We rented a canoe and opted for the 5-mile trip, although we arrived later in the day and had to settle for the 1:30 trip. Despite the timing, it was incredibly peaceful as the sounds of traffic faded away, leaving only the symphony of nature - birds, animals, and plenty of sightings of alligators and turtles. read more

Awesome time, great prices. Very friendly staff. I would recommend this place to any new kayakers, almost no current and a nice breeze.

My husband has wanted to go "megalodon" shark tooth hunting for years...so we finally did it! Arcadia, Fl is 50 miles east of Sarasota, a fresh water river. BUT 2.5 million years ago when Florida was covered by the ocean, sharks swam here...hence the teeth now in fresh water! The outpost has lots of canoes though today we were the only ones on the river; church groups and scouts come here. We canoed 5 miles and it reminded me how much I like canoeing! We rented a floating shifter/ shovel-Bruce found 11 small shark teeth and a few fossils. I was surprised how many down trees there were. The only wildlife we saw was birds-lots of blue heron, green heron and osprey. People have and do find megalodon teeth here but not us! It is the lure of finding a big one that brings people regularly! read more

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We always enjoy a family trip canoeing down Peace River, digging for fossils and Shark teeth, and watching the birds and wildlife, including lots of alligators! We bring a picnic and stop along the way for lunch. A casual 4 hours or so for a relaxing and peaceful day with the family! You can choose the 5 mile or the 8 mile, we do the 5. They bus you up stream. Then you canoe back to the Outpost, so no paddling upstream! Very helpful and friendly staff. I don't bring my wallet on the trip, so I have to remember next time to bring a tip for the bus driver, so sorry! read more

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unsafe, poorly managed Peace River is much too shallow at this time, for safe kayaking. alligator infested, debris, unnavigable in many parts. Diane and Old Guy driver are well aware of the situation, and should not be renting to novices. Dangerous! There are plenty of better options than this vendor. PS: it's time for old guy to retire....spent the ride to launch point talking about how much he "hates" his job. read more

Canoe Outpost-Peace River - Poor conditions for paddling. - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Arcadia, Florida

Canoe Outpost-Peace River is a great place to rent a canoe for the day or longer. There a many options and nights so I recommend checking the website or give the outpost a call.. they are very helpful and ready to answer any questions. Our small group chose to do an over night canoe camp trip. We packed up our camping gear, coolers, food and more into our cars and drove over from Orlando. Upon arriving our gear was placed onto a trailer and dropped off for us at the campsite. We were sized for life jackets and took the fun bus over to the our canoe departing spot... super easy and efficient process. This isn't their first rodeo. They cover just about everything needed for a great trip. The river lives up to it's name. Through the peaceful glide you'll see plenty of wildlife. Gators, birds, turtle... maybe a few humans too. It's a nice quite row through a beautiful part of Florida. The campsite was perfect. Picnic table, fire ring (firewood bought and brought over), and a lot of room for a few tents. There is also an outhouse a short walk away. The next morning you give a call to have your packed up trailer picked up, row back to the outpost, and recover from the slight sadness that it's all come to an end. All in all an easy process with lots of fun to be had. I will definitely do this trip again! read more

Canoe Outpost-Peace River - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Arcadia, Florida

The outfitter has a variety of day and overnight trips available. A phone call to get information and reservation was easy and arrival and check in was equally easy. Short shuttle ride upstream then lazy paddle back to dock. Turtles, herons, gators... Would go again. read more

Canoe Outpost-Peace River - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Arcadia, Florida

One of my my favorite in Florida canoe. The place in my opinion is pretty organized and clean. You have to make reservations to canoe. This place also has camping grounds. They give have everything you possibly need to make the canoe experience great. From extra cushions to sit to ropes to tide things together. The staff and service was great. I advise to bring bug spray, sunblock and water on your trip. The sun is brutal here. The mosquitoes are plenty and you will get thirsty. I had an adventure today.10 minutes after we started our journey my friend's canoe tipped over. They can not swim either. It was a crazy stressful thing. We managed to get them back on the canoe but one of then hurt his arm and so our canoe trip was over. We contacted the office to let them know what happened. They send a van to pick us up and the canoes. They where so understanding. They took us back to our car. Everyone was so professional. We where all impressed with the great customer service experience. read more

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Lots of wildlife to enjoy on the trip down river many place to get out to picnic , plan accordingly a 3-4 hrs

Been on a lot of float trips. Even have my own fleet of canoes. This one was definitely a great adventure for someone who has been terrified of alligators my whole life. It's truly amazing to see these things laying in the sun or swimming around peacefully as you go by. I was blown away with the amount of people in the water looking for fossils, diving and even 3 small children swimming in a deep part with no fear of these things. The fossils were really fun to find also. I could have spent all day there. read more

The Peace river is a 106 mile long river in south west Florida. One of the major points of entry onto the river is in Arcadia where Canoe Outpost-Peace River was founded in 1969 making it one of the oldest paddle water sport outfitters in Florida. It's also the largest in the area. I was given their brochure by the hotel I was staying in but I saw it in several other places in downtown Arcadia. It is located only a few miles from town. Luckily for us they were open on Easter Sunday. They take you on a bus to a drop off point on the river and then you paddle back to them. You need to find out the time the bus is leaving to plan your trip. I made a reservation for a tandem kayak the night before for the 5 mile trip leaving at 11:30 and we had to be there by 11:00. We arrived and filled out the paperwork not holding them liable for our deaths. Next we paid $45 for the kayak and an additional $8 for seat backs. They will also rent you a sieve if you want to hunt for the fossilized shark teeth and prehistoric mammal bones in the river. From there we got on the bus and off we went. We ended up being the only people to chose a kayak so they unloaded us first. Everyone else went with a canoe. You stay drier in a canoe but I find the kayak easier to paddle. Within 5 minutes of arriving we were on our way down the river. If you paddle without stopping the trip will take approximately 2 hours. We added in some stops for fossil hunting so our trip was around three hours. As long as you are back by 5 PM they don't care how long you take. We didn't have the best of luck finding fossils. Fortunately we met a father and son who had better equipment and were nice enough to share some shark teeth they found with us. You can dig from the bank to find fossils but it would take a really long time to find anything this way. The father actually went out in the river up to his neck to dig with a shovel type of tool. With the number of alligators in the river that was not something I would be willing to do. I am perfectly fine with them if I am in the kayak because they usually swim off when you approach. There is no way however I am going into the river with them. In addition to the alligators we saw birds, turtles, and fish. We had a great time on the river. For long stretches we didn't even see other people. Towering cypress and live oak trees line the river bank. The current carried our kayak down the river with hardly any paddling. We basically only had to steer it requiring very little effort. Once you come to the railroad trestle it is only a short distance back to the Canoe Outpost. After you turn in your water craft you can change clothes in their dressing room. In addition to renting water craft Canoe Outpost also has hot dog cookouts for youth groups, camping gear delivery, catering, camping trips, and camping and picnic sites on their property along the river. They will even watch your dog for you. You can take two and three day canoe trips or just go for a few hours in 5, 8, and 12 mile runs. The most popular overnight trip is the 19.5 mile trip from Zolfo Springs to Gardner. The Peace river is perfect for people who may not have a lot of paddling experience. Although not as scenic as some other rivers in Florid further north it's close proximity to South Florida makes it great choice for people looking for a day trip to experience nature. read more

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This review is solely based on how unprofessional and rude the owner (Becky) is. I have noticed her respond to other reviews that speak negatively of her stating their database does not have record of "reviewer's name" in the system. With that said, it would not surprise if she responds the same to this review. A group of friends and I planned a trip to Peace River and decided to rent from Canoe Outpost. One of my friends owns his own kayak and called in advance to inquire if it would be fine he brings his own and pay a fee. He was told over the phone it would be fine. As soon as we arrive to Canoe Outpost with his kayak, Becky states that she will not allow us to bring this kayak in. We had told her that we previously called to ensure it'd be allowed and she immediately got confrontational. She said that we were lying and to give us the name of the associate that told my friend this. Becky added that she will fire whoever told my friend it would be fine to bring his own kayak. That seems a bit dramatic and unfortunate that she would go through such measures to penalize her staff. At some point she even asked if we had this "permission in writing". My friend did not record the call nor take down the associates name as it seems unnecessary. We tried as much as we can to reason with her and offered to pay full price of a canoe rental as long as my friend could use his kayak rather than leave it behind. Becky and another gentleman were unwilling to help and said they cannot do so because of the COVID 19 pandemic. I do not see how this is a valid argument as they were telling this to us without their masks on and well within 6 feet of us. I have no issue with them not wearing masks as my group was not either. However, they could not support the argument they were trying to make as they themselves were not trying to practice safe measures. On top of this argument, we kept getting told "you should have looked at the pandemic pamphlet" as if it was something that was given to us to prior to arriving. The other gentleman previously referenced (that seemed like management) at least told us that we can take the car and my friend's kayak to Brownville and dock from there. He wasn't the nicest guy, but at least he helped somewhat and guided my group. Becky on the other hand was not helpful at all and acted extremely disrespectful. It is unfortunate that she acted in this manner as I have previously visited Canoe Outpost a year prior and had no issues. The staff--besides management-- was helpful then and was helpful for the most recent trip in which this review is about. Before this trip, I felt I could visit Canoe Outpost on a regular basis and recommend it to others. Now, I will look to take my business elsewhere and advise others to do so as well. read more

Cameron is the young man who drove us up river and loaded and unloaded our kayaks and canoes. He was wonderful. Friendly and informative. He worked hard with a smile. He's is an excellent representative of the business. Our trip was lots of fun. Saw lots of critters. It was a great activity for the day. read more

It's a big campground, in the wild section there are many people running all day long with 4 wheals drive vehicles, if you want to stay in this area you may need a 4x4 because It's all sand and there are many deep holes read more

We love peace river and visit often. Usually we bring friends that visit from out of town and want to get a good look at nature. We were there on Sunday and everything was great until we got back. My husband always gets out of the canoe first as I have a bad knee and he usually helps me out. The man on the dock would not let him out so I had to go at it alone getting out of the canoe. I attempted to step on the very slippery dock when my knee gave out. The two men on the dock watch as I fell and Becky sat above watching with a smirk on her face as I fell. No one offered to help or allow my husband to get out to help me. I understand COVID is a real thing but being a kind and caring human also should be a thing. I am pretty bruised but otherwise fine. We will take our 6 or 7 canoe trips a year elsewhere from now on. Unprofessional and rude. read more

Went about a month ago. Look, it's central Florida, and it was in early March. It was nice, the campground is beautiful. Now look, the issue is everything with how this place is administrated. The rules are a lot. It's primitive camping, so the idea is you're on your own, but it's so strict, it's just not for us. They have like 5 pages of rules that basically lock you in and don't let you move beyond certain boundaries. This is only partially their fault because there's private property everywhere, but it's just poorly planned. None of this is why there is a 1-star review here though. The staff is EXTREMELY rude. Not all of them, just this one lady and this older gentleman. The one lady, (who has commented on a lot of other reviews lol), is just always angry. She needs to chill. The older dude just yells at everyone. Pro-Tip for the owner: pay someone 55k who knows how to interact with humans, who can administrate this for you and do something else full time and profit. Not coming back because of your attitude. (She's going to post that there was no one with the name 'Jorah Azho.") read more

The Peace River, and indeed the Canoe Outpost, provided my introduction to river camping over 25 years ago: canoe, river, primitive, relaxed, car safely waiting for me downriver. Because i own my own gear, I only purchase shuttle and parking services for 3-day, 2-night journeys. Firstly, we were running late. I called from the road to let them know I'd arrive 15 minutes after the scheduled bus departure time, well behind the requested arrival 30 minutes prior to bus departure. The response was pleasant enough in that they would see what they could do to keep my earlier arrival to Zolfo Springs as planned, as opposed to making me wait 3.5 hours for the next scheduled departure. Upon arrival the bus was gone to Gardner, where we needed to drive to anyway. On a very foggy morning, we missed the Gardner turn, fortunately noticing within a mile. The bus driver candidly admitted that he too misses this inconspicuous turn from time to time, especially in heavy fog and due to road lanes shifting for construction, despite having driven for them for 17 years. I consider this to be an opportunity for improvement. The fog masked the landmarks provided on the paper map. Also candidly, the driver admitted to not having anyone to transport yet that day, which left me wondering why the bus left Arcadia ahead of us. Though I like to buy incidentals and forgotten items from Canoe Outpost, I've come to expect potable water readily available. Somehow this seems to have become a tall order at this Canoe Outpost despite the sheer necessity of it. At Arcadia they offered to sell me water, once before and twice after I mentioned having a 5-gallon bag to fill. It was suggested I fill it at Gardner so naturally I was inclined to hurry along lest I risk missing the bus again or ultimately forgetting to bring water on this trip. At Gardner, we met a congenial bus driver who had no idea how to obtain potable water. In fact he was convinced that all spigots led to the river. Our first random attempt at a spigot yielded horribly sulphuric water (intense rotten egg smell), so I called the main office. They too were unable to direct me to potable water, seemingly not entirely sure it existed (despite sending me there for it) and suggested I try "down by the benches". This instruction confused all of us - what benches? - and we eventually found normal smelling water from a hose up the stairs to the house. Sadly nonetheless, we had to push on to Zolfo unsure whether or not we had drinkable water. Worth mentioning, a second worrisome call to the office before leaving Gardner did not yield better advice or certainty and instead had me subjected to one understanding employee on the phone apparently trying to shield me from some guy in the background hooting and hollering as if I was too impossibly stupid to find the water. This had my stomach turning, unsure I would be able to put in at Zolfo. While puzzling at no fewer than seven spigots attached to the pavilion nearest the boat ramp at Pioneer Park (Zolfo Springs), a facilities employee there confirmed that all running water in the park was potable. Problem solved. The bag was emptied, rinsed, refilled, and we embarked feeling made whole for free by the County Park. The Peace River was amazing. For the last couple decades I've been driving six hours to the Suwannee, thinking that it was a better river, worth double the road time, leaving the night before and spending money on a motel. Now I realize that it was all a matter of conditions - mostly water level and air temperature. I only go now when the water is "perfect for canoeing" and the air is cold (few bugs, better fires, snugglier, etc.) The biodiversity along the Peace blows away that of the Suwannee. We saw upwards of 50 gators, roseate spoonbills, red shouldered hawks, herons, egrets, ibises, black vultures, nighthawks, turtles, raccoons, sandpipers, kingfishers, anhingas, kestrels, cows, horses... We didn't see any owls but the nighttime was an asylum of hysterical owl calls, unless it was some other mysterious animal... and lots of mooing. What a joy! On the final day, alas, we were late again. A different, equally friendly bus driver waited for us and helped us load the canoe. We asked a couple of basic questions about the operation for which he had no clue, in keeping with the experience thus far. The bus drivers, though the friendliest, are clearly "the last to know". Both earned their tips nonetheless. In closing, I do hope this business continues to care for river goers competently and consistently, understanding that river tripping is not conducive to tight schedules, especially on the tail end, and that paddlers require water above all else. It was well after we left before I realized they'd called me while on the river and late for Gardner. All told, they did well to accommodate my tardiness and helped make for an exceptional experience despite minor misgivings which I think are easy to fix. read more

Canoe Outpost-Peace River - Rupert catching some shade - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Arcadia, Florida

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Had a great experience! The staff was very accommodating and friendly. Beautiful river and would highly recommend for a vacation. We are willing to make the drive each year from Texas! read more

Canoeing happened. A canoe was rented and canoeing occurred. I was not impressed with this operator because we were not given any welcome information or instructions. Just get on the old school bus, attendance taken, make sure everyone signed that paperwork and then a ride to the river. Get off the bus, get on the canoe, that's it. No welcome, no information about how long the run is or where to drop the canoe. No emergency info. Nobody asked if we needed help or had any clue as to what we were doing. FYI we had no clue what we were doing and much time was spent in the bushes thanks to my son and his friend paddling. I'm taking away his Boy Scout canoe badge after that (kidding!). All that being said, we had a wonderful time. I was just a bit disappointed with the communication level of the bus driver and employees. I was with a group and it's possible the leader who made the reservation should have passed on some information but no excuse for the front line folks to not say hello and welcome IMO. read more

My husband and I went canoe camping this winter on the Peace River from Canoe Outpost. We loooooved it! I saw a lot of complaints about the customer service on Tripadvisor, but we had a truly amazing time and found everyone to be really nice and helpful! Some things to know about camping on the Peace River, 1. some of the land is privately owned so it's good to use a place like Canoe Outpost that gives you a map showing you where it is okay to camp and where not to camp. 2. In the winter you can go fossiling, they have kits you can borrow (first come first serve so get there early) or buy. They give you tips on how to fossil and you'll find tons of sharks teeth and some other very cool treasures. 3. red ants are going to be where you camp. Check the ground well before you pitch your tent, and watch where you step. My husband and I left with many bites (but that is florida for you). 4. It gets crowded! We were dropped off upstream at 2pm on a Friday in the winter and saw one person on a kayak the whole time. Saturday, there were people everywhere once we got south of the Brownville bridge. It's pretty much one crazy river party. So if you want privacy, go on a weekday. 5. yes, there are gators. Although you may never see them. We didn't know we had camped right next to one until shining our flashlight around reveled his little eyes. But he kept his distance. That said, I wouldn't be bringing my little dog and letting him run around. But some people did! Can't wait to go back! read more

I come here once a year with a large group and this is my favorite way to go camping. The outpost lets you send your gear up to the campsite instead of making you take everything on the canoe. Several miles of river to explore. Canoes, life jackets & cushions all in pretty good condition. There are also seatbacks available for rental. Portapotties available for you to relieve yourself at the campsite. Also a real bathroom available at outpost- make sure you use it before you head out. Raccoons & critters pretty much leave you alone out there. I've never seen them at this site (unlike Fisheating Creek). All in all, my favorite place to camp & once you visit- it will be yours too! read more

Peace River is one of my favorite trips I've done consistently over the last 15 years. I've been on the river over 20 times and every time with Canoe Outpost. I used to live in Florida which made it super convenient. I've flown to Florida multiple times living out of Philly and Denver to make this trip with my friends. Everyone at Canoe outpost is awesome, friendly, helpful, if not friends. They know our group by name and look forward to us making it up to see them a few times of year. If you are looking for a good day on the river and you are reading this; look no further! read more

I love the Peace RIver, when it has water. Even when it's running low, it's still a fun two days of drinking and paddling. Canoe Outpost is great to work with. They're exceptional with groups and planning and the pricing is really good. If you're near Sarasota, or want to go on a fun and adventurous overnight camp, go to the Peace River and use Canoe Outpost. Good stuff. read more

Great place ! Very organized with the canoe trips. We had a great day on the peace river . So peaceful !!! We will come back ASAP !!! read more

Canoe Outpost-Peace River - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Arcadia, Florida

Pretty darn good place to rent canoes from on the Peace River. They'll rent you a canoe, then bus you upstream (at scheduled times) so you can take advantage of the current and paddle easily back down. They also rent bug nets, and shovels and mesh baskets so you can sift the sand for fossil shark's teeth. We went canoeing over Mother's Day, and the river was pretty low in places, but still passable. We did run into a big group of drunk and obnoxious yahoos on the river (No, inebriated fellow, my mother-in-law did not want to take you up on your offer of "a shot or a smoke" in honor of Mother's Day. But thanks for asking, I guess.), but that's more or less a hazard of canoeing in general and obviously not the fault of the canoe outfitter. Overall, this was a fun outing. read more

Extremely organized and efficient. Fabulous to get away for awhile. They did excellent job with social distancing and following CDC guidelines for keeping things clean. Staff was kind, courteous and extremely knowledgeable! Great job guys! read more

I visited this canoe livery 5 years ago this past December. It's been 5 years and I can still remember the details vividly, that's how bad our experience was. Here's a brief synopsis: I made a reservation for canoe rental for the first time slot on a Monday morning. After driving 4 hours to get there (our group was really excited to go fossil hunting that day), we arrived to find the place empty. We knocked on a couple of the doors, no one was around. Thus, we waited in the parking lot hoping we had the right address, and possibly bitterly discussing out loud our confusion and disbelief that we had driven so far and no one was there to meet us at our reserved time. After about 40 minutes of waiting someone pulled up in their car. She got out of her car and immediately started screaming at us for trespassing and for disturbing the owner of the company (apparently the owner was in the house/building the whole time but felt comfortable completely ignoring customers who were on time for an appointment), all this before we could even say hello. We were then told that the business opens 30 minutes later on Mondays than other days, something we were not told when we made our reservation and a fact which was not posted on the company website at the time (maybe it is now?). After a heated conversation with the employee, we worked things out, tempers calmed, and we were off to start the gear rental process... And suddenly, out of nowhere, this ogre of a woman bustles out of a path through the trees and starts screaming at our group for being rude and trespassing. At this point we were all pretty shocked at what was going on and completely put off by this monster, who we soon learned was the owner of this company, who introduced herself in this most inappropriate manner. To make a long story short, it was agreed by both parties that it would be best if our group left this circus and went elsewhere. At the time of our departure there were two employees, a male and a female, at the site with the owner. Both seemed embarrassed by what had just happened with their boss, and I kind of felt sorry for them for having to work with her. In the end, we just stopped along a roadside park nearby and found plenty of fossils snorkeling in the river. Despite the horrible experience at this livery, we still had a good day. read more

We did the Zolfo Springs to Gardner run and had a great time. Four and a half miles the first day got us just past the last house on a nice secluded sand bar. Ten and a half miles on the second day put us on a huge cow pasture peninsula with a nice sand bottom to play in. Four hours the next day got us to Gardner. Perfect run. The only think I would change is them letting us meet them at Gardner, and then shuttle us to Zolfo. Instead we had to go to HQ at Arcadia, which was a zoo. We had to wait in line for half an hour to sign in and pay, then drive to Gardner. Easy five stars if we could have started from Gardner. We rented one canoe and they transported one of ours to the launch. We will absolutely use them again. read more

we kayaked from Brownsville to Arcadia today.... i was absolutely amazed and disgusted by the amount of peace river outpost canoes being rented to dig in the banks. almost 1/2 the groups we saw in their canoes were digging large holes in banks everywhere. dont believe me, go look. even campers.... not all those digging in banks were in canoe outpost canoes, but the attitude was rude and blatant. we will stick to areas and local outfitters that dont allow or promote that crap.. it absolutely sickened me the way folks were treating the area. read more

Canoe Outpost is a great outfitter with some excellent trip packages at a decent price. We went on an overnight trip ($75/per canoe) and had a great time! They bus you upstream help you with your gear and then send you on your way. They give you a campsite # that you are supposed to set up camp at and they will drop off your gear there. Perfect for the summer time taking a bunch of friends on a booze cruise down the Peace. read more

This is a great getaway if you like the outdoors.. It doesn't break the bank and they have everything you need from wood to coolers..one of our friends blew a tire on the way to camp and they let us leave later and even dropped our friensd off closer to us when they got there.. The camp sites are clean.. Only bad thing I can say is that the signs are the camps are horrible and the camp sites themselves are full of cow shit so wear shoes at all times..super peaceful too read more

Beware... do not leave anything alone. We had a good trip; however, when were returned back to the Outpost we learned that people had taken their time breaking into our car and search through and stealing our belongings. Tools and time were needed to break locks and bend metal to the point we certainly believe it was an inside job. It had to have been very loud and the car was in sight of the Outpost so it was pretty impossible for the Outpost employees not to have witnessed the destruction. read more

This can be a great 2 day adventure or a long, labor-intensive, frustrating 2 days. The determining factor is the river's water level. When I did the overnight paddling the first time the water level was high (or normal?), we leisurely paddled down the river soaking in the scenery. It was great. The second time, about 4 years later the water level was low and it was a totally different experience. The current wasn't helping us much down river, we were constantly struggling to avoid the shallow areas so we don't get beached, but it was unavoidable. There were many parts of the river where the depth was just a few inches the entire width of the river. We had to get out of the canoe and tow it multiple times. Of course they don't tell you this... So I recommend this place, but I also recommend that you do your home work before you make your reservation. Find out what the water level is. And not from them. Also, they advertise tarps in case of rain, but they run out of them quickly so if the forecast is such, bring your own tarp. read more

As a regular customer of Canoe Outpost, I am surprised by the negative reviews I've read. It seems to me that if you pull up to a business and the gate is locked and nobody is in sight...they're not open yet! There must have been some misunderstanding for that group to have arrived too early. Perhaps in their excitement to visit this beautiful attraction, they only heard what they wanted to hear and totally missed the hours and policies. If I had to live on the property where I worked, I would most certainly expect customers to respect my privacy when the business was closed by not banging on my front door or causing a loud ruckus. Don't blame the business if you got their hours wrong! Go have a cup of coffee, relax, and come back in an hour. All would have probably been fine if the early birds had done just that! read more

We did a trip with Canoe Outfitters last year and enjoyed it so much that we did it again this week. Reservations were simple. So was check-in. Prices are reasonable. The staff is friendly and helpful. We chose the later (9:30 am) arrival and the full day package. (No overnight camping among the gators for this girl!). We rode an old school bus to the drop off point, and they offloaded our canoes and gear, plus life jackets and floatation cushions, and put the canoes in for us. And gave us a map. And we spent a peaceful day, sometimes paddling, sometimes just drifting with the current. Water was 22" below normal, so we saw a lot of sand bars and only a couple of alligators (compared to the 67 or so we counted last year). We'll definitely do this again next year, but I think I'll decline the offer of a seat/back rest that fits on top of the canoe seat. I do a lot of canoeing and am happier sitting right down in the canoe - the seats make the center of gravity a tad too high for my sense of balance, and with two cushions you can be very comfortable there. read more

One of the most horrible customer service experiences I've ever had at a business. The owner Becky Bragg is incredibly rude and confrontational. The river itself is nice but other competing outfitters offer the same experience with much superior customer service. Several other Yelp reviewers have had similar experiences with Ms. Bragg but you won't see them on Yelp unless you click on the "Not Recommended" reviews section (nor does Yelp use them in the calculation of the business' star rating). Beware of using this business because of Ms. Bragg's volatile, downright unstable, behavior. read more

Wow I have never been so anxious to write a review. Let's just start off saying I have used Canoe Outpost-Peace River a handful of times with and without reservations and it has been unpleasant every time. This past trip was the final and worst straw. I will never ever use this business again, especially when Canoe Safari is not even a quarter of a mile past canoe outpost and made everything so simple. Our group arrived at 7:30am per the website and began to sign in. Right off the bat the owner began yelling and being rude saying she was going to try and accommodate us since we didn't have a reservation. Ok no problem that's fine. But the way she handled the situation was incredible. After she tallied up the price, we explained to her we have to pay per canoe and can't pay the whole balance as some of the party was using cash and some using debit. She lost it and began freaking out and running around like a mad woman. We eventually get to the van and she comes flying around in her golf cart screaming at us why we are not all loaded up and ready to go, it was 7:55am. SHE MADE EVERYTHING SO STRESSFUL, I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW SHE CAN LIVE HER LIFE THE WAY SHE DOES ESPECIALLY WHEN CANOE SAFARI MADE EVERYTHING SUCH A BREEZE. She said we couldn't bring a small raft for our cooler to float in???? well we of course deflate it and try to bring it anyways and she comes flying around the corner on her golf cart and screams at us, "I said get that damn raft out of my van" and then proceeded to scream at us some more and told us to get our money back. We are not allowed to go anymore. The poor employees at Canoe outpost were very sweet and caring and kept apologizing for her antics all the while she was screaming at them and ordering them around... We get our money back and head down the road to Canoe Safari and of course they laugh and say no worries we got your back and said that it happens all the time cause the owner is so rude. AND IT WAS CHEAPER!!! I will say Canoe Safari had about 25 people paid and waiting for a bus as well and got us all to where we needed to go fast and stress-free. Please just use Canoe Safari for your future trip(s). No one should ever be treated the way she treated us and from the looks of the previous reviews on Google, this is not the first time others have experienced what we went through. read more

As with other people on here we had a really bizaar experience with Becky and one guy on her staff. I was planning a trip on the Peace river for a little over a month for my sons 7th birthday. I originally reserved 5 canoes and as happens when trying to get these trips together people kept joining and backing out. I called about a week before the trip and canceled 2 canoes and then called the day before and canceled one more. We were going to have 3 adults and 3 kids and two canoes. We get there and check in and pay. Our van pulls up and picks us up. It has 3 canoes on the trailer on the back but we honestly think nothing of it. Once we get to the drop off site our driver takes all three canoes off and puts them down by the water. We tell him that we only paid for 2 canoes. He says well your contract has 3 canoes so you may as well use it. We debate if for a minute between us and then decide we guess we'll use it. WELL we get to our camp site and about an hour later a car pulls up asking for us and then the guy gets really aggressive and rude to us in front of the 3 kids and tells us we didn't pay for the 3rd canoe and we can either pay for it right now or leave the camp site. We're honestly just dumbfounded at this point and try to explain to the guy the situation that we never wanted nor asked for 3 canoes. He basically calls us liars and that you don't get anything for free. We again tried to explain the situation and that we never wanted nor asked for 3 canoes and that this was a misunderstanding. (mind you this is all happening with our 3 kids sitting around the table - they are threatening to kick us out if we don't pay up) We look at our contract which does say 3 canoes but again we didn't ask for them nor where we asked to pay for all 3 at the window. If they tried to charge us for the 3rd canoe before we left we would have gotten it all straightened out right then. We finally just relent and pay assuming we'll deal with it the next day and we don't want the trip ruined for the kids. Also thinking this must be some rogue employee and we'll talk with the owner. Certainly no one wants to run a business this way and treat paying customers like criminals. OH BOY WERE WE WRONG! ENTER BECKY... We finally track her down the next we to try to sort everything out and she starts off right away that she knows who we are and starts down the same accusations as the guy before. Super aggressive and super rude. We never returned any of this rudeness back at her and continued to try to explain the situation. She finally relents and gives the money back for the canoe and keeps saying "are we done here!?" and that we are now going to be on some blacklist from visiting this place again. IS THIS HOW YOU REALLY WANT TO TREAT PEOPLE? Other than this very big incident this would have been a perfectly great trip and we would have come again and invited more friends. It wouldn't have cost you anything to just make it right, right away and you would have had happy customers telling other people about your business. Becky you would actually make more money treating people well. Now you have me telling everyone STEAR CLEAR!!!! BECKY you obviously read this so I'll speak to you now. You said our behavior was like going to a restaurant and eating a steak we didn't pay for. Let me explain it to you using your same analogy. Imagine you go to a nice steak dinner for your son's birthday. Your order 2 very expensive steaks and they bring you out 3. You say excuse me but we only paid for 2 steaks. They say well we brought out 3 you may as well eat all of them. You say ok then halfway through your meal the owner of the restaurant comes out and demands you pay for the 3rd steak (which you didn't want or order) or your other food will be taken away and you'll be kicked out of the restaurant. All of this IN FRONT OF YOUR 7 and 5 YEAR OLD KIDS!!! This is super bizarre behavior Becky! I'm honestly baffled by the whole experience. Stay away ladies and gents. Don't allow this women to keep treating people this way. read more

I have been going to Peace River for almost 20 years, and always have a great trip. Becky and her employees take great care of us, no matter if it is a group of 20, or just 4 people. We try to make the trip about twice a year, and we always look forward to getting on that bus and heading up river. Our last trip was the weekend of March 3rd, we had a group of 12 people, and everyone had a blast camping for 2 nights, and paddling the Brownsville to Arcadia run. I would recommend this trip to all of my friends and family. read more

We have been going to Canoe Outpost for many years. We get a big group together and go canoe/camping every year. This year we had 166 people in our group! We stay for 2 nights and do the Brownsville run! Becky and her staff are AWESOME! they treat everyone great wether you are 2 in your group or 166! All the kids are already county down for the next trip! Thanks guys for a great job! read more