Three of us booked with LoCo 'Yaks to kayak up the Black River and it was a great experience!…read more Price was $30 plus tax for two hours. We arrived about 15 minutes before our appointment to check-in and left at 10am (their first time slot). One weird thing about check-in is that we had to fill out a little slip of paper for the Coast Guard. It was questions like height, weight, hair color, and clothing color. Apparently it's in case you don't come back and emergency services need to look for your body! Ahhh! I don't remember having to fill this out at other places, so it made me wonder if a lot of people have perished in the Black River or if LoCo 'Yaks is just better at following Coast Guard rules than other places. I did like how there were bathrooms on site, plenty of parking, and that they have sit-on-top kayaks. Staff was friendly and helpful, with one of the men reminding me of Woody Harrelson, just nice and chill. He even helped us put on our life jackets and made sure they were properly tightened up. I really appreciate their attention to customers safety (I ain't about to drown in a 27ft deep river!). Our day started off with some overcast skies but then the sun came out. Either way, I can't say enough about how pleasant our time was on the Black River. It was so peaceful and the river so smooth! We saw only a couple of boats and thus mainly had the river to ourselves. On the river we saw the "Ghost Ship", tons of Blue Herons, some kind of river restoration machine, a dude paddleboarding with THREE dogs, and the closed steel mill which looked creepy cool. If you have any questions about the stuff you see feel free to ask the staff, they will be happy to talk to you! At first I thought two hours might be too long for our first time there, but honestly the time flew by so fast and we barely made it back at our appointed end time! I think right now because of the pandemic you are limited to two hours, but in the future I would definitely book a longer trip if possible. Ooo and you can also paddle down the river and out to Lake Erie if you want! My only tiny suggestion is that they get a map that shows the river miles so that people know how far they went, (they might have one and I just didn't see it). I highly recommend LoCo 'Yaks!

What a great morning on the Black River in Lorain. Staff was knowledgeable, helpful and friendly…read more Kayak launch was easy as was bringing them back in. We will be back!

Slightly hard to locate, but all positive once we did. Parking is up on a hill and then you walk…read moredown to the kayaks. They have porta potties. We got kayaks for an hour and enjoyed our time on them. The river was busy with lots of fishing boats, but we were fine. The worker helped her out kayaks in and out of the water.

We are batting .1000 with this establishment. We were the first group out and Cole was amazing…read moreabout getting us kicked off and was a very polite and professional young man. The river was perfect and this place gets all my recommedations.

Great experience and lovely staff! Will was especially helpful during check in. He showed me how I…read morecould safely store my phone without risking it dropping or getting wet. The staff was wonderful with my dog as well. Would recommend!

Two hours of fantastic time spent on the water. Beautiful weather, brilliant sunshine, great waves,…read moreand perfect company. Highly recommend trying this alone or with others. The staff was friendly, attentive and engaging.

This Rico guy is an IDIOT! He decided to just randomly cancel my reservation last minute. I had…read morebooked a jet ski the day before and this clown thinks it's fine to just randomly cancel my booking 2 hours before I'm supposed to be on the water. No call, no attempt to reschedule, nothing. Completely unprofessional and I would book with caution if I were you. I had to reschedule with competitor's services. I stopped by because Rico's Rental was on the way and his brother said he was at his other job. Take the open reservation times off your website if you can't honor the commitments. See below:

Rico was easy to work with and got us going right away. He had everything needed included…read moresunglasses and waterproof cases for the phones. the jetskis we rented were clean and powerful. He was there before our time to make sure we were ready. No issues and i would highly recommend using Rico's Rental's for future rentals.

This is a great place to rent a kayak! $10 an hour, which is the best price we've seen in the area…read more Also, the owner/workers are very nice, accommodating, and knowledgeable. Our most recent adventure was interrupted by storms, but they gave us as much "make up time" on the water as we wanted. Also, we recently bought one kayak of our own and they were very helpful giving us pointers on how to safely secure it to our rack. We love Killin' It Kayaks and will continue to rent from them on a regular basis!

I love this place! We own our own kayaks but wanted to try stand up paddle boards, so we headed…read morehere. They are super nice and friendly, and when we forgot our sunblock, they gave us some that someone had left behind. They didn't try to sell us any. It's $10 per hour per rental, which is super cheap. Everything was clean and in great shape. You go to their store, and then follow them in your own car to the lake. It's a one minute drive. Then they help you into the yak and off you go. They either come back to get the yaks at the time you want, or you can call or text them to come back. Great people, great experience, great price, great equipment. What else could you ask for?!?!

Bait & Switch. Horrible negligent management. Unsafe rental. Poor customer service. Do not use…read moretheir Groupon or their services.

We rented a pontoon boat and took it out for about 40 minutes...then it broke down and we nearly…read morehit another boat and dock is it drifted around (anchor was not long enough to catch). After about 5 calls and 30 minutes, Pier 619 came to get us and pull the busted boat back. The manager (I guess) was super rude, as if we caused the breakdown...um, ok...and said they would refund us but refused to give a receipt, so now we have to monitor our credit card. We get it, things break, but customer service should still be a priority. Luckily, the neighboring rental place called Dusty's had a boat available and were super nice and saved our day out. Would not go back to Pier 619

Amazing experience!! I did the yoga class on a SUP. From beginning to end it was spectacular. Staff…read morewas great the area we did yoga was so beautiful and the process was very organized. I hope I can make the next class.

We were a group of 15, ages 7 - 79. Check in was easy. Great introduction and safety briefing…read more We rented kayaks and canoes for 2 hours. Everyone had a wonderful time! We highly recommend Portage Paddling and would definitely go again when and if we're in the area. Find time to book this river experience. You won't regret it. Kathy Frank, Monroeville IN

Our family of 8 visited Portage river paddling Co. and it was amazing. Not only was the service…read moreexcellent, it was family friendly. We had a great time out on the water and an added bonus of seeing their animals on the property when we returned. Everything you need is right there to make a family fun outing. I highly recommend and will return!

We had the best time paddling down the river. It was super easy to make reservations over the phone…read morethe day before. The workers were knowledgeable and friendly, make sure you bring cash to tip. Our trip was during an overcast day with calm waters and it took us about two hours on the dot with a child and an adult in each kayak. Make sure you wear sunscreen, bring a bottle of water, and your sunglasses or a hat. I wore my bathing suit with a cotton dress on top, best idea ever (your butt gets pretty soaked) All in all, a great way to start the day. I'll be back to ride with the goats!!

The workers are really nice. They have kayaks and paddle boards. Within 25 minutes you can be in…read moreLake Erie. It's a fine trail to Lake Erie, but not the most serene. The path is full of boats and houses. If you're looking for a peaceful path full of trees and nature, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a simple place to kayak for an hour or 2, this is a great option.

Seemed like a family running it, nice people but the checkin/checkout procedures were unorganized…read moreand unclear. A lady with a clipboard standing near a picnic table, which we were supposed to know worked there, but didn't know because it was our first time. And she wasn't wearing anything like a labeled shirt that would inform us she worked there. Also being our first time there we were not familiar with the route of the river and no one asked us or offered advice. When I did ask them which way to go, I was asked "Didn't you see the map?" Apparently I was supposed to see a map mural on the side of the building, but missed it when trying to figure out how to checkin. They also didn't mention the whitecaps in the lake or that there were restaurants along the way. The river route was very busy with boaters and other kayakers. There was also a very low bridge you have to duck under. On the positive side, we found it was nice to be able to kayak to the Castaways restaurant. They have a public kayak dock to pull up to, it was great. They have good food too. It was okay, but not welcoming for new people who are not familiar with the area.

I like Rivergate Park! It's a small, hidden gem for the area, and I almost don't even want to write…read moreabout it because I don't want it to lose its luster to me. I like places no one else seems to know about. Its located right off Columbus Road (turn right at Sainato's). Rivergate Park is a very small park located outside Merwin's Wharf. There's a tiny area with public art and another grassy area under the bridge situated right on the river. I recently met a friend here for socially distanced yoga and forgot how much I liked it as a public space. It's quiet except for the gentle hum of the river and ambient traffic noise from the bridge above. But when you're used to a city environment, this feels peaceful. May bother a suburban dweller, though. In general, no one will bother you here. You can park in the small, free lot across the street and walk over. Most of the action in the immediate area will be the traffic coming in and out of the very closeby Merwin's Wharf restaurant run by the Metroparks. Don't expect a sprawling, manicured field here at Rivergate Park, but do accept sufficient green space if you need a peaceful place to hang out. We had fun.

Good park here in Cleveland to take the family has nice little sceneries little bridges behind you…read morecan take pictures of it has some cool walking paths and trails and things to have so it's all fun