Lazy river tubing is not a popular pastime here in the Cape Fear region. And for good reason. Most of our creeks and rivers are dyed tea brown by beautiful cypress trees. This makes spotting our alligators, toothy-fish, snakes and wood snags difficult — all of which could make for a bad day on an innertube.

Headwaters Outfitters in Rosman, N.C., offers lazy river tubing and whitewater tubing among other things. President Debi Whitmire knows what makes a good tubing river and she says our river attributes probably wouldn’t make the cut.

Her company is located in the North Carolina mountains at the headwaters of the French Broad. “The river is born right here, so the river is really clean,” she said.

If you’re dying to get out there, though, here’s an alternative suggestion. Take an open deck kayak or canoe and paddle up the Brunswick River or some other slow-moving waterway to your liking. Do a little research beforehand and time the return trip so that the movement of the tide will carry you back to your put-in. All you have to do is occasionally use one paddle to steer the boat. But you and your friend can just kick up your feet and snack on trail mix all the way back. You don’t necessarily get wet, but I did this in June 2009 and had a very lazy, relaxing time.

Date posted: July 15, 2009

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