JIM THORPE, Pa. — Open water, rapids, and fresh air along the Lehigh River -- what better way to escape the city and practice some seasonal social distancing.
"The view's great. It's absolutely beautiful. Fresh air, it's nice to get out in the water," said Katelyn Powell of Philadelphia, an annual customer of Pocono White Water, a rafting outfitter near Jim Thorpe.
But still, employees at Pocono White Water say they are operating at 65 percent of their normal capacity.
They're allowed to operate at 75 percent, but employees tell Newswatch 16 they feel safer bussing rafters to their pick-up and drop-off locations with fewer people.
"We're requiring groups of 4 or more for a booking, so you're in the raft with only your party. We won't put you with anyone else. We are also doing extra sanitation of our busses, our picnic tables pretty much all common areas," said Sierra Fogal of Pocono White Water.
The fourth of July weekend brought hundreds to the river.
Upwards of 200 rafters were booked for Monday.
Over the holiday weekend, employees there say they did have to turn some walk-in customers away.
With the heatwave expected to last through most of the week, employees say if you want to go rafting, make sure you make a reservation.
"We have a dam release this upcoming weekend," said Fogal. "We are filling up very fast. Again, we operate in [The Lehigh Gorge] State Park, so we have an agreement with the park and what we need to do to try and prevent the spread of COVID, which means we are running less people."