With the restrictions from the coronavirus impacting many businesses, the Congareee River has been a sanctuary for those who want to get outdoors. The traffic has been high on the river.

Michael Mayo, of Palmetto Outdoor Center, said his business has been 100 percent normal this summer. The river outfitter follows all COVID safety protocols.

“We put 500 in one day,” said Mayo. That means that he booked 500 tube trips down the river. “We did not have a drop-off in volume this summer.” The added free parking spaces by the City of West Columbia have been beneficial for use of the river, Mayo also said.

The last weekend of August has passed, and now Palmetto Outdoor Center will adjust its hours. Trips are still available, but not as many.

The trips are purchased at the West Columbia Riverwalk, and tubers are shuttled over to a launch site in Columbia. Mayo said Charlotte, and other parts of North Carolina, are the areas from which many tubers come.