The Lower Saluda River is one of Columbia’s great natural resources. Its ice cold water straight from the bottom of Lake Murray tumbles down 11 miles to meet the Broad River and form the Congaree River. It offers cool pools perfect for swimming in summer with impressive whitewater for kayakers and tubers.

I had to try it myself. A group of my friends joined me. We set out to tube a popular 3-mile section on a scorching hot Friday afternoon.

I’M NOT AN expert on the Saluda, so I decided to call someone who knows the 3 rivers like the back of his hand. Mike Mayo and his company, Palmetto Outdoors, has been helping people enjoy the Broad, Saluda and Congaree Rivers, since 2006.

Palmetto Outdoors offers tube rentals and shuttles on the Saluda as well as other river tours and trips.

I learned 1 of the most important things to do is to check the water level. If it’s too high, It can be dangerous.

Mike suggested we check the USGS’s website (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/ usa/nwis/uv?02168504) for water flow on the Lower Saluda. He said to make sure the water flow is between 650-3,000 cubic feet per second.

He suggested we tube from below Millrace Rapids – the biggest and Class III rapida on the Saluda – to the Gervais Street Bridge. Millrace can be seen from I-126 and is accessible from Candi Lane by the Zoo and the new 4-mile Saluda Riverwalk. His service follows the same route.

ACCORDING TO MIKE, the trip is about 3 miles and takes 2-3 hours.

He suggested we bring hats, sunscreen, closed-toe water shoes and, most importantly, lifejackets. Mike said the river is safe “as long as you wear a life jacket.”

He warns visitors not to bring styrofoam or glass items onto the river.

“A common misconception is that kayaks are safer than tubes,” he said. “Its actually the contrary, and I recommend visitors tube the river before kayaking.”

MIKE MAYO WAS a pleasure to talk with and knew everything we needed to know. I learned much more from him than I could possibly share in 1,000 short words. We drove to Millrace Rapid the Friday before Independence Day.

The river was packed. The entire half-mile road was lined with cars parallel parked on either side of the road.

The parking lot at the visitor’s center was yet to open. We left the car and pumped up our tubes with an electric leaf blower.

The short 100-yard walk to the river was easy thanks to one of several of the Riverwalk’s paved access trails.

Because we had to drive so far up the road, we started a quarter-mile above Millrace Rapid in a large calm pool with some small riffles leading out.

The 5 of us jumped into the river with yelps from the cold water. It was 62 degrees – colder than even the darkest stream deep in the mountains.

The water comes straight from the 300-foot deep dark bottom of Lake Murray.

WE HAD TO paddle to get out of the still pool. Once we got close to the riffle, the current did the work for us. We gently drifted past big rocks where people were enjoying the day. The river was crowded but did not seem to be a problem. The river was plenty big for everyone.

Soon we made it to Millrace Rapid where the river slowly tumbled down probably 5 feet. A boardwalk hugged the side of the rapid and a powerline crossed overhead.

We could see an old wall from an abandoned mill to our left. We watched several other tubers take on the rapids and it seemed safe enough. We took the left side for a more gradual drop.

THE RAPIDS WERE a dozen small drops with rocks along the way. We went over drop after drop while our tubes bounced off rocks like a pinball.

At the bottom, faster water carried us into another smaller rapid.

The water was low when we went through Millrace but it can be much more dangerous in higher waters and I wouldn’t recommend you do, Millrace.

Use the Riverwalk to walk around it.

Below Millrace, we found a current on the right side of the river as we floated under the bridge at Riverbanks Zoo.

Just past the bridge was the remnants of a bridge from the Old State Road.

The water was blue, the river mostly straight, and just wide enough for all the people. On either side, trees draped with Spanish Moss created shade.

Every now and then, flat rocks jutted out into the river with tubers on them. The next mile or so was slow and relaxing. We swam a bit and passed a rope swing.

Finally, we made it to a big area with tons of rocks and a group of Islands straight ahead. The river split with the majority of the water going to the right down a rapid.

THE RIVER WAS narrower here. At the bottom of the rapid was a big pool and a beach on the right. On the left was an island and at the lower end of the island, we took a break and pulled out our phones for a few pictures.

Shortly after leaving the Island, we were at the conflux of the Saluda and Broad Rivers where the Congaree begins. We could immediately tell the difference. The water temperature suddenly shot up probably 15 degrees.

We passed a few more small islands before we were on the wide-open Congaree.

The Klapman and Gervais Street Bridges were now in view and we could see the City of Columbia with the State House through the trees.

The take out is right before the Klapman Bridge and we walked up the West Columbia Riverwalk to the car at Sunset Boulevard.

The trip took about 3 hours and it was the perfect way to spend a hot afternoon.

Over the past couple of decades, the tourism potential of the 3 rivers has grown.

According to Mike Mayo, In 2014, his company put over 10,000 people on the river, a 3rd from out of state.

People are coming from as far away as Flordia, Washington, DC and Ohio to enjoy the rivers we have in our backyard.

The river is more accessible now than ever thanks to projects like the new 4-mile Saluda Riverwalk and the 6-mile West Columbia Riverwalk. So get out and enjoy the river.

If you don’t have a tube or need a shuttle to the start of the river, Palmetto Outdoor offers tube rentals and shuttle rides at reasonable rates.

Visit thier website: https://palmettooutdoor.com .

Cole Stilwell is a Gray Collegiate Academy junior and electronics and social media intern at the Lexington County Chronicle and The Lake Murray Fish Wrapper.