Art's Outdoor Outfitters is the go-to kayak, canoe, and now paddle board, yay, rental shop in Lincoln with shuttle service. They also offer bike tours around Franconia Notch which is about less than 10 mins drive over to the state park from here. The store itself has a lot of outdoorsy camping gears for sale and for what we specifically came here for their firearm collection. From ammo to scopes, revolvers to semi-automatics, they have a decent selection of each type of gun that was nicely displayed with visible price tags and red tag deals. This place seriously has it all to get you ready and prepared for the range or to experience great outdoors in NH. Overall Service: Friendly, honest and super knowledgeable. He knew every state's gun law like the back of his own hand and walked us through the ATF form like an expert. read more

See all

Perhaps this place is strictly for rentals..? We stopped into the store thinking it was an outdoor outfitter but the store was super small and had practically nothing. The store almost appeared like it was going out of business, it was that bare.. I can't speak on their rental services, that part could be awesome. However for shopping, not so good. read more

Guy behind the counter extremely unfriendly and rude... Walked in and said "hello" to him and got nothing but a look of distain as he played his Nintendo Switch...Not once was I asked if I needed help with anything... As I left I heard him complaining to another man that joined him behind the counter about all the tourists that were in town for the Scottish festival... you would think that a store that counts on tourism would hire someone with a little less hate for tourists... read more

We just got back from kayaking with this company 4 adults 1 9 year old so much fun would definitely recommend this to anyone that is adventurous, can't wait to go again! read more

Art is a grumpy guy. I gave him the benefit of the doubt upon first meeting him. Working retail can be challenging; maybe he had a cranky customer prior to us coming into the store to get some info on kayak rentals. However, when we came back the following day, to rent said kayaks, he was just as grumpy. It was unfortunate. We were very excited, and his demeanor put a damper on our enthusiasm. While waiting for the ride to our drop off point, I took a walk around the inside of the store. There is a wall where guns are displayed. In the middle of the wall is a sign that reads "Trump that bitch." Trump's face on one side, Hilary Clinton's on the other. I told Art his sign was nasty. He said, "she should be in prison!" I completely understand that people are entitled to their opinions. However, if Art is trying to attract costumers, displaying hate speech isn't a great business model. I won't be back. read more

This is the second kayak outfitter I've tried, so I've got at least one other experience to compare to Art's. Sadly, Art did not come close to the other experience. The good: He got us there, we paddled, we returned. So, we got what we paid for. The bad: Just not a great customer experience with the folks running the show. Some items we weren't thrilled about. 1) Cash only - C'mon, we had 6 people in our party, so pulling out $200+ cash was a bit of an inconvenience (Citizens bank next door made it less so, but I'd rather have put it on my card) 2) The guys weren't all that professional while we were in the van. Bad mouthing a customer because he was late. (Hey, if they say that about them, think they might say bad things about me???) 3) They said "If you aren't at the pick up point by x time. We may not pick you up." thanks, I'll race down the river as quick as I can so I'm not stranded Art. Real relaxing trip down the river with that hanging over my head. 4) They were LATE picking us up. And the pick up spot was a total Clown Show. People pushing to get on the river while our group is trying to get out. Would have been nice if they were there to assist their customers 5) The van was in shambles. The driver even joked how the caliper was frozen and we should have seen the smoke. He said don't worry about the smell, we'll go slow and take back roads back. Overall, we kayaked the Pemi which was nice and the water was high. But these guys simply provided kayaks. They should have done so much more as a service provider. I won't use them again. read more

My wife and I rented a canoe from Arts Outfitters for a trip down the "Pemi" over the 2018 Labor Day weekend. After years of outdoor activities in multiple states, we agreed that this was by far the most miserable and unsafe experience we have ever had on a river and it was completely avoidable. Expect no friendly customer service or guidance worthy of an "outfitter" from Arts Outfitters. We are not local to NH and are not familiar with NH rivers and made the serious mistake of trusting Arts Outfitters. The truth was that the water level in the Pemi was not even enough to fully float kayaks without them getting at least partially hung up in multiple shallows and canoe rental should have been completely shut down at this time of year, period. I admit my mistake upfront of assuming our local outfitter would actively help steer us toward a good or at least decent experience. I was wrong. We did not learn this until after we had paid for our canoe and were dumped out at the river and even then were not aware of the full magnitude of the problem. In order to get off the river in one piece, we had to drag our bottomed-out canoe through 5-6 rocky shallows each 25-45 yards long all with a treacherous river bottom completely filled with large slippery river rocks. I nearly went down several times due to the footing but made it. My wife lost her footing and fell several times once jamming her hand into the rocks on the river bottom as she went down. Luckily, she only painfully hyperextended her wrist rather than fracturing it (as best we can tell as we haven't gotten an X-ray yet). We have been on a river multiple times before. What would have happened if someone brought their kids or less-capable adults in separate canoes? What if we were not as experienced or as in shape or if someone would have broken an ankle or arm out on the river in those rocks? I'm confident 10-15 year old Girl Scouts would have the common sense and skills to know that this is not OK. I'll give Art the benefit of the doubt and assume he is at least close to that same level of outdoor expertise and suggest instead that the real issue is not one of awareness but simply that Arts Outdoor Outfitters doesn't care much about their customers. If you look through prior Yelp reviews for this company, you will find that my comments are not those of a single "disgruntled customer" by any means. Conclusion: DO NOT TRUST YOUR OUTDOOR EXPERIENCE OR FAMILIES SAFETY TO THIS COMPANY. read more

Do not rent a kayak from this place unless you are a strong kayaker and are physically fit. My boyfriend and I had fun, but the families in our group did not. There are multiple points in the rapids that require walking. The rocks are slippery. I would strongly advise against bringing kids, unless they can handle the kayak themselves. The owner should acknowledge this rather than just taking their money and letting them figure it out. The customer service could have been better. They give vague directions along the river and we waited an hour at the end of the pick up point. Save yourself the trouble. read more

We've rented kayaks from Art now for about 10 years so we pretty much know the drill. You get your life vests and pay him at his shop in Lincoln then he either drops you in the water right in North Woodstock (the "upper section") or in the water at the Ledges (the "lower section") and then picks you up about 2 hours later at your destination. We've done both sections and the upper section is more rough and requires some strong paddling especially if the water is moderate (he won't let you do the upper section if the water is too high). The lower section has more flat water and is appropriate for two person kayaks or canoes with kids in them. Art is pretty matter of fact and a bit ornery and the reason that he gets a 3 out of 5 stars is that he's definitely taken money from people that have no business being in a boat. We witnessed a family with way too many small children and parents that had never paddled before being dropped into the river only to watch them dump the boats on the first rapids and have to be dragged out of the water and brought back to town. Not a good experience for them, nor us (we had to wait for them all to be rescued out of the water since we were being picked up as this family was being dropped in). Perhaps it wasn't Art's fault (maybe the family was insistent that they could do it), but the guy driving the shuttle made it sound like there isn't much 'screening' before he loads people on to the shuttle and takes them to the water. If you're an experienced paddler, this will be a fine experience for you. The only other comment is that the kayaks don't have footrests and the back rests on several of our kayaks had the straps broken so they couldn't be adjusted to the incline that we would've liked. The paddles and life vests were fine and the guy was there to pick us up right on time. The Pemi is a beautiful and peaceful ride so it's definitely worth a trip .. whether you use Art or not is up to you. As of 2010, it was $30/person for a one person kayak and $50/kayak for a 2 person. read more

Took our family here yesterday. My second time on the Pemi. Water was a bit low, but hey, that's not Art's fault. $29 for a single kayak, and just like the other review, take you out and drop you off at lower section, pick you up two hours later. We had a great time, the staff was friendly. Ok. Day 2. Returned today and did the bike rentals down Franconia Notch. The bike ride is a must for anybody up here for a while. Great for the entire family. It is 90% coasting. Stops at Profile Lake, The Basin, Flume Gorge, etc. However, we had lunch in a non descript, rocky area along the Pemi...it was like our own personal Basin. Since we did the kayaking the day before, it was only $20 per person for bikes, which included, helmets and transportation to Echo Lake, which began our journey. read more

The day was beautiful and the family and I had the last minute urge to go on a kayak trip down the scenic Pemi. Since I was unable to find the contact information for a fantastic kayak/canoe/float company in NH, we went with Art's Outdoor, unaware of what we would be subjected to. The reviews online weren't terrible, so I gave Art a call. Initially, even on the phone, I could hear how cold this man was. Very abrupt and "to the point," end call. We gathered ourselves up and headed out for our 2pm time slot. Upon arrival, we walk in to a dingy outdoors outfit where we greeted the owner, Art. "Hello, we're here for a kayak trip at 2pm," my fiancé stated. "Okay," stated Art. We stared at each other momentarily, surprised at the rudeness we were greeted with. Our midwestern hospitality ways cringing inside. He then proceeded to give us the "run down." My mother and I signed waivers, we were ready to go. Shortly before the buses arrived, Art and one of his workers proceeded to get into a very loud argument right in front of us and another family. Running about 15 minutes behind schedule, Colleen and Steve come in, clearly unorganized but ready to get everyone on the buses. We load up, not thinking too much about our interaction with the owner. Once at our destination, we can see that Steve is aggravated. He seemed upset that Colleen couldn't help more with unloading, considering her broken hand which was in a cast, but she certainly was trying her best and for the record was a lovely person who we very much enjoyed. Our group, and the other families who had joined, help unload all the canoes and kayaks, complaint free. Steve on the other hand, was becoming increasingly ticked off. He even had the audacity to state that all Art wanted was money and didn't care about the safety of those who wanted to canoe. The unprofessionalism at this point was unreal, but we proceeded forward. Everyone gathered what we needed and headed down to the launch point, where we were then subjected to a 10 minute scare of how crazy this river is. One family was so traumatized by what we were told, including but not limited to, rapids that were deadly, getting trapped under trees that were "like bars on a jail cell," and that they had put danger signs up but the locals HATE tourists so they take them, that they decided to go to Mirror Lake instead, indefinitely ruining their trip without an offer of a refund. Eventually, we were allowed to take off in our kayaks and the river was totally fine. The danger signs that we did see were dinky and hard too see, and the dangers were hardly there at all. We made it to the end point where we were greeted by passive aggressive Steve and wonderful Colleen. He was initially so so with us, considering that he "wasn't worried about our group." Shortly thereafter, the kind family behind us arrived in their canoe where Steve promptly dumped the poor father out of the canoe into the water. Steve even looked down at him and asked "Are you having fun yet?" Where the obviously irritated dad remarked back, "Not lately," to which Steve boisterously laughed at. As we were waiting on the rest of the kayakers, Steve was becoming increasingly aggravated by how "slow" the parties behind us were going. Once the knowledge of the couple behind us having a picnic reached Steve's ears, it was as if the end of the world was occurring. Although, there is absolutely no time limit on this sort of thing at all. Since we did have a full van load, Colleen wanted to go ahead and get us back in a timely manner, which was very considerate of her even though we were totally fine with waiting. We were not in a hurry at all. She also needed to pick up the family that Steve had scared off, from Mirror Lake so we totally understand the common sense that she was utilizing. Because of this though, some kayaks needed to be taken off to make room for that families kayaks that they had taken. Steve appeared to have a melt down as he yelled at his coworker in front of customers, ripped off kayaks sporadically, one of which hit my mother in the leg, no excuse me, not even a move over. My fiancé and the dad that he had ungraciously dumped from his canoe asked if he needed any help loading those kayaks onto his trailer, to which he rudely responded, "no, just go." Considering his attitude, you didn't need to ask us twice and we were off with Colleen. Thankful now to be in her presence, we headed to pick up the family and back up to the outdoors shop. Upon our arrival back at the outdoors shop, we and a few others made a formal complaint with the owner, Art. Who's excuse for Steve's atrocious behavior was that his back was hurting. The lack of customer service was appalling. He did offers us vouchers for another trip, but we were so turned off by what had transpired that we kindly declined. Never to come back. Never to recommend. read more

Rented two kayaks Labor Day Weekend. I have kayayed on the Pemi many times, and done this exact excursion several times as well. The only reason for this less than stellar review is that the river was so low we ended up having to walk while pulling the kayaks about 80% of the way. For myself and friend who are in our late 20-s and physically able individuals, this was annoying more than anything to get in and out every 10 minutes. For someone who is less agile, and even less stable on slippery rocks, I fear it would be a very bad combination. I understand businesses are hurting in COVID times, but they should have warned us that the river was that low and we would be walking more than paddling. read more

Horrible service from beginning to end. They rented us kayaks eve though the water level in the river was so low that we had to pull out kayaks half of the way. Nobody said anything to us to warn us how miserable the trip will be. If we knew, we wouldn't go. In addition to extra time because we had to carry our kayaks, we had an issue with one of the kayaks and therefore it took us longer to get to our pick up destination. There was nobody there waiting for us, we called the owner 4 times, left messages and waited for about an hour. The owner finally showed up, swearing at us, throwing kayaks on the van in anger. Didn't even ask us what happened and we are all ok. We have rented kayaks at many places before and have never experienced this lack of customer service. I wish I read other reviews before choosing this place because it is clear that other people had similar experiences. read more

Stopped in to see what they had for ammo and magazines. I said hi and politely asked if he had used AR mags because I was looking for pre-ban mags. He looks at me and says "there's no such thing as pre-ban" with an attitude of go F yourself. Told him I was from mass and needed used mags and he said I don't care. I get it, it's NH and you don't have restrictions up there. Awesome, good for you. But you decided to open a store in literally the tourist capital of NH, what did you expect? Saying you don't know what preban is doesn't make you look cool or old school, the 1994 Assault Weapons ban was federal and covered NH too. You just look like an idiot who doesn't want my business, so I went to the shop in Wentworth and spent plenty of cash with a business that wanted to sell stuff. He had a bunch of handwritten signs up saying he doesn't care what guns you have or where your from. Gotta wonder how the place is still in business. read more

I stopped in and asked about taking out two kayaks and a canoe the next day. The guy at the desk seemed annoyed we were there he was rude enough that my daughter went to the car. He gave me times to head out and I was thinking out loud repeating my options and he snapped at me repeating the departure times. If I had any doubts about his rudeness this made it very clear. I told him I needed to discuss the times with my daughters and went out to the car and told the girls I would look for another place as I did not trust this to be a good experience if this is how they treat potential customers. With Google and Yelp it's easy to find more affordable and polite options very nearby the advantages of that storefront is not so great to afford that attitude. read more

Don't expect any pleasantries from Art and his staff. None of them are friendly and they don't have a clue about customer service. They give you a life jacket and very little instruction before sending you down the river. We have used this service about 4 times and find them to be very rude. This last trip the driver argued with some of us about the conditions of the river and basically told one lady to shut up or he would leave us to fend for ourselves getting back. One time my 13 year old daughter and my husband towed a couple of abandoned kayaks from the previous day. I was half hoping they would aknowledge them with a free pass for another day but all they got was thanks for saving them a trip on the river to get the kayaks. We are done dealing with this oufit! read more

We love kayaking the Pemi, and Arts has always been good to us! Every time we are in the area, we do a day out on the river. Arts outdoor is very accommodating and we always have a fantastic time! read more

We did a last minute kayak trip for a family of 5 and we were taken care of immediately. Art and his team are very friendly and knowledgeable, and our trip was fantastic. Each of us got out own single kayaks and we took a 6 mile trip down the river. They had cold water and hot dogs waiting for us! Highly recommended. They also rent bikes. Very conveniently located on Main St I'm Lincoln. read more

We had a good time on the Pemi. First time going through Outdoor Outfitters. Not bad for a short run. Not a fan of having to be at the pick up at a certain time. Would of liked more time on the river. Water levels were high. read more

Very easy to book. Takes you down the river and drops you off. We kayaked 6 miles where they picked us up. It was gorgeous views. A few rough patches but very fun. The guy who drives the van is very nice and fun to talk to. They gave us hot dogs for lunch when we got back. Overall a great experience. They only accept cash though so keep that in mind. read more

Just had a couple of nice family adventures with Art's Outdoor Outfitters. Decided to take the family on a kayak trip while we visited the White Mountains. We have two boys, 8 & 9, who've never been on a river. Turned out to be a great time. Some spots in the river were low, but so.....they learned how to get themselves out of a rut if need be. We signed up for the bike trip the following day through Franconia Notch and so glad we did. It was downhill most of the way, completely paved, amazing scenery and even found spots for ice cream, lunch, site seeing etc. We chose the morning time slot and there was no pressure to get the bikes back until they closed at 5. We will definitely do both trips again when we return. Art and his crew were friendly and really wanted us to have an enjoyable time. One of the girls gave us some great 'local' info which turned the 3rd day into another new memorable adventure. Fun! Do it! read more

So we always rent our kayaks out of North Conway using Northern Extreme. Have been doing that for years. They are awesome but thought not feeling the ride from Lincoln to N.Conway so thought we would give this place a try. When we went in to inquire we were met by Art. He was so rude and would give us one word answers to the few questions we had. I felt like saying "sorry if we're bothering you". We're making the ride over to North Conway. read more

If the water is low, do NOT go (kayaking that is). The staff was friendly enough, but it seems that making a buck is more important than having satisfied customers. Kayaks rented for $30 each. We were told before we left that Pemi river levels were lower than normal and that we might have to carry the kayaks through the first couple of shallow areas. Boy was this an understatement. My wife, 10 year old daughter and I had to drag our kayaks over more than a dozen shallow rocky areas of the river. Not just the first mile but the entire 6 or 7! A normal enjoyable 3 hour paddle became 4+ hours of misery. We have many bruises from falling on slippery rocks while portaging. The price was cheap, but with the water so low I can't see how anyone would possibly enjoy this, not to mention the possibility of actually getting injured from slipping. Beware. Granted, if the water was at normal levels this may have been perfectly safe and enjoyable. I find it disturbing for their lack of conscience and disregard for customers. There were no questions why it took us an extra hour to reach our pick up point. It was like they sensed our extreme disappointment but didn't care to ask. They knew the water levels were low but they went on renting kayaks anyway. Once we were driven back to the office, another group was being loaded up including a 65 year old grandma and a few young kids. Good luck. read more

The day started out with owner overbooking bikes. Workers were friendly, but when they asked owner to come in for help over booking, he refused. 1 family left... they were the lucky ones. We got 2 twisted bikes that worked when we started, but by the end barely worked. We had a trailer and a tag along on the bikes and with no gears that worked. Every time we hit the smallest hill we had to walk the bikes. It wasn't worth wasting a $100 dollars on this place. read more

The whole experience was great, but like some of the other complaints we were told to be at the end by 12:30 and most of us got there earlier. Since we didn't know what time it was we rushed down the river and didn't stop to relax much or swim till the end. Once at the end we had to wait till 1-1:15pm till they finally picked us up. So we were just sitting for awhile waiting to be picked up. Other than that the kayaking was a blast. read more

Went kayaking with my boyfriend and another couple this past weekend. Had a great time and the staff was friendly and personable. Water level was a bit low, but well worth the money. Highly recommend this trip and company... Lisa. read more

Kayaked at Arts Outdoor Outfitters this past week with my family, daughters aged 10 and 13 and my son 16 along with my wife. Had a great time, very courteous shuttle driver, and reasonably priced. Lots of fun and we will be back next summer, for sure. Very friendly operation.... read more

Much like Ross K said, the water is too low to kayak and I would not recommend this for young children or the elderly. It is not a fun experience if the water is too low. We spent most of our time pushing the kayak than floating. The shuttle was 40 minutes late when we were told they would be there in 10 minutes (after already waiting 30 minutes). The shuttle was dangerously overcrowded 18 adults when it is only supposed to carry 10. If we were to do it again we would go with another company that regularly runs a shuttle every 30 minutes. read more

Please be careful renting Kayaks from here for river trips. They do not care about your experience, just your money. If you are a very experienced kayaker, they are OK for the money, kind of rude but hey. IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE MUCH RIVER KAYAKING, do NOT rent from them. They will drop you off, with little or no direction, even in the spring when the water is high, faster, full of new rocks or downed trees. Every year, we grab at least one group from the water, usually just injured pride. Last weekend, two young men with little English were terrified and severely hypothermic, they didn't even know how to paddle, or swim, let alone steer safely around obstacles. When we hauled their boats back for them, after chasing them down river, flipping them, searching for the paddles etc...the driver for Art's just said,' oh good', when we asked about the two guys they sent out there, they just replied that 'they said they knew how to paddle'. The thing is, I don't think so, after spending some time rescuing them from a root ball on the far side of the river, I learned that they have very few English words. Hmmm....You are better off with the other kayak renters, Outback Kayak http://www.outbackkayak.org/ These guys are not even letting people go down until next week when the river is less tricky!!!! read more

Awesome day on the river thanks to meeting a wonderful couple who helped me when I cap sized. This was my first time kayaking but thankfully I was with my sister who has done it several times. She also warned me that the guys who work at the place are not friendly at all. I found out pretty quickly that she was correct. Upon our arrival at the river we were told that we would be picked up at 2:30 and would wait only until 3:15 for us, after that time we would need to wait for the next scheduled pick up and would need to see if there is room for us at that time. How the heck do you know what time it is on the river! Not everyone has a water proof watch or cell phone. What really bothered me was the fact that you had to climb into the van which is quite high from the ground. I suggested to the driver that he get a step stool to help us "over 50" folk to help get in and out easier. He said that is the first time in his 15 year history that he has heard such a thing but in his next breath he said he mentioned it to the owner once and the owner said if they can't get in the van they can't go. A few minutes after that another woman struggled to climb into the van and she fell backwards luckily into her husband's arms. She then suggested the same thing I did to the driver who proceeded to tell her if he hears another word from her he was going to walk away from the van and no one would have a ride back. RUDE!!!! I could go on but my time is a bit more valuable to waist on this. If customer service is important to you, think twice before being outfitted with this Outfit!! read more