Summertime recreation is drawing droves of water lovers to West Columbia this summer, to enjoy a tubing trip down the Congaree River.

“We had another record number of tubers in June, and July, so far, is the best ever,”  said Michael Mayo, owner of Palmetto Outdoor. 

The Palmetto Outdoor guided tubing trip season began, on a daily basis, on Memorial Day and the daily schedule will remain in effect until Labor Day. In the tubing season more than 10,000 people will come to the West Columbia area to float down the river rapids from Riverbanks Zoo to the West Columbia Amphitheatre.

Some weekends, more than 1,000 people tube the river via Palmetto Outdoor. Mayo said in the eight-day period surrounding the Fourth-of-July this year, Palmetto Outdoor guided more than 2,000 tubers down the river. Of all of those tubers, more than 60 percent come to West Columbia from more than a 50-mile radius. 

Mayo said a customer from Orlando, Fla. told him the six-hour drive from Orlando to West Columbia was “worth it”  because of the scenic nature of the river and its cool waters. “The Three-Rivers Region is so attractive we have tourists coming from Disney World to West Columbia,” Mayo said. 

Mayo also said he has researched some of the tourist-related data for the area, and other than Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden, river-tubing is the main attraction for West Columbia in the summer. 

The visitors who enjoy the river also get a peek at the West Columbia hospitality industry. Restaurants along Sunset Boulevard, like Nick’s House of Pizza, DeLucca’s, Cucinella’s and Grecian Gardens, benefit from all of the traffic headed to the river. And in the hot weather, the iconic Zesto ice cream cone in Triangle City offers the perfect spot to cool off. Mayo also said many of his tubers stay at West Columbia hotels, including the, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton, Residence Inn and TownPlace Suites near Lexington Medical Center.

Waterfall Junction at Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden 
Waterfall Junction and the Riverbanks Zoo Splash Pad at the Botanical Gardens is another attraction in the West Columbia summer. There is a West Columbia entrance to the Botanical Gardens at the intersection of Botanical Parkway and Mohawk Drive.  

Waterfall Junction features a 25-foot cascading waterfall for the kids to cool off under and splash zones. You can also unearth a life-size replica of T-Rex, play in giant tree houses, or pop in and out of rabbit holes, and more. There are beautiful flower gardens at the Riverbanks Botanical Gardens, too.   

There is no time like the summer to get into the river to cool off, or enjoy a visit to the Riverbanks Zoo Botanical Gardens to see why everyone is coming here.