Very friendly group of people! There were 4 of us who…read morerented kayaks and paddled the Nelson Trevino Route 4th of July weekend. My husband and I had been kayaking a half dozen times but our friends had not been kayaking before. Peaceful and slow moving route until you get to the river. Carefully cross the Mississippi river and head to the back waters for the last leg of your trip. We counted 15 bald eagles and saw a couple of eagle nests. I am sure there were more that we did not see. Our trip was about 3 1/2 hours with a couple stops for snacks and picture. There was one other group of kayakers and paddle boarders that caught up with us and we passed one guy in a fishing boat who was catching bass and walleyes.

Sometimes the Carnivore likes to putter around in nature and try new things. Mrs. Carnivore found…read moreBroken Paddle, and convinced your favorite Carnivore to try sitting in a piece of plastic that genuinely looks like it is more likely to be at home upside-down than above water. Fortunately, she was right, and they are a lot less tippy than The Carnivore believed them to be. We were met by several of the staff, including our guides for the day and the "best shuttle driver ever." Everyone was super friendly and optimistic, assuring the newer folks to this mode of transportation of its fun and safety. I will at this point apologize to both the entire staff at Broken Paddle, and to you the reader for not doing a better job remembering names. My unfortunately foggy memory for names in no way takes away from the highly positive experience we had. We learned a bit about the area we would be kayaking in on the drive to the launch point, and once at said point, were given enough instruction to allow us to really get into serious trouble if we chose, but how to avoid most minor things that can get in the way of an enjoyable outing. We stopped for a swim a few times, and enjoyed a mostly peaceful and sunny journey, with plenty of wildlife and signs of even more wildlife. In this part of MN/WI, the main attraction would be bald eagles, several of which presented themselves, though The Carnivore is a little bummed that not one of them elected to land on his shoulder. Carnivore X believes that if he is to be on the water--pirate-style--he should have a proper bird perched on his shoulder, and what bird is more proper than a Bald Eagle? Mrs. Carnivore believes this to be a bad idea. At the end of the several-hour journey, we found the main channel of the mighty Missississississississississippi river. We waited until the river traffic was clear, than paddled like hell to get across. Unfortunately, a pontoon boat, two fishing boats, a cabin cruiser, and a string of barges with their tugboat were capsized in our mighty wake. Though the rescue and recovery efforts took a bit of time, everything was salvaged and thankfully no one was hurt. We then had a hands-on lesson on the evils of zebra mussles. It turns out that zebra mussels are no match for Carnivore muscles, as your favorite Carnivore peeled a bunch of them off of native mussels with his bare hands, and then executed them on the beach after finding them guilty of seditious aquatic activities. All in all, this was a very enjoyable time on the water, and The Carnivore strongly recommends it to anyone interested in finding out what a kayak is and how it works. Or to experienced kayak drivers looking for an enjoyable few hours. Or to wildlife enthusiasts willing to work a bit to get to an area they would otherwise not likely be able to partake of. Seriously, just take a day off and go!

This is my second time floating this river with Zumbro Valley Canoe Rental and I cannot say enough…read moregood things about the experience. The staff and owner were great and made sure we had a safe and enjoyable trip on the river. We saw bald eagles, giant blue herons and other wildlife.

The float from Zumbro Falls to Hammond is a beautiful, peaceful 3 hour trip in kayak or canoe. That…read moregave my rating the fourth star. The establishment itself is a 3 star because the overall condition of the kayaks. The kayaks are Old Town which when new were high quality. However, most of the kayaks here are in pretty rough shape. My wife and I had two that were ok, but several had missing peddles and/or major damage to the fiberglass. So beware, before you pay make sure your kayak meets your approval. After all you're going to be in it for 3 hours. The canoes looked in better shape. The price of $35 per kayak was reasonable and Sully gave us excellent advice on how to navigate the river.

Merrick State Park is on the Mississippi River and is a great campground to stay at. There are…read moreplenty of trails to walk on and you can walk down by the river. Great scenery to be discovered here. Be advised there is a racetrack nearby so you'll be hearing that for a few hours on weekends. It stopped around 9pm so not too bad. There are plenty of facilities on site (water hookups, sewage, bathrooms, showers, fire wood). You are not too far away from Fountain City which is a nice little town with a few bars and restaurants and about 20 minutes from Winona.

Merrick was a State Park chosen on a whim as late plans to go somewhere to get away from all the…read moreFourth of July noise that irritates our dog to no end came together. We have never been to this area and were pleasantly surprised at how awesome it was! Merrick was the perfect gateway to this area by the Mississippi that I will call a gem of the north! Our campsite was clean, quiet and proved to be one of the best, in my opinion, spots we could have happened upon. We landed on booking site 14 in the North section of Merrick. It was well shaded large site that gave us a lot of comfort as the days we were there were hot. We really got lucky and enjoyed our entire stay. Wood was close, bathrooms with showers were close so couldn't really ask for much more. We found the location to be prime to get to all the stuff we wanted to do around that area.

First time golfing here and it was a fantastic experience for my wife and me. A couple…read morehighlights: - several holes had amazing views of the river valley so much so that the couple we were golfing worh took lots of photos - the greens were challenging but in a fun way as lots of slope and very well maintained. - the course had a really relaxed vibe and fellow golfers were very friendly. - the staff was super friendly from the person washing carts who got us set up to the pro shop to the beverage cart server to the restaurant/bar where we had lunch after our round. Everyone had a smile and that definitely contributed to a fantastic atmosphere. The course had lots of terrain and mature trees but wasn't too punishing for novice golfers (90-110 scores) who only play a couple rounds per summer typically but are working to play more often. I would highly recommend making the drive during the summer and can only imagine the views in early fall with the river valley leaves. Finally it looks like the clubhouse / restaurant is set up to host events and wedding receptions with amazing views. We will be back as the views, course, and staff made the easy 1 hour drive from Eagan well worth it.

We golfed here for the first time and the views were well worth a road trip. A free pass, won at…read morethe Golf Expo in Minneapolis from Treasure Island, brought us here. A couple of switchbacks on the road bring you to a ridge overlooking the Mississippi River. The tee boxes, fairways, and greens were in great shape. The forward tees were around 4800 yards which is a bit more on the shorter side but the many narrow fairways created plenty of challenges. Staff was friendly. Carts did not have GPS. We had a great experience and would gladly return for another round.

the people working at the golf course were extremely disrespectful to my party during our golf…read moreouting. DO NOT expect to be treated like a human being while golfing at valley golf and events. you are a dollar sign to the owners and every single opportunity they will nickel and dime you. I've been to over 20 golf courses in Wisconsin and this one by far ranks worse. they entire course smells like a pig sty, the greens were unkempt, and my group got kicked off the course because one of the newer golfers in our group parked in an out of bounds area of the course. conclusion don't spend any time or money on these hooligans and golf someplace else.

Beautiful course! Whatever you do, DO NOT drive the golf cart into the tall grass. The owner will…read moretrack you down and threaten to beat your ass, throw your clubs, take your wallet, take the golf cart key and make you walk back to the clubhouse. Other than that it was a great course and in good shape. Please note I wasn't able to play the last 3 holes but I assume they are similar to the other 15.

Played 18 today, and had a blast. Got greeted by a lady that gave our group a breakdown of every…read morehole before we started our round and was super sweet to everyone(sorry I forgot your name) but very beautiful course with a healthy amount of challenging holes. Would recommend.

We played 36 holes at The Jewel and tried to squeeze in a quick lunch before the second round. With…read morea group of 8, we were cutting it close on time. We informed the server about our situation, and they promptly relayed the message to the kitchen. Despite the tight schedule, they managed to serve all our food quickly while maintaining great quality.

Came to the Marina for the first time, I got gas and needed a slip for the night. The staff was…read morevery helpful and polite. The two gas dock girls did a great job getting everything taken care off as well as Summer the manager. She made sure my boat was safe for the night while I was able to relax after a long day on the river. Overall I would say I would come back:)

Wabasha Marina Boatyard - they are fantastic. There is new ownership and I've worked with Summer…read more She is remarkably kind and knows the ropes. I keep my boat there in the summer - docks are clean and sturdy - never a problem. I have them winterize and store - never an issue and always know my boat is taken care of. Just called today to have them get ready for summer and put in the water - talked to Summer - same kind wonderful lady as last year - all is taken care of - highly recommend - Wabasha is lucky to have the location and the people there that own and run it! Kelly Mac

Amazing staff, service and food! We are from out of town and they were welcoming with a great…read moreatmosphere. We would definitely recommend this great place!

My grandson and I visited this place today for lunch. We arrived when the doors opened for lunch…read moreat 11am. Beware this place is only open during the lunch hours and then opens again for dinner at 5pm. Service was very good. This place has bar and dining room seating. We sat at the bar. Drink and meal order were taken once we were seated. The grill is an open one so you can watch the food preparation. the hamburger was hand pressed. Fries were frozen but the crinkle cut tasted good. My grandson went with the seasoned waffle fries. I will go with them the next time. Mark the owner was the cook. Very friendly and made good conversation, especially about bowling. Meal was delivered timely. the place always has interesting specials of the month. this month was shark...yes I said SHARK! I wasn't in the mood for seafood but probably should have tried it! Bowling lanes looked in great shape for the age.