Low water forces early closure of Charlie's Tubing on Otter Tail River

Charlie’s Tubing near Detroit Lakes closed early for the season after low water on the Otter Tail River left its tubing route too shallow to run. Owner Charlie Pihlaja said the river was about 1 foot deep, and the business posted on Facebook Sunday that it would be its last day of the season.

The shutdown lands in the heart of a summer economy that leans on river traffic, weekend visitors and day trips off Highway 34. For Otter Tail County, the loss is bigger than one attraction closing early. Tubing trips feed spending at nearby restaurants, bait shops, campgrounds and other businesses that depend on warm-weather recreation and travelers staying longer in the area.

The Otter Tail River is also a state water trail for paddlers, so low water affects more than one use of the river. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says the Otter Tail River Watershed covers about 1,952 square miles in west-central Minnesota, a scale that underscores how water conditions in one stretch can ripple through recreation across the region.

This was not the first summer Charlie’s Tubing has been forced to cut back because of river conditions. In August 2021, the business was open only 7 days that summer amid drought conditions, and Pihlaja said then, “You could walk the whole river without getting wet right now.” That same report said the Pihlaja family had been operating Charlie’s Tubing for more than 30 years.

The early shutdown raises the question local businesses along the Otter Tail River keep confronting: whether low-water summers are becoming a one-off weather problem or a more persistent pattern that could shorten the season and trim revenue. For a tourism corridor that relies on clear water, steady flow and weekend crowds, a river down to roughly a foot deep can turn a busy stretch of summer into an early end date.