Sunny and warm temperatures Wednesday have business owners gearing up for a busy Memorial Day weekend on the water.
Farmington River Tubing in New Hartford is expecting crowds this weekend and this summer and is hoping for good weather.
“Everything is favorable right now, the water is flowing well and the water temperature is already up in the 60s, so it should be a great opening weekend,” owner Jeremy Haraden said.
Haraden was busy Wednesday filling tubes that will soon fill the Farmington River, and he's hopeful the weather this weekend will be better than last year's.
“A typical opening weekend is usually cloudy, rainy, or has bad weather, so [we get] Probably about 12 [people]”With weather like this, it could be in the hundreds,” he said.
Last summer was difficult for business due to the rainy weather.
“We had so much water because of all the rain, the river was flooding and we couldn't open,” Halladen said. “There were many closed days and there was a lot of dissatisfaction among employees because there were no business hours. Business was bad last year.”
The business has been run by his family for 35 years, they've seen it all and are hopeful this season will be peaceful.
“Hopefully I can make up for that this year,” he said.
Down the river, it's another great season for canoeing and kayaking in Collinsville. The business also offers canoes, kayaks, and even bicycles for riding the rail trail.
Employee Ben Warner said: “It's great to have such great weather and we know we'll be able to get a lot of happy people in the water.” “Wet days obviously slow it down a little bit, but what's good about the dam here is things are really stable. So the water levels are high all year round and there are no rapids or flows here.”
Even though it was a Wednesday, it was crowded with people renting equipment for going out on the river.
“The river had a nice flow,” Warner said. “It's quiet, but there's plenty of space and peace and quiet to get out and enjoy the outdoors.”
