Salt River Tubing

What Salt River Tubing does

Salt River Tubing is a privately held, seasonal outdoor recreation business founded in 1983 that operates guided river tubing experiences on the Salt River within Tonto National Forest in Mesa, Arizona. The company operates under a U.S.D.A. Forest Service permit granting exclusive access to the Lower Salt River tubing location, and runs seasonally from May through September (daily May–August, weekends only in September). Its primary product is a single-rider tube rental with included round-trip shuttle transportation priced at $28 per person, supplemented by shuttle-only passes for BYOT customers ($22), group VIP reservations for parties of 20+ ($30/person with skip-the-line and private buses), bucket/cooler tubes ($20), a private shuttle service, gift cards, and an Endless Summer Season Pass ($225, once-per-day, June–September). Technology is commodity and non-proprietary: the company runs on a WordPress website with embedded FareHarbor for booking and payments, and uses Google Analytics, Amplitude, and Pendo for analytics, with Google Maps, reCAPTCHA, and Google Fonts as supporting web infrastructure.

The business is direct-to-consumer with no intermediaries; customers book online via FareHarbor or walk in at the 9200 N Bush Highway headquarters. Marketing is concentrated in social media (Facebook, Instagram), review platforms (TripAdvisor, Yelp, Google — where the company holds a 4.6 rating), and an annual events calendar featuring ten themed days across the 2026 season. Customer segments are individual/family recreation seekers, group event organizers (bachelor/bachelorette parties, birthdays, corporate outings), and local seasonal pass holders. The company has no disclosed funding, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no public revenue or headcount figures; operations are seasonal, with applications closed for the 2026 season's hiring, indicating a concentrated labor cycle aligned to the May–September revenue window.

Name

Salt River Tubing

Legal name

Salt River Tubing

Website

https://saltrivertubing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Outdoor Recreation Services

NAICS

Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (487210), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (4872)

akta.pro primary industry

Outdoor Water Parks (Wave Pools, Lazy Rivers, Slides) (THAAABAA)

Keywords

• River tubing
• Outdoor recreation
• Shuttle service
• Tube rentals
• Group events

Headquarters

HQ city

Mesa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Tube Rental with Shuttle: One-time rental of single rider tubes with included shuttle transportation to and from river access points. Primary revenue driver.
2. Shuttle Ride (B.Y.O.Tube): Shuttle transportation for customers who bring their own tubes.
3. Group Tubing Reservations: VIP group reservations for 20+ people including skip-the-line privileges, private buses, and tube service.
4. Endless Summer Season Pass: Season pass valid June through end of September, includes one tube rental with shuttle or one bus ride. Non-transferable, usable once per day.
5. Bucket/Cooler Tube Rental: Additional tube rental to hold coolers and personal items afloat.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Salt River Tubing operates a seasonal river tubing rental and shuttle service on the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest near Mesa, Arizona. The business rents inner tubes to visitors and transports them to upstream put-in points, then picks them up downstream after their float. It has operated since 1983 under a USDA Forest Service permit, providing all-inclusive access to the river corridor for individual and group visitors.

Product overview

Salt River Tubing operates as a single unified recreational service offering guided river tubing experiences on the Salt River within Tonto National Forest, Mesa, Arizona. The core product is individual tube rentals with included shuttle transportation, supplemented by group VIP reservations (for parties of 20+), and the Endless Summer Season Pass for unlimited daily access. Add-on services include bucket/coolers tubes, private shuttle services, and gift cards. All bookings are processed through the FareHarbor platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Water temperature 60-68 degrees Fahrenheit providing relief from 110+ degree Arizona heat

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• FareHarborcoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline booking and reservation platform integration. FareHarbor provides embedded booking functionality for tube rentals, group reservations, season passes, and gift cards. Customers book through FareHarbor which handles payment processing and reservation management.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wilderness Aware Rafting: Family-owned whitewater rafting outfitter running day and multi-day trips on Colorado and Arkansas Rivers. Comparable as a long-running, family-led outdoor recreation business using shuttle infrastructure to move guests to/from river access points.
• Arizona River Runners: Arizona-based rafting outfitter operating guided river trips in the Phoenix/Globe region on the Salt and Verde Rivers. Highly comparable as a regional water-based outdoor recreation operator sharing the same permit geography, customer base, and seasonal Arizona operating window.
• Echo Canyon River Adventures: Arizona-based tubing and rafting outfitter operating on the Verde River near Phoenix. Comparable as a directly competing river-tubing operator in the same metropolitan market with similar shuttle-based service model.

Broad incumbents

• Grand Canyon Whitewater: Multi-day Grand Canyon rafting outfitter. Comparable business model (guided river recreation with shuttle logistics) but at a longer, more expensive trip scale; competes for Arizona outdoor tourism dollars.
• Kalahari Resorts & Conventions: Large indoor/outdoor water park resort operator with multiple U.S. locations including in Arizona. Comparable as a year-round family water-based recreation and group-events venue competing for the same family/group celebration demand.
• REI Co-op Experiences: Outdoor co-op running guided outdoor experiences including water-based trips. Comparable as an outdoor recreation booking platform and trip operator; competes for the same adventure-seeking consumer wallet.
• Schlitterbahn New Braunfels: Iconic Texas water park known for river-style tubing lazy rivers and continuous-flow rides. Comparable in offering river-style tubing experiences and competing for regional family outdoor recreation demand.
• Hatch River Expeditions: Long-running Grand Canyon rafting concessioner. Comparable as a multi-generational, permit-driven outfitter operating river trips in the Southwest, though at a longer-duration, higher-ticket scale than a half-day tubing float.

Regional players

• Comal River Tubing outfitters (e.g., Rockin' R River Rides): Texas-based tubing outfitters operating on the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers with shuttle service. Comparable business model (tube rental + shuttle + short float) serving a different regional market.
• Wet 'n' Wild Phoenix: Water park in the same Phoenix metro area targeting the same 'beat the Arizona heat' use case. Comparable as a regional water-based recreation competitor serving local families and tourists, though anchored by built infrastructure rather than a natural river.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SaltRiverTubingAZ
• Instagraminstagram.com/srtubing
• Xx.com/SaltRiverRec
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/salt-river-tubing-recreational

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Salt River Tubing