Choose to kayak the Lower Fork River. Peaceful, it wasn't crowded, at all, on a Thursday afternoon. Did 8 miles in about 3 hours, leisurely. Ate a late lunch at Kickapoo Adventures Bar & Grill. Great food - great options! Dined outside with a view of the water. Great service. Highly recommend both experiences. read more

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First and foremost my name is James Clark and I visited Kickapoo Adventures today as of 06/29/2025 with my boyfriend Cale , and I can say it was the worst experience ever. The staff was not helpful at all. First when we get there I paid our $15.00 for Pedal Boat ride, after I paid I was told I needed my ID and sign a wavier, mind you I didn't bring my ID, so we had to drive 30 minutes away to get my ID. So when we got back I spoke with another customer service representative and they told me I DID NOT NEED MY ID. I don't know the name of the older white guy that said that I didn't need my ID, when the lady representative said right after him, we only need 1 ID for the ride and both of us to sign a wavier. Ok so be it, we're here for fun, we've been through enough hoops, let us get on the ride sheesh. We get on and they told us to pedal backwards to get going, so we're off, mind you we only got 30 minutes, when I tell you once we got in the middle of the lake and started to steer the boat either right or left, the boat steering was all out of service. We was trying to go straight and turn either left or right but the boat was going to the right inevitably and has us going in circles upon circles. It got to a point where customers that was on land taking videos of us, and shouted out "you guys are struggling". Of course we were without any help from staff. I called customer service at their establishment and spoke with THE MANAGER NAMED JULIE, forgive me if it's misspelled, however when I spoke to her and let her know our experience today, she completely discredited what I had to say as a first timer customer. I let her know that I paid for my ride and had to travel back to get my ID that wasn't needed, let her know our ride experience, let her know the customer service we experienced, and in the end of our 4 minute call on the company phone number which I hope was recorded, I asked her for a phone number to someone that was higher up then her in the company itself and JULIE HAD THE NERVE TO TELL ME THE PERSON ABOVE HER IN KICKAPOO ADVENTURES IS GOD I NEED TO SPEAK TO!!! This is unacceptable and I really hope our conversation was recorded because this was the worst experience ever, especially talking to the manager that's supposed to help and make the customer happy. All we wanted Julie was to know our discomforts within our experience, not even money back or anything, we didn't want anything back we just wanted to let her know our experience and she completely denied any wrongdoing just based off years of service and "no complaints". I'm not saying all this to make people not go however but please be aware of the staff and manager because they don't care. I hope this doesn't get deleted because people need to know experiences there. They only have 20 reviews within 20 years, come on guys the proof is in the pudding. I wish I could've spoke to Tom because apparently his name is on the Web to contact. With Julie saying I need to speak to God, please let me speak to Tom because Julie I pray and talk to MY GOD everyday thank you. My experience talking to Julie was unacceptable, what caught her off guard and made her defensive was the fact that I told her she discredited our experience!! How is that far. Not once did we get an IM SORRY!! We did not get no apology at all. Julie we expressed how we felt as customers and you don't want to hear negative aspects about experiences. We don't know how to end this unlike the staff that threw the buoy out to us and tried to help at the end with getting us wet, mind you one of the staff said "why do that you got them wet", after we docked we left no words no nothing towards staff. Tom I hope this reaches you or anyone else higher up in the Kickapoo Adventures Administration, period point blank. Thank you, I wish it was under better circumstances. read more

We had a great experience at Kickapoo adventures. While visiting Illinois, my sister wanted to do something outdoors. Kickapoo adventures offers a variety of activities. They have a variety of kayaks, canoes, inflatable tubes, paddle boards, and paddle boats for rental. Follow the signs to the main Kickapoo office. We chose our tubes and set sail! The driver loaded them up and drove us 5 minutes to our float sight, the beautiful middle fork of the vermilion river, the first river in Illinois listed under the National Scenic River register! You could see the bottom in most spots. Perfect for rock hounding, catching some rays, and just relaxing in nature. There were a couple parts where there were "mini" rapids which were fun and sped you up a little bit! After we were done, we ended near the entrance of the Kickapoo office. We were ready for some food so we went inside the building with the restrooms on the side, Park Bistro. Everything on the menu looked great, but my husband and I decided to order catfish sandwiches, since they are rarely offered at places in the northeast. The cook was very friendly and welcoming! Our food was ready in 10 minutes. We definitely would love to visit this recreational area again! Great place for hiking, biking, playing in the water, and enjoying nature. read more

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Happened to be visiting family in the area. Had a nice time tubing. Staff was very friendly. Ate lunch at the grill. Food was delicious with lots of options, specials and drinks. Would highly recommend both the Adventure and Restaurant. read more

What a fun time. Prices were reasonable and the kids had a great time. Restaurant food and smoothies were delicious.

While I really enjoyed the tubing experience down the river and thought the price was very fair, I am deeply concerned that we are in the middle of a global pandemic and Kickapoo Adventures is not taking it seriously AT ALL. Against CDC recommendations and the state's requirements for reopening, almost no one on board the shuttle wore a mask *and* we were jammed into a very full school bus that had no room for social distancing. If even one person out of at least 40 on board had covid-19, they almost certainly affected many people on board. Our guide, while certainly friendly and outgoing, helped reinforce this disregard for public safety by joking that if he got covid it would just be a two-week vacation and repeatedly joked that he was not scared of the virus. I hope Kickapoo Adventures starts taking this global pandemic a lot more seriously by requiring masks of all customers, offering hand sanitizer and limiting the occupancy on that bus to 50 percent. read more

We kayak 3-4 times a year. Decided to drive 2.5 hours and it was worth it. Staff was friendly and helpful. The van we took to the drop off was clean. Kayaks are well used but for all the rocks and trees in the water it was expected. Water was low so we did a different route than normal. Yellow flag on the river then to the boat launch (could use another flag at the launch so you know your in the right spot). All around Great place and people. read more

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Everything other than the costumer service was great. We did the 4 hour southfork kayak trip. There were multiple times where someone had to get out and pull the other kayaks because we got stuck, so definitely could've warned us about that. After the 3rd bridge, they told us to call the shop to let them know to come pick us up, so we did. We called them again when we got off the kayaks, and multiple times within an hour of waiting. We did the 9-1 trip so we were supposed to be picked up at 1. We got off the kayaks at 12:35, and got picked up at 1:45 when the drive is 13 minutes from the rental place. There were no seats or anything to sit on. read more

So we picked this company to go tubing because of their clear COVID-19 precautions. It was on their front webpage how seriously they were taking this. We thought we would be safe. Wow. Were we WRONG. Before and after the trip we were crammed into an overflowing bus will maskless employees and fellow customers. There was no distancing and no masks. This place is run by liars. Avoid. read more

So we went here (and camped nearby) specifically for the safety that was promised by this company regarding COVID-19. Those safety precautions are all a lie. What a disappointment to find that a) the employees won't wear mask, b) customers were crammed into a bus without ANY distancing, c) customers were not asked to wear a masks. Avoid this place at all cost. They want your money then want you dead. read more

5/5 for this fantastic place. Shout out to Dion feel like I spelled that wrong. He made us feel like we were on first class flight on southwest. Not spirit because goodbye goodbye. I would def recommend this if you want to float and chug. Watch out for the rocks because ouch on your butt and hands. Come prepared with a visor and sun screen and get ready for a good time. read more

My friends and I did the float trip and had a blast. Deon is the man. He is a super helpful guy and recommended us using a cooler tube, which made the trip even better. We were a little late to the pickup location and had to call the main office, Deon was there within 5 minutes to get us back! read more

The tubing was absolutely wonderful!!! But as others said .. the company didn't care at all about the State Mandatory Masking and Social Distancing requirements. We specifically made these plans to enjoy the outdoors with the ability to stay away from others. BUT we had to take a school bus to the drop off location. Not only was the bus PACKED with drunk 20'somethings, none of them were masked. And I had to yell at some of them for leaning over MY family to scream out MY window at their friends while the driver (mask around his chin) sat there. read more

Deon and Robbie were great hosts. The river was extremely low but it was still a good time.

Mask mandates were not enforced, employees weren't even wearing them inside. The employees are rude or unprofessional. It's too bad they're the only rental place in the area. read more

I brought my two sons in Saturday to go Kayaking. This group was definitely more professional than the last outfitting company that ran this. The gentleman in charge definitely seemed very interested in ensuring that we had a good time. We will be back when we finally get enough rain to go down the Middle Fork. The only advise I would give. Go for paper release forms. I get it, it's the 21st century. But you can still get people through quicker with paper and pen. read more