The Salt River: Complete Travel Guide

Ever wanted to float down the Salt River? Here's your one-stop-shop for everything you need to know. I'll even tell you how to get the whole river to yourself!

Fun Facts: (If you care)

The Salt River gets its name because it tastes salty of course! The Black River and the White River meet to create the Salt River where its course flows over large salt deposits. It is the largest tributary of the Gila River and runs about 200miles.

It flows into Roosevelt Lake, then into Canyon Lake, Saguaro Lake and Tempe Town Lake.

Know before you go:

1. BRING WATER. I saw people dropping likes flies because of dehydration. Yes it's fun to drink but even if its not hot its DRY. We saw one girl completely passed out and rescue had to be called. I always carry salt with me, so I gave her my bag of salt to help rehydrate her.

2. CARPOOL if possible. I went on one of the busiest weekends of the year. Memorial day Weekend. Somehow by the grace of God we were able to get a parking spot but you may not get so lucky. Start early.

3. WATER SHOES NOT FLIP FOPS. Flip flops will just fall off your feet and float away. I've been using my water shoes for years and I love them. Don't bring anything on the river that you aren't prepared to lose.

4. RAPIDS. They aren't anything crazy but you might end up with some branches hitting you or getting stuck or bumping in other people. Stay alert and paddle away as much as you can. Make sure your electronics are in a waterproof bag because you will get splashed.

5. BUTTS UP. If you hear this, lift your butt up to avoid shallow rocks.

6. PAY ATTENTION. Don't miss the last bus stop! There will be signs for stop 4, don't miss it!

7. DONT DRINK AND DRIVE. There are police EVERYWHERE. I saw cars getting pulled over left and right. They are looking for drunk driving.

8. DON'T LITTER. Unfortunately this is a very popular activity when the temperature beings to rise and we saw a lot of trash. Also, it is ILLEGAL to throw marshmallows on the salt river! This disrupts the ecosystem. Bring a Walmart bag for trash. Leave no trace.

9. GIVE HORSES ROOM. Yes they are so majestic but you must stay at least 50 feet away. Lets protect our magical wildlife, okay? Don't ruin it for everyone.

10. THE SUN IS STRONG. I never burn but I actually did on this trip. There is no shade on the river so bring long sleeves, sunscreen. hat. Remember from above, heat exhaustion is a real thing. I like wetting a long sleeve top and that's how I stay cool.

There are two ways to experience The Salt River:

Option #1: Pay for Rentals or Option #2: Bring your own (my personal favorite)

Option 1: Pay for Rentals

Salt River Tubing rentals is open from the end of April to the end of September. Its opens at 9am and I would recommend getting there right when they open because as mentioned above, parking is limited with the weekend crowds.

A tube rental with Shuttle is $28 and only $22 if you bring your own tube. The shuttle bus will take you to the staring point and pick you up from the end point.

Some tips if you go this route:

1. Bring a fitted sheet so you have something between you and the hot black tube. Twin size is all you need!

2. Bring Ice and a thin rope. There are coolers for rent so just bring ice. and the rope is to tie all the tubes of a part together.

Routes and Float times: (The important part)

Trip Options

Stop 1 - Stop 2	Top Half (Shortest) - Approx 1.5hours
Stop 2 - Stop 4	Bottom Half - Approx 2.5-3hours
Stop 1 - Stop 4	Full Trip (Longest) - Approx 3.5-4.5 hours

I don't think they will pick you up from stop 5 or 6 anymore. So this is off limits unless you have your own tube, kayak, or paddle board. There are bathrooms at all the stops.

It's about a 15minute bus ride from The Salt River Recreation Site to stop 1.

Option 2: Bring your own

Okay now the good stuff. Whether you have Kayaks or Paddle boards, this is the only way I'll be doing The Salt River.

What you'll need:

1. Two Cars

2. Two Kayaks or Paddle Boards

Looking for a Cheap Kayak?

I've had my inflatable Kayaks for 5 years now and I couldn't recommend them more! The blow up and take down process is very easy. I got this electric pump that makes it easier but its not even hard using the manual pump it comes with. It takes 10minutes or less. They are not heavy but I would recommend getting different carrying bags to put them in because the ones it comes with are flimsy and rip. The weigh limit is 220lbs for these bad boys.

How to do it:

1. Park at endpoint. Take both cars and park the 1st car at your endpoint. In my case, I did the entire salt river so this was stop 6.

2. Carpool to Starting point. We chose to blow up our kayaks here and throw them in the bed of my truck and we both got in car 2 to head to the starting point, in our case, stop 1. You could also blow up your raft at the starting point. Be sure to bring the carrying bag with you so you can carry your raft back to the car when you're finished.

3, Float! We did the entire salt river and even while paddling it took us 5 hours

4. Arrive at endpoint. Deflate rafts.

5. Carpool back to start point. Collect 2nd car and you're done!

How to get the whole river to yourself:

Park at Stop 4 (Goldfield) and Stop 6 (Granite Reef Recreation Site)

Everyone with rental tubes has to get off at stop 4, so from stop 4 to stop 6 there is almost no one on the river. But the current is not strong which is why you need something you can paddle.

This is the only time we saw horses because there was no crowds and no noise at all. Just the sounds of the birds chirping.

You will come upon pirate island which is basically a rock island you can pull off on.

This was the best way to experience The Salt River and I'll only part of the river I'll be floating down from now on!

As always thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! :)