tube fell off, and someone had to swim back for it, while everyone else tried to keep the tubes from going too far, and that wasn't the best.

Bathroom: Pee before you go! Do you not have to pee? Think again! You will! Go anyway! Also, there are port-a-potty's at the end where the shuttle...

After many years of wanting to go tubing down a river, I decided on a whim this past weekend to bring my family. We had so much fun! It is such a great summer experience, and so, so affordable. The people who run S&B are also very kind and flexible.

I was especially glad we could bring along our pup! They have tubes designed for dogs that includes a piece of plywood attached to it. (And these come at no extra cost!) So, the tube can be flipped and ridden two ways. Either your dog is sitting/standing on top of the tube or your dog is enclosed in the tube, so they can comfortably stand/sit and soak in a little bit of water. It’s unfortunate to hear some people have been allowing dogs to sit with them in their own raft, causing damage to the tubes. I really hope S&B continues to allow dogs and people don’t ruin this for others because it’s such a great experience! (In my opinion, as a proactive and preventive measure, us dog owners should have to sign a waiver saying we accept liability and charges for any damage to tubes within our group if we choose to travel...

Went on a week day. Took the kids (10 & 8) & wife & had an absolutely wonderful, peaceful 3 1/2 hours floating on the Sugar River! As a previous reviewer mentioned, I think the rowdy/drunk people may only happen possibly around the weekends, and to S&B's credit... the river was nice and clean (no trash). There is a campground nearby(actually where you exit off the tubes) that will probably pack some of those types in there. But we had a splendid time and only met up with a mom and her daughter. Saw a bit of wildlife. Water snake at the end which surprised my daughter to the point of hysterics, which in turn had all of a cracking up! :) Fun time! Took a cooler of drinks and some munchies and got the $5 tube to float along with us holding our gear. Great deal for a nice 1 day getaway. Do it during the week!! Oh yeah, and the nice man at the front desk loaned us a bottle of sunscreen as we forgot ours. Really some nice genuine employees there. We...