SALUDA – Tubing businesses along the Green River have reported seeing a steady incline in customers due to the high summer temperatures.

Travel along Green River Cove Road and it will not be unusual to see multiple kayakers and tubers going down the Green River to beat the summer heat.

Denise Gillespie, co-owner of Green River Cove Tubing, said customers have been flowing in steadily to her business and the Wilderness Cove Tubing business further up the road.

Gillespie said she has close to 900 tubes available on the site for customers to use down the river. She added there have been a few times where, during the day, she has run out of tubes and had to go get more.

“It’s been tremendous this year, and I don’t think we’ve ever had to order more tubes twice in one season,” Gillespie said. “Last Saturday, we actually ran out and had a two hour wait for tubes to come in.”

“We do offer free shuttles for people to come back once they are finished,” Gillespie said. “We see a lot of out-of-towners, but we get a lot of locals for fishing and stuff. It seems to be that we get a lot of people from Florida, Texas and out of state.”

Green River Cove Tubing has been family owned and operated since 1982. Gillespie said rates are $9 per person for the three-mile adventure and $14 per person for the six-mile adventure.

“It’s good for local businesses as well in Saluda, Columbus and Tryon,” Gillespie said. “We also have a lot of church groups, youth groups, schools, boy scouts and YMCA. Anyone can do it. We have a group discount, and we like to promote a safe and fun environment.”

Christy Houser owns the Wilderness Cove Tubing business up the road with her husband Steven. Houser said she too has experienced a major uptick in business in the middle of the hot summer.

“It’s definitely been a very busy season, with more people than even expected on weekends especially,” Houser explained. “Even our weekdays have picked up, just because of the heat. And there’s also been enough rain in the afternoons to keep the river flowing.”

Houser said a combination of heat and the water continuously flowing has made for a good season overall, and that she too has run out of tubes due to the increase in customers.

“We run about neck and neck with them (Green River Cove Tubing) and so we’ve also run out of tubes before,” Houser said. “We have about the same amount of tubes, but it fluctuates because you’re replacing every week, and when you have over 900 people we did run out for a little bit. Maybe a 20 minute wait once we got the buses back up here.”

The previous weekend had been especially busy, according to Houser, and she said this was unusual because it was the end of July.

“I attribute it to the heat because that’s not normally a busy weekend for us since it’s not close to a holiday or close to the kids going back to school,” Houser said. “For it to have been so busy, it had to be the heat, and it was definitely one of the largest weekends we’ve had and this is our 10th season here.”

Gillespie said going out and tubing is a fun and inexpensive way for families to beat the heat this summer, with beautiful views and peaceful floating.

“It’s bringing a lot of people out, and I think with the heat it’s a cheap way for families, if you have a bigger sized family,” Gillespie said. “It’s an affordable way to bring the family out without having to spend $20 to $30 per person, it’s $20 to $30 for a whole family.”