Golden Float

My kids were invited to a birthday party and of course I needed to tag along.  Fortunately or unfortunately they had an extra tube.  The float adventure is actually pretty low key.  From downtown Golden, one carries their tube west to the put in point and then floats down to the exit in downtown.

Tube rentals are between $20-$25/day and come with personal flotation devices (PFDs aka life jackets).  A lot of people were in River Runner Floats that can be purchased for $20 from Big5Sporting Goods 

Basically you walk about a mile with your tube to the foot bridge, put in and float your way down to the exit.  Take as many trips as you like, but one was enough for me.  It was fun, but I was only moderately prepared.  I wore water shoes and trunks.  I should have worn Teva or Scuba shoes and a rash guard would have been nice.  I also need to buy my own PFD.  I will probably size stuff at REI or Golden River Sports and then peruse the secondary markets.

NRS Ninja looks nice, retail $150.

Astral makes nice ones also.  EV-Eight is $125 retail.

Secondary markets seem to be half of retail.

Afterwards the host family did lunch and cake at the Golden Mill.  Really fun venue that was unfortunately quite crowded with the inclement weather.

When we were there, water was around 180 CFS which felt safe and fun.