Bedford Sales & Outdoors which is recently under new ownership needs vast improvement in the…read moreService area. I needed my thirty year Johnson 4.5 HP outboard serviced, as i have done every year Spring. (My previous tech retired so I though I would try Bedford.) I called this AM and spoke to the receptionist and told her the age and the brand. She was polite and said she would have to check with Service. She returned to the phone and told me it would be no problem for them. I had to drive an hour to Bedford only to be told by their Service that they would not work on a Johnson that old. I asked if they could at least change the lower unit lube and they suggested I just do it myself. So on my return trip home, I called the receptionist and she remembered very well her affirmation to me that they would work on my outboard! She said she would make it right and put me on hold. She got the owner to talk to me and the owner said there is nothing they can do for me. I'm 72 years old and this is the first bad review I have posted to social media.

This place is beyond a joke. I brought my vexus dvx 20 in to have the livewell fixed (wouldn't…read moredrain), fix a navigation light that wouldn't turn on, and realign the windshield which wouldn't open and close correctly without rubbing. I dropped my boat off the first week of January 2023. It is now March 22nd 2023 and I still don't have my boat back. 2.5-3 mo the to fix 3 very basic things. My dealership in Wisconsin which I purchased the boat from told me to go get my boat and drop it off to them and they would have it ready in 3-4 days and that's with installing a new trolling motor I purchased from them. I will never bring my boat to Bedford ever again nor would I recommend anyone else to do so.

I bought my first boat ever at an outdoor show this past January, from Lake Holiday Marina. As I…read morehad no place to store a boat at that point in time, my salesman, Parker, indicated they would hold the boat for me until the weather broke. That gave me plenty of time to make room to park the boat at my property. There was no storage fee for this. A big advantage for me was that because they are a marina, when I went to pick up boat, Parker took me out on the lake and showed me the nuances and safety features of operating the boat. Again, this was my first time owning a boat, so being able to pick up my boat at the dock vs a dealer's show room was a big plus. As often happens with a new vehicle, weather it be a car or a boat, I had a couple minor problems, e.g. a defective battery. I had also broken a couple of the tire down clips and the winch was bent which made bringing the boat onto the trailer difficult. I contacted Parker, who introduced me to Greg the Service Manager. Greg is a great guy and really easy to get along with. He offered to fix everything, albeit much of the work was under warranty, with no fuss or condescending "how did YOU do this?", or otherwise implying everything was fault. I can't say enough about what great guys Parker and Greg are to work with. At no time did I feel pressured to buy anything. Both guys are eager to help and readily available to answer questions. Parker was extremely patient in dealing with my "newbie" phone calls! One while actually on a lake fishing! If you are in the market for a new boat, definitely check these guys out.

This business is awful. The owner Tom called me and accused us of picking up our boat without…read morepaying for it and threatened us with legal action! I told him we'd paid for it and hadn't picked up the boat and that he needed to find our property and HE LAUGHED AT ME and said he wasn't interested in finding my property. He then had his secretary or office manager call me back to tell me that everything was paid WEEKS ago and to confirm that we picked up the boat. I told her we hadn't and about Tom's response. She ultimately found our boat and we have it now, but we will NEVER do business with them again. Stay away from this place unless you want to be threatened, laughed at and have your property lost-when you are in the right.

I have mixed feelings about this kayak tour company. I signed up because although I'm a very…read morecapable and seasoned kayaker, I didn't know this river and I like learning about the ecosystems and local wildlife. For this reason I like having tour guides. Going up the river was fine. Coming back went a bit sour. I went as slow as I was capable of paddling or not paddling, but apparently it was too fast for the preference of our tour guide. I was barely touching the water with my paddle. I have no idea how I could have gone any slower. It wasn't humanly possible. After shouting at me several times, he took to chasing me down and ramming my kayak so it'd spin in circles. Would I rent a kayak here and kayak the river alone? Yes. Would I personally use a tour guide here? No I wouldn't. Would I recommend? If you're a family with little kids or a drunk sorority house, absolutely. If you know what you're doing, just go it alone. You'll probably enjoy it more. Edit: If the tour guide had concerns for group safety, he could have said so. Although ramming my kayak with his seems to be a bit of a conflict as far as my safety goes. It was an unprofessional approach when he could have simply explained why he needed me to slow down

It almost seemed like a dream. From the very start, cruising through a large patch of lotus plants,…read moreit felt otherworldly. Very peaceful, going at our own pace. Enjoyed the cliff walls of Buffalo Rock and the shallow waters of some side passages. We paddled for 5 hours, covering 8 miles total. After we were done we headed to charming, historic downtown Utica for drinks and dinner at Skoog's Pub & Grill in North Utica, IL. I was impressed with the logistics and operation of the kayaking experience, from the guide* to the equipment and online booking process. *Full disclosure, the guide was my twin sister, but I am being objective...seriously.

Jeff is the nicest, chillest guy. He had our equipment ready and gave us great tips on how to…read moresuccessfully get through the course. We had an absolute blast and will be back!

Yak Shack is a great local paddling outfitter... very knowledgeable and they are willing to teach…read moreyou all you're willing to learn! Good selection of gear selection rentals as well as some used kayaks to help beginners get into kayaking on a budget. They have boats to fit everybody from kids to big guys!

The water level and rapids was perfect today for my first time experiencing whitewater rafting…read more We arrived a little after 9am, we made reservations ahead of time and there was a couple of big groups checking in ahead of us. The process was quick, check in, sign waiver forms, get your paddle, life vest and helmet and you're ready to go. Before we got in the water we got some instructions how to go down the main rapids: Wildcat Falls, Lone Star Dam and the Narrows. The Wildcat falls, go towards the right of the river, aim center of the two giant boulders and go down left. Most people went way right down it and got stuck at the bottom boulder and some fell in the water. We manage to go down successfully after watching a few rafters. The Lone Star Dam, stay close to the right side to go down it. The rest of the dam has a under tow that can be really dangerous and can pin you down specially if you go down sideways. The Narrows, make sure to hit it straight on and just ride the rapids. That was my favorite section. Yes, this can be dangerous. Just follow the instructions, ask a lot of questions and know your ability. Their is no guide on the raft with you. Tips before going. -Make sure to watch the safety video first, link provided on their website. -Make sure to check the water level and speed at the US coastguard link provided on their website as well. -Lastly know your ability or skills/experience paddling/kayaking/rafting. -I also watched a few YouTube videos to have an idea of the areas mentioned above. -They only accept cash or check. Today, 6/8/19, the water level was 8 feet deep and flowrate of 1500. Classified as Class 3. There was a huge group of boys scouts out the same time we did it and everyone got through it safely and had fun.

I went white water rafting yesterday and it is seriously beautiful! So much wildlife, nature and…read morethe path is very nice you can even see a waterfall at the end, it is dangerous if you don't know what you're doing or go alone but go in a group and research before you do this activity you will be fine. It is kind of sad that there is garbage every now and then left on land, people ruining the nature but still beautiful for the most part. As other reviews state, avoid the dam area , paddle to the right.

BUYER BEWARE !!! Bought a boat from them with " a recent survey " they advertised with....months…read morelater we found transom Rot !!! 10K Fix thanks Grand sport center !!!! DO NOT use there surveys !!!! See other YELP reviews SAME STORY !!!

First time buyer with Grand Sport Center - definitely will be a return customer. Stopped in the…read moreLake in the Hills location to casually look at some boats and we were informed of a boat at their Morris location more closely meeting our needs. No pressure, no push to buy something in stock there. We took the drive to Morris that afternoon and were met by Jerry. He not only took the time to show us the boat of interest, but also took the time to let us browse and ask questions of their other in stock boats. We left without buying a boat and with no pressure. We purchased the next day! Jerry was great to work with and held the boat for us longer than we had originally agreed to. Awesome to work with and the boat was spotless when we finally picked it up. They are dealing with used boats and there are going to be potential issues that go unnoticed....can't always blame the dealer. No issues to date with our purchase. Give them a chance and check them out! Re: 2004 Eliminator 211 Skier

Great place to take your car took a car earlier in summer didn't end up doing it till end of…read moresummer. Could not have asked for a better shop to do the work. They call and let you know what's going on every step of the way. Jim also was very fair and does solid work don't take your car anywhere else but here.

I had my windows tinted here. Excellent work, good value and very polite. I am very happy.read more