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The Salt River Float in Mesa, Arizona, has been a big item on our bucket list for some time now. We have done a few river floats, such as the Boise River Float in Idaho, Rainbow River Tubing, Blue Spring, and Kelly Park/Rock Spring Tubing in Florida. However, the mix of the gorgeous scenery and the chance to see wild horses sets this experience apart from other floats. The float takes place along the Lower Salt River, where the water is much calmer, perfect for a relaxing float. Along the way, you’ll see imposing cliffs, interesting desert scenery, and if you’re lucky, wild horses either along the river banks or wading in the water. Floating the Salt River is one of the best ways to cool off during the intense summer heat in Arizona. It also makes for a wonderful adventure!
In this blog, we will show you everything you need to know about floating the Salt River, whether you prefer to do it by yourself or rent.
The Salt River float, A.K.A Salt River tubing, takes place along the Lower Salt River in the Tonto National Forest, just northeast of Mesa and about 40 minutes east of Phoenix, Arizona. Most people start their floats from the Water Users Recreation Site. Along the way, there are multiple spots where you can take your tube out, depending on how long you want to spend on the river. If you’re floating from Stop 1 to Stop 5, it is about 7-8 miles.
The most popular option for rental is the official Salt River Tubing. They charge $28/person for tube + shuttle + parking. If you bring your own tube, it is $22/person. This is the easiest way to do the Salt River float, logistically, or if you don’t have multiple cars for shuttling. However, the rental place is only open from May to September. So, if you’re planning to do the Salt River float outside of that time frame, you’ll have to do it on your own.
If you’re renting, you’ll need to exit at the Goldfield area at the furthest. If you want to float further, you’ll need to do it yourself.
If you’re planning to float on your own, you can do it for free (if you have the park pass). However, the logistics can be a bit confusing. You’ll need at least 2 cars, one to park at the start and one at the exit. Keep in mind that if you’re going on a weekend or holiday, parking can be very hard to find.
While the river itself is free to access and use, there are some other hidden costs, such as parking at the access points. All the forest service sites listed under the Salt River Float routes required a Tonto Pass; however, if you have an America the Beautiful Pass, you can also use that instead. The Tonto Pass can be purchased in person at many retail vendors in the area, such as Circle K, Quick Trip, Fry’s, etc. You can also purchase on-site at the fee machines. Besides parking, you’ll also need to have your own tubes.
Kids and pets are allowed on the Lower Salt River Float. However, if you’re renting with the official Salt River Tubing company, there are age and height restrictions for kids. They have to be at least 8 years old and at least 4 feet tall.
If you’re doing the float on your own, there aren’t any restrictions. However, for the safety of your children, please make sure they have their lifejackets on. The river can get bumpy in certain areas, and there have been cases of people who have drowned here. We also got pushed under trees and bushes many times.
As for pets, if you’re renting, we recommend calling Salt River Tubing Company to check before going. We did the float ourselves so we could bring Asher with us. If you bring your dog, make sure:
If you prefer a smaller crowd, we recommend going on a weekday morning. In fact, weekday mornings in late May, June, or September are best. These days usually have the perfect balance of pleasant weather, good river flow, and much smaller crowds. Make sure to start as early as possible. We recommend starting between 8 am and 10 am, if not earlier. This way, you can find parking more easily, have cooler temperatures when transporting your float, and have a better chance of seeing the wild horses.
On the weekends, the river can get very crowded. We got to the parking lot around 7:30 am, and there were barely any parking spots left. If you’re going on the weekend, we recommend getting there before 8 am. It is best if you avoid holiday weekends such as Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. It is a zoo out there. Also, July and August are the busiest months.
If you’re all for that party vibe, though, the Salt River Tubing website has a list of themed events throughout the summer. Check them out.
We also recommend downloading an offline map on your phone so you can track your location as you float along the river. This way, you can tell whether you’re close to your exit. The shoreline looks very similar, so it’s hard to tell from one exit to the other. Cell reception here is not that great.
Being on our bucket list for so long, we finally organized a trip for a fun Salt River float with the adventure crew. There were 11 of us. Most of us have our own tubes/kayaks, so we opted to do it ourselves rather than rent. That, and Nancy and Phil wanted to bring their pup, Asher. The D.I.Y option was a better choice for us. Here are our logistics and a recap of our adventure.
We wanted to do the full route, so we launched from the Water Users Recreation Area and exited at the Phon D. Sutton Recreation Area. There were 11 of us, so we took 3 cars. We drove ALL 3 cars to the launch point. This way, we could drop off everyone and all the gear. Then, 2 members of our group drove 2 separate cars to the exit point (this being Phon D. Sutton Recreation Site for us) to drop off 1 car there. Meanwhile, everyone else saved the parking spot and pumped up the tubes while waiting. After dropping off 1 car at the exit point, our 2 members drove back to the launch area and reunited with the rest of the group.
After we finished our float, we sent 3 people from our group, using the parked car at the exit to Water Users, to retrieve the other 2 cars. At the same time, the rest of the group deflated all the tubes and got everything ready for when all the cars came back.
Since we could only do our Salt River float on a weekend with everyone’s schedule, we aimed to get to the launch point before 7:30 am. However, we got to the launch point a bit later, around 7:45 am, and there was barely any parking left. So, make sure to get there early on the weekends. After everyone met back up at the launch point and all the tubes inflated, we headed toward the river. It was a short walk to the riverbank. You will want to wear water shoes for the Salt River float, both for the rocky walk up and down to the water and for the float. The floor of the lower Salt River is covered in cantaloupe-sized to bowling ball-sized boulders. There is a good chance you may need to portage your tube or push off the wall if you are going into the plant life on the shore (trust me, it will happen).
It was a short walk to the riverbank. We knew that it was going to be a fun crowd out there that day, but it became even more evident once we got our tubes down towards the water’s edge. Suddenly, the air was filled with laughter, the sounds of probably 40 different Bluetooth speakers, and the voices of excited people trying to figure out the best ways to build their floating islands.
There are pros and cons to tying your rafts together on the shore. It will be way more cumbersome to move it around. You will need a lot of muscle and some solid communication skills. But it is also easier because the tubes won’t be trying to float away while you are attaching them. Our group decided to tie everything together while we floated, and that proved to be a bit of a mistake.
As soon as we got into the water, we noticed the water temperature was quite pleasant. It wasn’t as cold as we expected. It was a welcome change from the scorching heat. Amongst the chaos, our group got a bit of a messy launch. Raymond, Phil, Nancy, and Asher, the adventure pup, got out first, followed by Jen, Danny, Aaron, and Claudia. Dustin, Paul (Dustin’s dad), Vy, and Mila took off last. By the time we got started, Raymond, Phil, Nancy, and Asher were probably over 100 yards downriver. There were a ton of floaters between us. We had some catching up to do!
The first part of the float is like a social hour. You will spend most of the time bumping into strangers. It was really fun, though. Everyone was in a good mood, ready for a joke or a squirt gun fight. While all of this is going on, you will have gorgeous views of the Goldfield Mountains Cliff Wall. The water was quite shallow in some sections here.
One by one, we caught up to the rest of the group. We decided to tie all our floats together. Raymond brought his inflatable kayak. Phil, Nancy, and Asher had their Calobana Floating Dock. The rest of us had our own individual River Run tubes.
Along the river, there are some forks. You can go either way. They all joined back up. For some reason, our floats really like the trees along the riverbank. We kept being pushed right into the bushes. Mila ended up being the first sacrifice to the bush, but this was just an appetizer to the bush gods, and it only made them hungrier!
At around 1.08 miles, we came upon our first rapid. The rapids weren’t that bad. In fact, it was kind of fun. You just need to tuck in, hold tight, and pick up your booty so it doesn’t get dragged along the rocks at the river bottom. Don’t try to get off your float in the rapids because you will get hurt. Dustin attempted to get off his float to push us away from the shoreline and ended up tumbling over boulders on the river floor.
As we floated on, we came to the Blue Point Bridge and Pebble Beach. On average, it will take between 1 and 1.5 hours to get to this point. If you don’t have a lot of time, you can get out at this point. On the downside, your chance to see the wild horses is a lot lower. At Pebble Beach, there were tons of EZ-Ups with people hanging out in the water. There were also a few cliffjumpers. We also engaged in several water gun wars as we floated by.
Near the bridge, there is a big sign for Shuttle Stop #2. Shuttle Stop #2 is located at Blue Point Bridge Recreation Area. This is the shuttle for if you are renting from the Salt River Tubing company. If you’re floating on your own as we did, this sign is a great location marker.
After we crossed under the bridge, the water current sped up quite a bit. The river also suddenly made an almost 90-degree curve to the left. This means the current ended up pushing us and pretty much every other floater into large boulders and, of course, more bushes… There were also several rapids along the way. All the rapids along the Salt River float are quite mild, mostly class 1, with a few sections of easy class 2 if the flow rate is higher. They were more fun than scary.
As we floated along the Salt River, we heard Phillip shout from his elevated position, “Horses up ahead!!!” While they weren’t out in the water like we had seen in tons of photos, there were 6 of them having a relaxing day on the beach. I think it was good enough to check the experience off the bucket list.
Soon, we reach the next stop on the Salt River float: Goldfield (Stop #3 | Shuttle Stop #4). This stop is on your left-hand side. There is a sign for Shuttle Stop #4 before getting to the exit point.
If you are doing the rental/shuttle option, this is where you will be pulling out. This is also the end of the float for most people. For us, we pressed on.
After leaving Goldfield, the river became a lot less crowded. The scenery became even more beautiful. On the right side of the river, the tall hill that was packed with Saguaro cactus. This may be nothing too amazing to locals who see them on a regular basis, but we got a kick out of them. We also floated by several tall rock formations. These spots were beautiful as they were, but we bet that this area looks incredible around sunset.
The water on the Salt River float was nice and calm for quite a while. On our visit, there were a couple of very SHALLOW spots. You may want to do yourself a favor and pick up your butt in the shallows. At one point, Dustin hit his butt really hard on a boulder. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience. Between the calm, there were a few rapids mixed in. One of the rapids swung our entire platoon of rafts under the trees. This is when having your own raft is better for navigating! That being said, we really like the Salt River float because it was a mix of incredibly calm moments where you could almost fall asleep, followed by short bursts of rapids that were fun and quite chaotic. This was also where Aaron lost his 360 camera to the river god. The current is quite fast, so if you drop something, you probably won’t see it again. So, make sure to secure your belongings!
Coon Bluff is an unassuming stop on the left-hand side of the river. There isn’t any signage for this one. So, we recommend checking your map occasionally along your Salt River float after leaving Goldfield to keep track of where you are.
After Coon Bluff, the river splits into two sections with a small island in the middle. The left side looks wider, so we went left. This section was very narrow. We had such a big fleet of tubes that we had to squeeze between the branches. It was exciting! This section is much better if you’re on a single tube or kayak/paddleboard, where you can steer more easily. As for our group, even with Phil and Ray’s expert steering (NOT!), we were in for a wild ride.
Luckily, this stretch wasn’t that long. And soon, the Salt River opens up with a beautiful rocky cliff on the left-hand side. Most of us are rock climbers, so we admired the climbing routes on the cliff face. There were some old ropes attached to the end of the rocky cliff. It looked like a rope swing, but the rope looked pretty old, so we didn’t try.
Not too long after the rocky cliff, we came to the end of our Salt River float adventure, the Phon D. Sutton Recreation Area. Right before reaching the exit area, the river once again splits in half. You really need to pay attention at this point. Going left here will set you up nicely for your exit at the beach. Otherwise, you will need to cross the entire river once you pass the island. If you park your car here, you don’t want to miss this exit. The river does continue, but there is little to no current. So, you will need a paddle craft if you plan on going all the way to Granite Reef. This would add around another 4 miles to your float.
The Salt River float was such a fun adventure! We already planned to come back again.
Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to check out the related posts below for more inspiration on your upcoming adventures. While at it, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel! We’ll love you forever!
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Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of Live That Adventure. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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