Over the past week, which included the Fourth of July holiday, the Yampa River has overflowed with tubers enjoying the waterway that snakes through town. With tunes blaring and tubes connected together to create a floating party barge, there were times when the Yampa took on a spring break-like vibe.

Tubing on the river has become a favorite summer pastime for visitors and locals, and we don’t think there’s much that can be done to keep people off the river. But we do believe the city and other groups dedicated to “respecting the Yampa” should continue to look for ways to mitigate and manage the challenges created by so many people recreating on the river during summer weekends.

Basic recreational use of the river is managed through the city’s Yampa River Management Plan, which attempts to control use of the river at “sustainable levels that protect the health of the river.” Commercial tubing is permitted from Fifth Street to the 13th Street bridge, and the city recommends that private tubers put-in at Fetcher Pond and exit the river at the Steamboat Springs Transit Center parking lot.

Read more at Steamboat Today.