Booked the wrong date for paddle boarding a week and a half ago and immediately looked into the…read morecancelation policy. It says if you contact them within 24 hrs they will reschedule or refund your money. I called half a dozen times, left voice-mails, emailed them, FB message and they just never responded. Today they sent me an automated email thanking me for paddling with them and to leave a review. Not hopeful I will get my 67 bucks back but can maybe warn others out there.

Awesome guys! Super helpful and great launch site. Enjoyed a 2-hr Kayak rental…read more The location is perfect and the equipment is really in great shape. I will certainly be returning, thanks!

Instructor Perry is the goat. Best field trip I've ever had. If you come ask for Perry.read more

The entire experience was fun and well organized, but I especially wanted to recognize our bus…read moredriver, Alex. He was extremely friendly, welcoming, and helpful throughout the trip. He went out of his way to help us get our tubes into the river and made sure everyone was comfortable and ready to go. Small acts like that really made a difference and helped start our day on a positive note. Thanks to Alex and the River Riders team for a great experience. We would definitely come back and recommend them to others looking for a fun day on the river.

I hadn't been in awhile and this place is as Yelp worthy as ever on a warm fall day. It's a must…read moredo if you like anything outdoors. They have a giant lake for fishing, you can fish from the dock areas or bring or rent a non-gas powered boat. You can also rent a canoe or paddle boat but all the rental stuff is only open during spring/summer They have a 5 mile trail along the lake that's a nice walk but can be crowded when the weather is good and pay attention since the trail entrance isn't marked as clearly as it could be. They also have mini golf, a train, playgrounds and some other stuff. It's free for Fairfax County residents (glad we're getting something for our taxes) and $10 for everyone else but of course the rentals, mini golf, train, etc. cost extra. There's a decent amount of parking but go early on a nice day or you might have a hard time grabbing a spot. I'll come back here for sure to walk the trail and maybe do a little fishing or rent a boat

Came here for a morning run. There is nothing like an outdoor run. The lake is beautiful and its…read moreabout a 4.5 mile loop. I did two loops and was drained afterwards. Got a glimpse of some cool birds and a deer. Highly recommend just for a stroll.

We had an amazing time on our recent kayaking trip. We ended up doing the Burners Bottom trip which…read moretook about 2.5 hours and it was perfect. Everyone was very helpful and gave us great advise on how to manage our trip. This is our second trip with them and we will be back for our third trip hopefully soon. We had a fantastic day! Thank you!

Had a group of family and friends here from North Dakota and we did a tube float. Ages from 7-60…read moreeveryone enjoyed the time and the teens enjoyed swimming around and pulling our tube island around the river. Beautiful day and the staff at Downriver are awesome. Very informative and helpful

Kyacking here over the summer was amazing. The water clear and clean. Never crowded and an…read moreenjoyable day with beautiful views!

This is the largest lake in Montgomery County. It is one of my favorite places to go out on my…read morekayak. Being as large as it is, there is quite a lot to see. There are two canoe trails (suitable for kayaks as well!). The shoreline is full of interesting birds. Down at the spot where Ten Mile Creek flows into the lake, I have floated right over the top of some enormous snapping turtles. During the summer, this is quite a popular place to be. There is a concession that rents boats for only $8 per hour. But the lake is big enough that it does not seem crowded. My boat is a bit tight for two people, so I often use this concession when I want to take a friend with me. Boaters should beware and make certain they have a permit attached to their boat. You can get a daily permit for $5 at either of the two boat launch sites. You can buy a seasonal pass at the visitor's center. Also beware if you own an inflatable boat (like I do). Your boat must have at least three separate air chambers or it is not allowed on the lake. This lake has probably become my favorite paddling spot. Unlike Clopper Lake, I have not yet found this lake's secret turtle hiding spot. But the sheer size of the lake makes it hard to get tired of Little Seneca Lake.

SUP was a lot of fun! Our instructors were Monty and Sabrina, very young, but seemed experienced…read moreand competent. They gave us a quick 101 and then we were off! They went around Lake Anne with us checking in to see if we were doing OK or had any questions. At one point, my husband and I felt a little restless, so we just sat and relaxed. Or got on our knees to paddle board. Whatever floats your boat (board)! We'll definitely be back next year to take advantage of the returning option for $29. Nice to spend some time out on the water, especially on a nice breezy day.

Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) is their expertise! I discovered Surf Reston through a friend of mine…read more She had taken SUP with them and had said great things. My first experience with SUP was at the Georgetown marina. There was no lesson. I had gone with friends who had SUP'd but it was new to me. It was scary and the Potomac is a beast to paddle. When I read and saw the Facebook photos of the classes and events run by Surf Reston, I knew this place would take care of me. Sign up was easy, it's all done online. Before I signed up, I had a few questions. I texted them and received responses right away! Once we arrived we saw the staff working diligently to get all the boards and life jackets together. We got a very detailed land lesson(about 10-15 min) and then the rest of the time was on the water. Steve and Sabrina were awesome. They know their stuff. My main issue is getting from the knee position to the Stand Up position. They had a few helpful tricks and then I was standing! They take lots of photos and sent them to us the very same day. The location is one of the Reston Lakes. We were on Lake Newport. It was very calm and we had the lake to ourselves. Once on there water we were free to paddle on our own. Steve and Sabrina were always there if we needed anything. Everything from questions, to registration to event was perfect. They offer group discounts so ask about it. If you are curious about SUP, then this is the place to try it out!

Great shuttle service for canoeing and kayaking on The Trough if you're visiting the…read moreRomney/Moorefield area and wanting to float the South Branch of Potomac. Kellan helped with a solo float and again when my kids came for a visit and I took them canoeing. He also gave my son fly fishing lessons that was one of the highlights of his trip. I'm now going to have to buy him an expensive rod and reel! Check out the website for all the thinks Breezewood has to offer. The owner is a wealth of information and knowledge of the area.

We came from Pgh knowing little about this special town and this kayaking/canoeing/fishing outfit…read moreand Kellan totally took care of the 4 of us. He stopped on the way to the launch point for us to get refreshments and gave us his cooler(bigger than ours)! The canoeing river trip was great, afterwords he introduced us to his horses and recommended trails for us to hike the next day.

Came here with a group for kayaking. Only they ran out of kayaks before noon. So some of us had to…read morerent standup paddle boards instead. There is a slightly more expensive pricing for folks not residing in Fairfax, Loudon, Alexandria, or Arlington counties. But they don't really verify...so as long as you put down an address within those counties on your waiver, then you are good to go. See my pics for the pricing as of Aug 2023. The Sat I came, they seemed very short staffed with only two people managing the rental payments and forms and then another 2 manning all the boats/boards. So we pretty much ended up having to launch and bring back our vessels ourselves. They have very limited 2 person kayaks and they require kids under 12 to be in a boat with another adult so be prepared. In addition to kayaks they have jon boats and stand up paddle boards. You can bring your own vessel but there are launch prices. The lake is quite large so 1 hour is still not enough to explore its entirety even if you were powering through. The boat rental process is this: 1) Each person needs to fill out a waiver (just one page), you need to keep the yellow paper on you and return it when you come back. 2) Payments can be done per person or by group and they accept Apple Pay 3) Go down to the dock, hand them your form 4) They will tell you which vessel you can pick and hand you life vests and paddle(s) 5) Go have fun 6) Return the vessel 7) Bring back the yellow form to the rental house Not sure why we need to keep a piece of paper on us while out on the water. I've rented boats in many other places and all they needed was the vessel back. I guess to prevent theft...but they log the number assigned to the vessel on the form prior to you renting so...But at least there isn't an entrance fee to this park and there isn't really much else to do besides activities around the water front. There is a trail that leads to Bull Run, but there isn't say a playground, picnic area, or sports fields. Parking is pretty limited but you can park along the side of the road.

One of my dogs favorite hiking spots. The bike trails are good too, although this park is nestled…read moreway out of suburban NOVA areas like FFX.