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River's Edge Kayak and Canoe Trips
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- Good for Kids:
- Yes
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- 18 reviews
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13 reviews for River's Edge Kayak and Canoe Trips
I'm sitting in front of the flat screen watching the game with my cheetos, beer, and sriracha sauce.
My bf enters the livingroom and blocks my view of the TV.
He starts whining,"You never want to do anything. All you ever want to do is watch TV and eat cheetos with that red stuff. Don't you love me? Don't you want to spend time with me?"
I reply, "Fine. Let's go kayaking."
River's Edge Kayak and Canoe Trips is only about roughly 1 hour north of San Francisco in Healdsburg.
The staff is friendly and helpful. The equipment is in good condition.
The river itself is Class I + current, so you can relax all the way through.
We decided to do the single person kayaks to tease each other into a race.
The river is shallow in some areas, so make sure you bring aqua shoes or something like Teva sandals to get out and pull your kayak through the shallow parts.
Note: The river might not be shallow in early spring and when we have a very wet winter. We were on the river late in the season.
Pack a lunch to eat on the side of the river. Total chill!
I was happy and so was the boyfriend.
OVERALL: River's Edge offers half day, full day, and even a two day trip. They provide basic equipment and make arrangements for drop off and pick up. A very relaxing river to float down with friends or the significant other.
Pricing:
Full Day Half Day Hourly
Canoe $85/canoe $60/canoe $15/canoe
Kayak $55/Kayak $35/Kayak $15/Kayak
Double Kayak $85/Kayak $60/Kayak $15/kayak
P.S. A great part of the story portion (99.5%) has been embellished. I would never eat cheetos with sriracha sauce! *ahem*
Awesome for large groups! Everyone that works for River's Edge is super nice and really helpful. I had such an amazing day and the price is great! Very highly recommended!
Great trip down the river with this group. Great time and would use them again for sure. Only comment is when you do arrive at the end of trip be prepared to wait for other groups. Can be tiring as it is a long paddle down the river. However, it is so worth it having great inflatable boats verses the metal kind. Will do this trip again with the kids and dogs would love the trip too!
Took a canoe ride down the ol' Russian River and had a GREAT time! The staff was AMAZING. They helped us with everything! Prices we decent and it couldn't of gone smoother! If you are ready to see the Russian River, do the full day event from these guys, ITS GREAT!
We did just a half day canoe trip while we were in the area. The staff were very helpful in telling us about the River and what to expect. It was a great relaxing ride down the Russian River, something I would absolutely recommend.
Great fun.
We went on Burke's section of the river last year and wanted to try a different section this year.
The two trips were very similar. You paddle downstream for about 10 miles to a pickup point where an old school bus returns you back to the start point. A leisurely pace with stops for lunch should get you downstream in about 6 hours.
The Burke's trip was more crowded and the river was slower and wider with less sharp turns to navigate. I was surprised at how fast and narrow some parts of the River's Edge section was. If you panic you will flip the canoe. Make sure everything is tied down and don't bring any expensive electronics equipment. Fortunately, the water is very shallow in most parts.
River's Edge was the more expensive of the two outfits but seemed to be more laidback and will allow small dogs and alcohol.
I would do either trip again.
Fantastic place. AWESOME service (the people here are so friendly), good prices.
Will definitely come back soon.
What a fun day we had! River's Edge made it easy for us to seamlessly enjoy our day on the river without worrying about anything. The staff are super friendly and laid-back.
We did the half-day trip. They drove us 5 miles up the Russian river and dropped us on a beach. After a very quick tutorial (read: have you guys canoed before? us: yes Ok, good, have fun).
We meandered down the river, which was flowing quite nicely--to the point where we hardly had to paddle. But, there were some fast little parts over mini-whitewater that were great fun. I agree with Bill E.'s review--it would have been helpful if they warned us about the shallow parts and the best ways to get through it. Basically, we just scraped along the rocks until we could push ourselves past it--and laughed the whole time.
I would absolutely take another tour with them--hopefully a longer one.
We did two of the trips offered by River's Edge Kayak - The full day trip starting at Alexander Valley campground and the half day trip starting at Rio Lindo.
Both are nice stretches of Russian River.
Very friendly and helpful service. On the longer trip, during the weekend, one of their guides was waiting halfway to check on folks as they passed by to make sure everything was OK.
More details at our blog here:
http://campbell95008.b...
We would recommend the longer course only if you have river kayaking experience as you need to read the river and respond to sharp turns to avoid getting grounded or worse land up in a tree. We were not fast enough with our navigation at one turn and took a dip in the water. Cannot emphasize how important it is to wear your PFD and ensure your valuables are in a dry bag.
Some of the best memories from the trip were to see turtles basking in the sun and schools of salmon swimming in the shallow river right next to you.
Very helpful and friendly staff. We had made reservations a few weeks ahead of our trip, for the longer trip and they called a few days before we were due to arrive to let us know the water level was really low and we'd probably do better with a shorter (and cheaper) trip. That kind of customer service is really appreciated.
The staff at River's Edge were super friendly and helpful - My group rented a canoe from them and also took our own inflatable kayak out, and the staff was really nice about helping with the kayak before and after the trip. Their friendliness makes me really want to do business with them again in the future!
However, the water level was way too low to be going out on the river when we went (though of course the current drought is not River's Edge's fault) and we were not warned about it at all. That stretch of the river seems like it would be fun at a higher water level, but as it was, we were continually having to get out of our boats and carry them to parts of the river that were deeper - it was often too shallow to stay in the boats and push them to deeper parts, we HAD to get out and carry them. In many parts of the river, we could stand in the middle of the river in water that was ankle deep, if that. It was very worrisome at the time to have the inflatable be continually dragging along the bottom of the river (though it wasn't harmed at all in the end - yay for Advanced Elements' rugged inflatable kayaks).
And yes, I'll definitely second Bill E.'s review below: when the water level is low, make sure to wait for the boat in front of you to clear any fast spots before you go in - you never know where they might get stuck in a shallow spot and a second boat running into a stuck boat is a great way to capsize one of them, even in class 1 rapids (speaking from experience, of course).
Basically, I'd consider going back, but only much earlier in the season.
They were very friendly, helpful and down to earth. The river wasn't quite as high as we would have liked, but low rainfall isn't their fault -- and they did warn us.
I dropped one star off only because I felt they could have maybe warned us a little more about what that lower river flow would mean in terms of navigating our canoes. So I'll warn you now -- keep *lots* of extra room between yourself and other canoes *at all times*. Especially as you approach fast spots and turns.
Still, I'm certain I'll visit and rent from these folks again. Overall, it was fantastic experience.
It's all about having fun and enjoying the river - River's edge will do whatever it can to make your day enjoyable. When you arrive, you first park your car outside the office in their parking lot. If you come in two separate vehicles, you will be asked to park one right behind the other to save space for other folks - the lot isn't that big. You will fill-out a waiver of liability form, and leave your car keys (in case they have to move your car for some reason). Lollie is the owner and is very hands on - she'll be there to greet you and answer any questions you have. You'll board a bus and be driven to a a drop off point, where your kayak or canoe will be waiting. If you already have some experience with your chosen mode of transporation, you basically just grab a life vest and go. If you would like some instruction, there is a person there at the drop off point who is great for advice. But really, you probably won't need to much of it. The times we have gone, the river has been low and the current slow, so even when someone goes into the bushes or the side of the river by accident, it's no big deal to get out. We've always rented a canoe, into which we place a regular cooler, a bag with sunscreen and towels, and added two kids under the age of 10. No problem at all to paddle and control. And we've canoed maybe a total of eight times in our lives. One item to note - the shorter, half-day trip (called "the Rio") finishes right where you parked your car, so there is no pick up at the end - you just walk to your car. If you take the longer all day trip, you have the option of ending where you parked your car, or not quite so far down the river, at the same drop-off point where the half-day trip launches. Also, that last mile or so near the River's Edge office is like riding on a lake - very little or no current, so you will need to paddle. The wind kicked up in the late afternoon when we went last year, so we were paddling into the wind. Not a huge deal, but it was for us, as we were trying to get back to the office before the 6pm deadline to return our canoe. Got a great workout, though! When you are on the river, lot's and lot's of places to swim, park your canoe for a picnic, etc.. It's really a blast and something we look forward to every year. Lollie and the gang do a great job!
