River tubing near Minnetonka

River's Edge Apple River Campground

River's Edge has been running tube trips on the Apple River since the early 1970s and is the closest thing here to an all day operation: the fee covers the tube, a private landing and the bus back, and you pay again each time you re-float. The float itself runs about three and a half miles. There is no reservation system, so summer Saturdays mean waiting in line, and this is the Apple River, which draws a rowdier crowd than the Minnesota rivers on this list. Parking costs extra Friday through Sunday and children under five are not allowed on the water.

Apple River Family Campground

A quieter, family first neighbour on the same stretch of the Apple River, run as part of a large Somerset campground. Weekend trips are shuttled to a drop off point and end back at the campground's Capone Deck, where you return the tubes. The catch is the weekday policy: Sunday through Thursday they only run trips for groups of four or more, so a midweek pair should look elsewhere. Water shoes are required, glass and styrofoam are banned on the river, and trips are cancelled when the forecast shows a 60 percent chance of bad weather.

Welch Mill Canoeing, Tubing & Kayaking

The Cannon River institution, family owned since 1972 and sitting in the tiny village of Welch. You choose between a short beginner float and a longer scenic one, and either way a bus takes you upstream and you drift back to the car. Two things catch people out: there is no reservation system for tubing unless your group is 25 or more, and they take cash only, no cards or cheques, plus a driver's licence held as a deposit. Almost every parking lot in Welch is private, so use theirs.

Country Camping Tent & RV Park

The Rum River option, and the easiest one to reach from the north metro. It is based at a campground with a pool and a splash pad, so the float can be one part of a longer day. Unlike most places here it runs on bookings rather than queues, and Saturdays are reserved for registered campers, which leaves Sunday through Friday for day visitors. Buses leave on the hour on weekdays and every half hour at weekends, the walk back from the landing is about a quarter mile, and life jackets are not supplied for tubing, so bring your own if you want one.

Ma's Irvington Campground & Rentals

A small campground on the Red Cedar River a mile south of Menomonie, and the only place on this list that offers a genuine choice of trip length: a shorter run from the camp down to Downsville, or a half day float that starts in town. It is the most informal operation here. Weekend rentals are drop in from 10am with the last pick up at 6:30pm, weekdays are by appointment, and there is a forty dollar minimum per trip, so one person on their own pays for more than one tube. Kayaks, canoes and inflatable trackers run the same routes.

Zumbro River Ratz

A small family run outfit in Millville with one trip on offer: six miles of the Zumbro from Hammond back down to their landing, with a free ride upriver for anyone who rents a tube. It is the plainest operation on this list. Cash only, no lift for your own tubes, no rubbish service, and they open only in June, July and August when the river is behaving. In return you get the longest stretch of water here and, being furthest from the metro, usually the quietest.

Two Rivers Campground & Tubing

A big family campground where the Platte meets the Mississippi at Royalton, and the strictest of these places about behaviour: they say plainly that they do not tolerate drunkenness, children must be five years old and 42 inches tall, and you may not bring your own tube at all, since only their renters may use the private landing. The fee covers the tube, the shuttle and that landing. Non floaters get a pool, mini golf, an arcade and a river beach. It is the farthest north of these options, and low water closes the tubing in dry summers.