SOUTH CHINA — A couple of years ago, when the Camden Snow Bowl’s snow tube hill closed, there were a lot of sad faces in the Midcoast. But, a little gem has cropped up on the snowy hills of South China that will turn the sads into glads again. GO Tubing began in 2013, started by Kevin Gower, who runs several snow tube lanes on his property.

With a website and Facebook presence, they’re drawing people from all over Maine. “I grew up next door to this hill and we used to slide down the hills all the time,” he said.

Lazy people are really going to love this place because it offers a tube lift, which pulls you up a little alley all the way up the hill, so you don’t have to trudge up with your tube every time. (Although you can burn 200-300 calories per half hour if you choose to walk up).

“We try to give people a two-and-a-half-hour session, which is plenty of time,” said Gower. At $18 per session, people actually have to book a certain time online (it’s not a show-up-and-go kind of place). He has 115 tubes and says it gets very busy on the weekends.

Given that school vacation is going to explode with chitlins all over the hill starting Monday, Feb. 15, Gower suggests that the best times for Valentine’s Day couples would be on the weekend at 9 a.m. (when it’s the least busy) or at 6 p.m. (when the trails get even slicker after the sun goes down). Even if you’re not a couple, this Cheap Date is perfect for happy singles who prefer bombing down a hill as opposed to getting bombed on anti-Valentine’s Day.

The temperatures on Sunday are predicted to be breezy and frigid, with a high of 15 degrees Fahrenheit, so after all of those tubing hijinks, you’re due for a cozy warm up.

The Green Bean Coffee Shop is about 10 minutes away from the GO Tubing trails in South China and according to owner Nancy Rodrigue, they’ll be open Saturday (unfortunately not Sunday) until 3 p.m. and will be offering heart shaped donuts, cookies, brownies and hot chocolate. Click for directions.

However, nothin’s finah than The China Dine-ah, another local favorite down the road apiece, open on Sunday. Imagine having a hot chocolate or sharing their signature cream puff, a dessert for two split and filled with creamy vanilla pudding and topped with hot fudge or filled with your choice of ice cream and topped with hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry. Click here for directions

Better get humping up that hill each time if you go the cream puff route. Have a majestic Valentine’s Day.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com