• instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • about
  • |
  • participate
  • |
  • Contact
  • |
Menu
Search
  • Eat
    • Local Eatery Articles
    • Farms + Markets
    • Restaurants + Cafes
    • Wine + Spirits
  • Play
    • Spring Fun Articles
    • Outdoors
    • Shopping Locally
    • Art + Entertainment
  • Stay
    • Eat/Stay/Play Articles
    • Bed and Breakfasts
    • Campgrounds
    • Hotels + Motels
  • Live
    • Home Articles
    • Home + Garden
    • Services
    • Transportation
    • Wellness
  • Faces & Places
  • Events
  • Towns
  • Magazine
Close Menu

THE TOWN TINKER TUBE RENTAL

by TIMOTHY MALCOLM PHOTOS BY TOWN TINKER TUBE RENTAL

May 28, 2017

As you drift with the current and spin in your tube, you scan the wide waterway ahead. There are logs and debris to the left, but off to the right a decent set of rapids lies ahead. Stay straight, keep a low center of gravity, and then … whoosh! Waves, a foot or two high, send you up and over, then back into the calmer waters. You’re among dozens enjoying the same thrilling experience as part of a Town Tinker Tube Rental excursion. It’s summer, the Catskill sun is warm on your shoulders, the cold water sprays you, and, yeah, this really is perfect.

Town Tinker Tube has been floating eager adventurers down the Esopus Creek on inner tubes for 37 years, from Memorial Day weekend through the end of September. It’s the brainchild of Harry Jameson, a Phoenicia native who opened the business in 1980 after moving back to the Catskills and rounding up nearly 200 old inner tubes from Ulster County junkyards.

 

Since then, the business has evolved with the flow—both of more visitors to the Esopus Creek area and of the waterway itself, which helps guide Jameson’s Zen-like life principle (“go with the flow”). Today, the Town Tinker sends thousands of people down the river for whitewater tubing in mandatory life vests and recommended helmets and wetsuits. Safety is paramount at Town Tinker Tube.

When visitors purchase a tubing experience (one-time packages start at $30 while full-day pricing varies), they’re assured a wild ride down an International Scale of River Difficulty Class II whitewater river where waves can reach up to three feet and travelers can be tossed out of their seats. Thus, tubers receive gear and full safety instructions—including how to get back on if you’re tossed out—before they start the trip.

 

With full awareness and knowledge of the Esopus, tubers can expect an awesome time among their fellow adventurers.

 

Town Tinker Tube Rental provides Tube Taxi Transportation (old-school buses painted bright white) that takes folks up Route 28 to the drop-off point. From there, tubers are on their own to safely tackle the rapids. A trip will last at least an hour and a half and ends back at Town Tinker headquarters in Phoenicia. The whole experience lasts up to two and a half hours, and winding and bouncing down the Esopus is totally worth the time.

If you’re feeling extra adventurous, visit Town Tinker Tube Rental during the eekends of June 3–4, July 15–16, and September 2–4. Those weekends are designated recreational water release dates, when the Department of Environmental Conservation sends more water from the Schoharie Reservoir into the Esopus as it travels down to the Ashokan Reservoir. That means stronger rapids and bigger waves—definitely for people looking for a real adrenalin rush.

 

Labor Day weekend, being a three-day water release, is also know as Shandaken Whitewater Weekend (it’ll be busy out on the river).

The Town Tinker Tube Rental
10 Bridge Street, Phoenicia
845-688-5553
towntinker.com

RELATED ARTICLES

Winter Fun in the Hudson Valley

Bare Furniture and A&G Custom Furniture

Wild Spring Edibles

The Maverick Colony

GUIDE TO THE BEST DRINKS AND DECKS

Hudson Valley Varieties of Evergreens

Relaxation in the Hudson Valley

Stay, Eat & Play in the Hudson Valley

Hudson Valley by Kayak or Canoe

DYED EGGS AU NATUREL

RECEIVE EPOSTS

WHATS HAPPENING

ADD YOUR BUSINESS

SEE WEDDING SITE

  • The Ridge Gym

    Stone Ridge, 845-687-0000
    www.theridgegym.com/

  • Rocking Horse Ranch Resort

    Highland, 845-691-2927
    www.rockinghorseranch.com/

  • 2018 Catskills R&R Retreats at...

    Ellenville, 845-210-3154
    www.honorshaven.com/r-r-pack...

  • Blue Mountain Guest House

    Saugerties, 3233138426
    www.vrbo.com/560528

  • Wright's Farm

    Gardiner
    www.visitvortex.com/storefro...

  • Dutchess County Fairgrounds

    Rhinebeck, 845-876-4000
    www.dutchessfair.com/

  • Halter Associates Realty

    Kingston & Woodstock
    www.halterassociatesrealty.c...

  • The Amsterdam

    Rhinebeck
    www.lovetheamsterdam.com/

  • Emerson Resort & Spa, Mt. Tremp...

    Mt. Tremper, 845-688-2828
    www.emersonresort.com

  • Garner Arts Center

    Garnerville
    www.garnerartscenter.org/

  • Grace Antiques

    Ellenville
    www.grace81.com

  • The Art Effect

    Poughkeepsie
    https://feelthearteffect.org...

  • Buzzanco's Greenhouses & Farm

    Kingston, (845) 336-6528
    www.buzzancogreenhouses.com/

  • Rhinebeck Artists Shop

    Rhinebeck, New Paltz, Kingston
    www.rhinebeckartistsshop.com...

  • Bethel Woods Center for the Art...

    Bethel
    www.bethelwoodscenter.org

  • Palizzata

    Kingston
    www.palizzata.com/

  • Ulster Tourism

    Kingston, (800) 342-5826
    ulstercountyalive.com

  • Bykenhulle House

    Hopewell Junction
    www.bykenhullehouse.com/

  • Ole Savannah Southern Table and...

    Kingston, (845) 331-4283
    www.olesavannah.com/

FAQ

ADD EVENT

ADD BUSINESS

  • instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
CONTACT

CALL: 845-687-3470
EMAIL: VISITVORTEX@GMAIL.COM

VISITVORTEX
PO BOX 82
HIGH FALLS, NY 12440
SIGN UP

SIGN UP FOR EPOSTS OF EVENTS,
THINGS TO DO AND SEE NEW
HUDSON VALLEY VIDEOS!

SEE OUR WEDDING SITE


© VISITVORTEX.COM 2018.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS