This is a wonderful place to go on family hikes. I love the nature center there is lodging and a…read morebig swimming pool my favorite thing is going to Clement's and renting tubes. They have canoes and kayaks as well your Adventure awaits!

When you're polite to someone, it goes a really long way in customer service…read more We made a mistake and booked a campsite for the wrong day. They do not answer their phones and their policy says you must talk to the office for a cancellation. I called several days with no ability to speak with anyone. We did however book our tubing trip for the correct day. When we arrived we tried kindly explaining to the woman our situation. She was immediately combative and argumentative. She immediately went in defense mode. It was incredibly unprofessional and abrasive. We understand we made a mistake however we didn't deserve to be treated that way. Naturally we firmly and persistently argued back as we were approached in such a manner. Ultimately she did end up refunding us (allegedly - we did not receive it yet. But did get confirmation email we were refunded) but it was after a long awkward argument for really no reason. If the woman at the front office was polite from the get go we would have had a much better experience. The gentlemen who ran the tubing, said his name was Kim. He was very kind and professional. I would give this place another go because of his efforts in trying to make the situation more comfortable.

I have some great memories growing up leisurely tubing down Sugar Creek in the summer with…read moreClements. Clements has been around a long time, and now I bring my kids to enjoy the cool water & summer sun. I've only ever done the 5 mile tubing trips, but they also offer longer kayaking and canoe trips plus camping. After booking online (they do have same day walk up available but are sometimes completely booked), you just show up a half hour before launch time, get life jackets, and board a bus that takes you upstream to the launch site. From there, you have all day (the 5 mile tubing trip typically takes around 4 hours) to float, swim, wade, splash & relax your way back to the rental office site. Tube rental is $25pp. Helpful hints: pack food & drinks...that's part of the fun; the cooler tube is worth it...it's got a flat bottom large enough to hold a couple small coolers (we fit a small cooler, a backpack cooler & a bag of snacks); pack sunscreen and bug spray so you're prepared for a full day of sunshine and nature; consider taking bungee cords or rope to help keep your tubes tethered so your group can stay together; also, don't wear slides or flip flops...you'll likely need to walk through the water a bit at the low points of the creek

I suppose I should know better than to expect good service from a place that advertises absolutely…read moreno refunds ("rain or shine!") even if your plans change weeks in advance... But we were not allowed to drop from 2 canoes to one several weeks in advance. We were on our way for an 11am trip and arrived at 11:01 (calling several times on the way) and told, "sorry, you need to wait until 12 now". And that trip didn't leave until 12:10! The front desk is run by 15 year olds who couldn't care less. Overall I'd look elsewhere for a better experience.

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!

Great get away from town to the Park. Pretty big menu with good food and friendly service…read moreoverlooking Dawson Lake! Casual dining. Recommended!!

The food is consistently good! I have tried several different entrees here and would highly…read morerecommend each of them! Always friendly service, this is a family run business. When you walk in they seem happy to see you. Love the ambiance at this restaurant, whether you sit inside or outside you can look out over the lake. My favorite is to sit on the back deck. Highly recommend this restaurant! Come out to the lake!!

My daughter and I had a spectacular time out on the Vermilion River in a two-person kayak delivered…read moreto a boat ramp right on time by Stacy and Andy . They provided everything including life jackets . Will do it again !

From the owner: Looking for a unique outdoor experience in Pontiac, IL? Vermilion River Adventures has you covered…read morewith kayak, canoe, and tube rentals.

Took us awhile to get in the kayaks, but that was due to high water levels. The owner kept us in…read morethe loop about the water levels and when they would be better for us to hit the river. They stayed on top of everything and was very helpful. When we got there check-in was super easy, they drove us to the drop-off spot, and the river was in great condition. A great experience overall and well operated small business. Definitely would go again!

From the owner: Come join us for a fun outdoor experience on the river! We love the river and we want you to enjoy…read moreit too. Check out our website(rayscanoes.com) or call (765)-293-7000 for more info.

WORST CANOE TRIP EVER!!! 85% of our trip was dragging the canoes over rocks! This was an awful…read moretrip!! It felt as if we were on a creek, rather than a river. If you are trying to show someone a fun time on a canoe trip, DO NOT GO HERE!! We got stuck many times and called the office to get help, but they could not help us. They told us we needed to continue dragging our canoes until the very end. Ugh! Nightmare! The rocks were very slippery and my son cut his leg when he slipped trying the drag one of the canoes. It took us FOUR hours to complete the trip and they advertise it as a two hour trip.

Love coming here every season! The family that owes this is incredibly nice and helpful. They are…read morealways able to accommodate our parties. Incredibly hard working staff. Never have a bad time on the creek!

I recently rented a cabin through here and went tubing. The cabin was one of the 3 newer log…read morecabins down by the bridge off cox rd. It was 100 per night and had 3 queen beds, 2 twins on a large loft, ac, electricity, ceiling fan, microwave, large mini fridge. This was ten dollars more than the cost of two camping spots down the road and it was absolutely perfect. There was a camping ring and spot sat right overlooking the river. Very close bathroom and shower stall nearby. These are newer buildings in good condition. Shower and bathroom were single stalls with a locked door. 2 shower rooms, 2 toliet rooms. Only complaint was one toliet didn't have a lock on the door. These cabins are off by themselves and do not have lots of people or crowds. We thought the price was great. Raccoons do live all over and come out at night but they are friendly, don't feed them . We enjoyed r the tubing trip too. Each tube was 20 and they provided rope to connect tubes. Check in was a bit crazy with lines like other reviews so expect that. Also after tying 8 tubes together, we couldn't get the twine unknotted at the end and had to carry all of them together up the hill which was a pain but we enjoyed the trip and would go again

The river itself is WONDERFUL. A blast to actually be on, if you can actually get through the…read morerental process with the company. Every step of our rental reservation was unorganized, chaotic, and had problems. When making a reservation online, I couldn't select tandem kayak, only singles. It asked for a Group Name, which as a large group of people, we attempted to place one so we could all match under one reservation, but it didn't do anything at all. And then, when two people tried to call to make reservations, the group name again was not allowed, and they had to instead add themselves to another individuals reservation under their last name. Once we arrive, the check in booth was messy and chaotic, all the customers were gathered around a wooden table trying to sign waivers and papers that definitely should be provided online ahead of time, with only two pens for about 10 people to share. I asked if tandem kayaks were available to rent, as advertised on the website, and I was told they flat out don't have tandems (despite definitely later seeing them being pulled off the truck). Despite the bumpy start, we could have overlooked that and had plenty of fun... If it wasn't for the main event: arriving at the riverbed. Despite having a 10am reservation, our group, and a huge chunk of other 10am customers, did not get onto the actual river until 11:20am! Although it was the very first group of the day, the kayaks and canoes were not all at the riverbed ahead of time, meaning only about 20 people got theirs... While the probably 50-60 rest of us had to awkwardly stand on the riverbed and wait for a truck to deliver small batches of more, repeatedly. This meant half of group was sitting in their kayaks, beaches on the river, waiting for the other half of us to actually get in the water for over an hour. There were families trying to keep their kids entertained and hydrated while standing in the sun. And since the very small amount of employees were way too busy trying to keep up with dropping off the heavy boats over and over, there was no one to enforce a line or wait-list. So eventually, 11am reservations started showing up and just grabbing kayaks off the truck without waiting on line! There was no one to stop them from doing so, and anyone who was polite enough to ask staff about it, would be told off. I don't blame the staff in this scenario, they literally were completely outnumbered and needed every hand to grab the kayaks off the truck to get them as fast as possible in the water, but the company really needs to dedicate ONE staff memberto keep things civil, as I started to see guys getting agitated and looking to start a fight. Considering I see a lot of adults bringing alcohol, they're standing around in the sun bored and annoyed for over an hour, there's no way that won't lead to intoxicated fights over kayaks one day. We loved actually being in the river, and had a wonderful time seeing all of turkey run, stopping off at the suspension bridge and relaxing for a bit. If it wasn't for the bad experience at the riverbed, we really would go with sugar again despite the chaotic check in, but that riverbed dysfunction was just too much for us to want to try them again.

We did a weekend trip to brown county and wanted to do a last minute kayaking trip for two.... He…read moregot us on his schedule right away... made sure we had all the equipment we needed and went over all the details about kayaking on the river. Great experience with owner and relaxing float down the river. Highly recommend!

From the owner: We are dedicated to the best water adventures in the Midwest and beyond! Come explore relaxing boat…read morecruises, with wildlife viewing, kayaking, rivers, wildlife refuges, waterfalls, and everything nature has to offer with Indiana's elite outfitter! We are not limited to one location body of water like most outfitters. We cover 13 counties, several creeks, rivers, and lakes, We put you on the best adventure experience based on your desired adventure level, and location!