Going Loopy For Tubing On The Chippewa River

It turns out that I love tubing.

The only time I’d ever gone tubing in the past was on a lazy river ride at a water park. It was OK, but a bit dull. When exploring things to do in and around Eau Claire WI though, we saw there was an opportunity to go tubing on the nearby Chippewa River which sounded a lot more fun.

I’d come across a Local Offer on AARP Rewards For Good for 50% off the cost of one tubing, kayak or canoe rental from Loopy’s Grill & Saloon in Chippewa Falls. So on a 92° Friday afternoon, we made our way to Loopy’s, stopping off at the grocery store along the way to grab some drinks to enjoy on the river.

When arriving at Loopy’s Grill & Saloon, the guys in charge of the tubing directed us to the outdoor bar. The bartender had us sign a liability release form and took our payment. Weekday tubing rentals cost $10 per person, so with our 50% off coupon for one rental, it cost us $15.

With receipts in hand, we returned to the tubing guys to get our equipment. In addition to the tubes, they gave us a mesh bag to hold our trash, along with three cords with carabiners on each end. Those were to attach our tubes to each other, the mesh bag to one tube and our floating cooler (more about that later on) to the other tube.

When renting their tubes, Loopy’s offers you a free shuttle ride three miles upriver to a boat launch on the Chippewa River.

After unloading our tubes from the trailer, we attached them together with the cords provided and set off downriver.

You’re not allowed to take glass or Styrofoam containers while tubing, but cans are fine. So with cans of beer and cider in hand, we laid back and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

I mentioned earlier that we brought a floating cooler with us. You can rent one from Loopy’s for $6 ($8 at the weekend), but we’re on a tight budget on our 50 state road trip and so save money where we can. We therefore brought along our own cool bag and grabbed a $1 inflatable from the dollar store.

I’d love to say it worked as planned, but alas not. In addition to a few beers and ciders, we’d brought along a 64oz bottle of water and filled the cool bag with ice. That made it a little too heavy for our dollar store float, so I had to balance the float on my legs as we floated along.

To make sure our phones stayed dry while tubing on the Chippewa River, we used these waterproof cases we’d bought last year ready for going snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef.

It takes a little longer unlocking our phones when using the cases, so unfortunately we missed out on getting photos of an eagle flying overhead as we floated down the river. We also saw several turtles resting on rocks while catching some rays.

Before setting off, the guys from Loopy’s let us know that the Highway 53 bridge marked the halfway point of the journey. That was helpful as it gave us a better idea of when the tubing would come to an end.

Tubing down the Chippewa River was such a fun experience. The weather was wonderful which also meant the water was a decent temperature. Watching the wildlife as we floated by with a beer in hand only served to make it even more enjoyable.

Wildlife even ended up coming along for the ride, with dragonflies choosing to mate on both of Shae’s feet.

There were several other tubers out at the same time as us, but I can imagine there are far more on summer weekends.

Sadly all good things have to come to an end. Sure enough, after almost three hours of tubing on the Chippewa River, we arrived back at Loopy’s. The water was much shallower at this point, so I got out of the tube and waded us back in.

Final Thoughts

If you ever visit Eau Claire or Chippewa Falls in Wisconsin, we highly recommend tubing the Chippewa River. With beautiful scenery and wildlife (and booze if you choose), it’s a fun and relaxing experience.

Now that I’ve been converted to tubing, we’re planning on getting our own inflatable to use in the future.

Address

We rented our tubes from Loopy’s Grill & Saloon, 10691 County Hwy X, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729. This isn’t a sponsored post (here’s why we don’t write those) and they didn’t know we’d be blogging about our experience. We simply had a great time and wanted to share that with you.