An Oregon outfitter is using street-legal electric golf carts to move summer floaters between the Deschutes River and their cars, offering a smaller, simpler alternative to battling crowded parking lots.
Anyone who has tried to park near a popular river on a hot summer afternoon knows the float itself may be relaxing, but getting there can feel like a competitive sport.
In Bend, Oregon, Sun Country Tours has come up with another option: leave the car behind and let an electric golf cart handle the traffic.
The outfitter is operating a shuttle service between the Mt. Bachelor park and ride lot on Columbia Avenue and Riverbend Park, where guests begin their float on the Deschutes River. After roughly three hours on the water, riders are collected at Drake Park and returned to their vehicles.
Sun Country Tours operates three street-legal electric golf carts, each capable of carrying five passengers. Tubes ride along, too, secured to the carts for the trip to the river.
The service costs $28 per person and includes both a tube rental and transportation. For families, groups or anyone who would rather not circle a crowded parking area while holding an inflatable tube the size of a small sofa, the appeal is fairly obvious.
Operational Supervisor Hannah Bolger, who has earned the unofficial title “Tube Queen,” said congested streets surrounding the river have become increasingly difficult during the busiest summer days.
The smaller size of the carts gives the company an advantage. They can maneuver through tight areas near Columbia Street and Drake Park without requiring the space needed for a traditional shuttle bus and trailer.
Once guests arrive at Riverbend Park, they are given safety information before heading out. The three-hour rental window leaves enough time for families to stop at the Bend Whitewater Park, watch surfers or simply move along without feeling rushed. Riders who reach Drake Park early can call the phone number printed on their wristbands, while carts make regular pickup rotations on slower days.
Guests can also request an earlier collection at McKay Park.
Sun Country Tours is not the only operation moving river users around Bend. Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe Company offers a bus-and-trailer service at the same $28 price, while Cascades East Transit operates a lower-cost river shuttle for people bringing their own tubes.
The golf carts, however, add something different to the mix. They are compact, electric and particularly well suited to squeezing through areas where summer congestion can quickly turn a laid-back afternoon into a parking-lot standoff.
Bolger said the company hopes to add more carts next year.
Considering how many people visit Bend specifically to enjoy the river, reducing the amount of time they spend staring at brake lights instead is probably not a hard sell.
