River Run Canoe & Tubing

I feel bad — Keith the owner was so nice, but our experience was so bad it was funny. I felt like we were on a bad sitcom. The place was not clearly marked and garbage littered the area. Our guide, Joe, did not go over any safety regulations or the process of rafting. We stopped in a restaurant parking lot and Joe told us to get in the river and he’d meet us at the end. The Sevierville County Planners stopped and said there was high e. Coli readings and we shouldn’t raft. Joe told us they were kidding. Who knows? The river was about 1.5 feet deep with no current. Our butts scraped the rocks a ton. For the price, the experience was not enjoyable. Joe was unprofessional and not personable. Cash only, as well. Some major improvements need to occur before I would ever consider this again.

I’m being generous with two stars, but only because the guys that operate it are really nice. We really wanted to love this excursion, but just could not! First off, there’s really no sign of where to find this place. We pulled up to two guys on the side of the road with a truck… It wasn’t very comforting. They are the most expensive in the area, but after getting some info, we decided to try it. They gave us some very deflated tubes, which we asked to have pumped up, and an inflatable cooler for our drinks. We happily did the «long» route, and were excited to get in the river. However, almost immediately, it became apparent that this «river» is nothing more than an extremely shallow stream. Not the right conditions for tubing! The «exciting» parts they tell you about are just jagged rocks that are too shallow to tube over, anyways, so you have to get off and walk over them, slipping and twisting ankles the whole time. When you do reach anything even remotely deep enough for staying on your tube, it’s so slow moving and boring that you literally stay in one place. So, off your tube you go, again, just to walk through that area. The scenery isn’t even all that great, as it runs behind houses and businesses. The stream is so full of trash and dead fish that it stinks. My inner tube actually popped about mid-​way through, and by that point we were so fed up, we just walked the rest of the way to get it over with. It was not the relaxing time we had hoped for, nor was it even remotely fun; I would never do it again.

A very long relaxing tube ride! Sit back and relax and drink a beer! Yes, they allow you to bring canned beer on the ride and even have a floaty for it that you tie to your tube!
The ride (I went on) was 45 minutes. They have shorter ones. Most of the river is shallow and the current is not strong so this would be great for first timers or the kids. I’ve been on some river tubes where the water was deep and there were rapids. Fun but dangerous. Not this one. This is nice and relaxing. There is plenty of wildlife to be seen on the ride as well.
The owners were very friendly and informative about the river and the area. They even came down in the river and helped everyone out of the tubes and carried them back for us.

We had a great time! The people are great. Friendly and helpful. Locals who know the area. Noah, the owner’s son, was a very sweet young man. He met us at the end of our ride and helped us out of the water.
My only regret is we waited until our last day to do this. That won’t happen again! And the next time we will go for the longer trip. We love being in the water.
Highly recommend!