These guys are simply amazing and I am definitely going back again. Their staff is very attentive, quick to respond and they are very informative if you ask questions. Everything is laid out in their web site as well as their policies so I'm not sure about the negative reviews on here, I didnt get surprised by anything and they info they give was actually helpful about preparing. We had a storm blow through this morning and if I didn't read their site and emails I wouldn't have packed rain gear. The only thing I would do differently would be to leave my youngest at home. He wasnt built for long sun filled canoe days but when I called to get an early pickup they were understanding and they helped guide me to the nearest exit after spending a day and some change there. read more

Wisconsin River Outings - Boating Near Me - Boscobel, Wisconsin

AWFUL COMPANY. We have been using this company for a few years and things just keep getting worse. Last year they forgot our paddles, costing us several hours on the river. And this year, they canceled on us due to high water from storms and REFUSED to refund us our money because we didn't purchase the "cancellation policy". But WE didn't cancel, THEY canceled on us due to weather. They kept 100% of our money for a trip we don't even get to take. Disgusting. They were incredibly rude about the situation, and putting the burden of uncertainty on the customer is a scummy practice. Basically told them they can make things right and refund our money and we will remain returning customers as we have been, and they told us to pound sand. Never EVER going here again, and I highly recommend using literally any other company than these slimy weasels. read more

We had an amazing time on our two-day trip from Lone Rock to Boscobel. First I'd like to shout out Steve, our shuttle driver. It was his third day on the job, but he was courteous and friendly and got me back up to the drop-in in plenty of time for the day's paddle. Then the river was spectacular. It was running a little high for early July, a bit over 10k cfs I think, but there were plenty of sand bars for camping. WRO got us outfitted with everything we needed. Highly recommend the collapsible table if you don't have something like that. They didn't forget any of the things that we paid for in advance, and they had staff on hand when we landed to take care of returns. Really a hassle free experience, will be back as soon as we can. read more

Wisconsin River Outings - Canoe matches the tent! - Boating Near Me - Boscobel, Wisconsin

Comfortable & easy from go. Prior to arriving we had been advised that weather could dictate the outcome of our reservation. I felt like we were kept really well informed of what to expect. In fact, I was so relieved to know if mother nature didn't cooperate I could come back in the future! We arrived and were greeted with helpful faces. We are rookies to kayaking & canoe and the staff helped with our gear, made recommendations on what would be easiest. My husband, 12 year old daughter and I were thrilled to have the guidance of Scott & Holly to help us out. Vehicles were so clean and well maintained along with all the equipment we used. We felt safe through out our experience coming and going. The river itself was so beautiful and peaceful. This was a great activity for our family to enjoy together. We are really glad that we did it. read more

Just do it yourself if you can find another place to get canoes. WI River Outings did absolutely nothing for us. We traveled up to Muscoda camped for a night before the trip, got a text and an email at 4am Saturday saying there will be little to no sandbars available to camp on and if you do there is a good chance you will be flooded out early Sunday morning. Come to find out that this has been happening every weekend this year from some locals and they failed to inform us until last minute that its up to us to handle this issue. So we decided to do the whole "float" in one day from Muscoda to Boscobel.....DONT DO IT...They tell you it takes about 5 hours, what they don't tell you is to make it in 5 hours you need to paddle pretty much the entire time, there was nothing leisurely and relaxing about this river trip. 2nd reason for 1 star They told us we needed to set up our own transportation due to covid and that they weren't shuttling people. so we take 3 cars down and 1 car back up river. Park get our canoes loaded and we see a shuttle pull up with people in it getting transported........ Even though no one in the whole town seems to even know what Covid is or have a mask on or anything like that, it was a greedy money play on their part to save some cash. 3rd reason for 1 star We are not experienced Canoers or river experts by any means which we stated when we booked the trip. There was no safety discussion or information on the river or any discussions on what to do if disaster strikes. You get a canoe and a good luck from them, which in my mind is very dangerous considering multiple people drown in that river every year. Overall Poor Communication Bad Information Dangerous business practice Questionable greedy motives Think twice, look elsewhere, Book the cancellation protection but watch out their refund is a gift card to WI River Outings read more

We did the 3 day trip from Spring Green to Boscobel and it was awesome. The outfitters were helpful and friendly. Definitely but the cup holder. I'd recommend buying a decent stadium seat instead of renting their seat back. Everything else was fabulous. A word of warning though the 3 day/ 35 miler is a bit challenging if you dont canoe much. read more

What a great experience!! The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The online resources made the trip very enjoyable with all the planning required. I would make sure you plan ahead of time to get all the required items lined up. The rental experience was very easy with all the little stuff available at the shop. We brought 2 teens and my 7 year old and had a really great time!! read more

See all

We originally booked a trip with these guys for an overnight trip for 6 in July but because of bad weather couldn't go. So my wife and I decided to do a 2 night trip with just the two of us this past weekend. First off I have to say their customer service was first rate and they were very accommodating with the changes. They reached out to us the day before and asked if we would be willing to push our start time back an hour to help with staffing issues they had with most of their employees being back at college. It worked better for us anyway and I appreciated them just not letting us show up at our expected time and then get stuck waiting. When we got there the gentlemen who greeted us was very friendly and told us to park our car and since we were early we had time to walk down the street for some bait. When we returned he took us into the gorgeous old timber framed building that they were renovating to get us all signed up. We filled out all the paper work and by that time our caravan was there to pick us up. There was another couple heading out at the same time so they loaded into the van with us and off we went. Our driver was super friendly and very informative, he was quite a character to say the least. All the equipment we rented worked out perfectly and we ended up having an amazing trip! read more

Wow...our (multiple) experiences with WRO have been nothing like the other reviewers but my husband and I are "outdoorsy" types who regularly camp and canoe so we knew what we were getting ourselves into. First of all, the stretch between Sauk City and Boscobel is absolutely beautiful and when the river is not too high, there are a TON of sand bars and islands to camp to camp on that provide plenty of fire wood and sandy beaches for your enjoyment. The staff at WRO reminded us several times on our trip not to camp along the shore as well, as it is illegal. Every time we have gone, even on the weekend in the middle of the summer, we have ended up with a sand bar all to ourselves. Their canoes are also top notch and they rent all the gear you need at a reasonable rate - including dry bags, seat covers and life jackets. You can pack an amazingly large amount of stuff into a canoe, so its almost like a luxury car camping experience if you pick the right stuff, without having to have someone camped right next to you! The really nice part about WRO is dropping your car off at the same spot you will pull your canoe out of and being able to just leave your canoe in the parking lot and head home at the end of your trip! No long bus ride with your gear all the way back to your car. All in, we've taken probably 4 trips with WRO in the last two years and we still have one more planned for October of this year :) Looking forward to a few more nights on the river before it gets too cold. read more

A few high school buddies of mine go on an weekend camping/canoeing trip during the summer. We found out about WI River Outings and took our annual trip on the WI River. We got the "Trip of the Year" package which included our four canoes, life jackets, paddles (the good green ones), one stack of firewood for each canoe, seats w/ backrests and an inflatable bed mattress for each of us...not to shabby. The staff were super friendly and were very easy to have a conversation with. As the one worker got our equipment she offered us all a beer why we waited. A beer, 11am on a Friday...don't mind if I do. The only issue we really had was a little communication problem. We thought we could drive there and they would drive all of us and equipment to the landing and pick us up at the end of the trip. We found out that we had to drop off our stuff at the landing, then drive to the office to check in and get the equipment, park our cars at the end of our trip, and then drive us to the landing where our stuff is. Overall not a huge deal, but we ended up wasting an hour and a half with all the driving. If we would have known this we would have planned our day a little differently. I would still recommend them, just be sure to ask all of your questions before the day of the trip so everyone is on the same page. read more

See all

We used WI River Outings a few years ago and had no issues but tried to use them again this summer twice for my birthday present and it was the definition of a nightmare. After making plans which entailed traveling multiple hours to Wisconsin, renting an AirBnB, finding a doggie daycare accomodations, telling our employers about PTO, etc. we were told not once but twice a mere days before we were scheduled to canoe and camp that we could no longer go because there were no sandbars due to weather. While I realize that no one can control the weather what I don't understand is the fact that WI River Outings seems to not recognize that a lot of time and money goes into making a trip to Boscobel possible for a lot of people. Because of this fact there should be a more lenient refund policy. We not only had to cancel our trip twice this summer but were forced to cancel and lose money regarding two Airbnb rentals, cancellation policy for doggie daycare, tell our employers about change in PTO last minute etc. I've worked in a service related role my entire adult life and my communication and response to my clients would never be like the type of response we got from Scott. My advice: if you have to travel far to get to Boscobel, Wisconsin come up with a backup plan that won't put you in a position where you'll money (almost impossible for most people) because they don't have a a great refund policy and they don't have ANY back up plans in place even though their company is in the Midwest and therefore is easily affected by weather at any given time throughout the year. read more

Great outfit. I've been going here for 11 years and have always had a solid, consistent, and awesome experience. Scott's team is professional and they always are passionate. He offers a truly rugged river experience that is really incredible. Our expectations are to rent a canoe and paddle down the river and camp. We aren't being guided and this is not a resort, it's the GREAT OUTDOORS and that should be the expectation. If you're not experienced outdoorsman just do your homework and respect the river. Remember to Leave no trace and enjoy. The weather will ruin some weekends but I know from experience, Scott and his team will accommodate you. I can't wait to see how much the river has changed later this summer. Thanks again for a great weekend excursion. Best, Christian read more

They gave us a map, paddles, life jackets, and a wonderful, sturdy, clean canoe! They gave advice about where to stop and where to look out for. The scenery was beautiful and we saw bald eagles, turkeys, hawks, and a few others smaller birds throughout the trip! I would absolutely do this again, and I would highly recommend the 3-day Lone Rock to Boscobel trip. During the first day and a half, we only saw 2 other boats and both were fishermen in motor boats. We could hear a little bit of road noise in the distance virtually the entire time, but other than that we felt COMPLETELY alone! We slept on the sand bar beaches every night, which was extremely comfortable compared to rocky ground. I would unequivocally recommend this river and this outfitter for anyone wanting a canoe trip. read more

A group of 4 of us used Wisconsin River Outings in Sauk City in August. I called and made a reservation for "trip time" at 1pm. My group showed up early to complete paperwork at paid at 12:45. First of all, there was only one woman working there and she was working the desk, handling the equipment, AND driving the van. There was a line of several people in front of us when we arrived. When we finally got to the front of the line, she collected our money. She then told us we were NOT on the next van, even though it was around 1 pm at that point. She said to wait and she would be back soon. We waited until around 1:45 (45 minutes passed our reservation time), for her to get back, take care of other customers who were waiting, get all of the equipment loaded in. Front there we got into the van. She mentioned another family (of 5, 2 parents 3 children) who was also waiting would be joining us. We fit 10 people in a 6 passenger van (Employee Driver, 4 of us, 5 others from the family). 3 of them were children under the age of 10. I felt safe as I had a seat belt, but if I were the parents of those children I would have been quite unhappy with the unsafe situation. Overall the float was pleasant and we were able to get out easily at the end, but the wait time was unfortunate, seemed like there should have been more vans given the reservation and more people working instead of 1 person doing everything which caused delays and long lines. read more

I rented 3 canoes for the Gotham-Boscobel trip. The staff were extremely helpful without being patronizing. They didn't make assumptions about the experience level of our group, they just let us do our thing and answered any questions we had. They were friendly and super laid back. Pick up and drop off was extremely easy, more so than with any outfitter I've ever used. The canoes were all in excellent condition. Also, the Wisconsin River is really beautiful. I'll definitely be doing more trips there. read more

We have been fortunate enough to canoe the Wisconsin River several times but 2011 was the best year yet! We had a group of 32 friends canoe and kayak for a one day trip from Sauk to Arena. I spoke with Heather and Robin on multiple occasions working out the details for our Pirate themed group outing. They were both so helpful and patient. Everything went smooth with getting in the water, the equipment is new and in great condition! Pickup was easy as well, thanks to the excellent drivers for doing all the work since our group was tired and useless at that point! Watch out for the River Pirates taking to the seas again next year as we had so much fun we hope to make this an annual outing! read more

Scott, Sounds like you've got a management issue on your end then. We were never told that about not camping on the shoreline and the driver was well aware that it was not our intention to camp on the campground. We even texted them that night to inform them of our location and they responded "great!". If our trip needed to be cancelled then we should have been told that outrightly when we were called the day before. Instead we were given an option to cancel or an option to be relocated. Not to mention the River Warden told us that your company's clients are always running into issues like this because you put them on the water with little instruction. Funny. I'd say I do have high standards, however, I also have just general common sense to know when someone isn't doing their job. We were almost all given tickets for something we had no idea about, so yes, that's why you're getting this review. read more

The trip was FANTASTIC, the staff friendly and the experience exceeded my expectations. We spent a solid 3 hours on the river. Our group consisted of a variety of both doctors and nurses from Chicago. Our odd schedules don't often afford us the opportunity to spend time together and the fact that we could escape the city and enjoy each others' company made for an unforgettable vacation! The only thing we regretted was not having a camera to capture it! read more

This place is awesome! We had both beginners and old pros in our group. Every one had a great time. The people could not be nicer and the food could not be better. What a great way to spend a weekend.! read more

WRO was fantastic. This was our first overnight canoe trip. It was a great experience. WRO was very helpful. The bus to pick us up at the pullout was even 20 minutes early. The website is great for letting you know what you should bring. read more

We loved our trip. We did the three rivers trip. Each day you got a little taste of something different. Everyone was helpful and friendly. The trip was relaxing a beautiful. I don't canoe a ton and felt comfortable the entire time. Every once an a while I would just stop and think, "wow! this is so cool". read more

This place has great canoes, definitely not the aluminum variety I was used to. We did the Lone Rock to Boscobel trip and saw very few people. Very cool to camp on the sandbars (don't usually have that opportunity). The people were friendly and helpful and got us on the water quickly. We liked the fact that our car was waiting for us in Boscobel so we didn't have to worry about a shuttle schedule. Had a great time! Thanks! read more

Friendly and helpful staff, easy procedure, great trip. The two of us rented a canoe from the Boscobel branch. We were supposed to arrive at the rental facility before 6pm, but locked keys in a car resulted in our running a hour and half late. Scott kindly waited up for us. We smoothly transferred our gear to his SUV, and followed him to the end point of the river route. We left our car there, and Scott drove us 16 miles up stream to the start point. We put in at sunset, so we only went about a mile before finding a sandbar on which to set up camp. We enjoyed a night swim in the river and stargazing in beautiful Indian-summer weather. The next morning, we got an early start on the next 15 miles of our canoe trip. The canoe was in great shape, and the big dry bag Scott provided fit most of our gear. The provided directions were perfect, and we enjoyed a gorgeous day on the Wisconsin River, with lunch on another sandbar. It was easy to pull the canoe out at the end point, and there was a rack provided for the bag and life-jackets. All we had to do was text Scott that the canoe was ready to be picked up, and we headed back home. We had a great time, I'll be back to try the kayak rental next summer. read more

We've used WRO for four or five trips over the last three years for three-day weekend canoe trips. The spots they have on the Wisconsin River are beautiful. It's awesome being able to go canoeing for a weekend and not see a single person the entire time. I have a feeling that most the staff spends most of their time getting stoned, but they've always been friendly to us and get the job done. The Boscobel trips that they have now are great, since you can just canoe to your car and leave once you get there (the Sauk City trips, while fun, can be sort of sad when you have to wait for the bus after spending three days in the sun). read more

They've lost my business and the business of anyone I know (which includes some quite large annual canoe trips). I do not recommend working with this company because they do not work with you. When I booked my trip with them the rep got most of my trip info wrong. I explained a couple times that it was a two day weekend trip from Friday to Sunday. When I arrived they had me marked for a Sunday to Friday trip. They took down my address and my email address incorrectly. After correcting those I was never emailed a receipt even after asking on the phone. I only received "your canoe trip is coming up" emails with solicitations for things I probably won't need. A few friends and I went on this one-weekend, two-night trip from the Sauk City location to Spring Green. The drop in was great as we got there late on Friday and, to be fair, a nice lady helped us check in and gave us some river advice after hours. We were told to be at the pickup site landing at 2 o'clock Sunday but we were given no information on what to look for when we got there. The canoe trip was fantastic and a perfect distance. We reached the final landing around 1:45pm to find a frenzy of about 30 canoes and kayaks from different companies all doing pickups at the same time. One guy in my party immediately went up to the road and asked the ten or so bus drivers one by one if they were from Wisconsin River Outings. Most of the busses were unmarked so we expected that one of these would be the one for us. Most of the busses turned out to be from Blackhawk with a couple from Wisconsin Canoe Co. None were from Wisconsin River Outings. My canoe, being bright yellow, should have stood out against all the red and silver ones that were there so we thought that somebody would come and find us and at least ask (they knew we didn't rent canoes). I finally called around 2:15pm to ask where our transport was. They returned my call and informed me that the transport had left without us after waiting as long as they could and after scouring the beach and yelling for us. We would have to wait there until 5pm for the next bus to come by and then be charged $50 for their mistake. We ended up hitching a ride with a nice group of independant canoers who were there for the whole fiasco. They mentioned that they had seen the bus come through and heard them "yell" for us. They told us that the yelling was not loud and it was done from the non-beach side of the bus where almost nobody would hear. They also said that the bus did leave well before 2pm but couldn't say how long before. Because the service I paid for was not carried out, I called the office and asked for a refund. They told me that their contract (which I never saw) had been fulfilled so there would be no refund. You would think that even as an attempt at customer retention they might give a partial refund but instead I was told that I was wrong and that I didn't know what I was talking about. All of these transport problems could be easily solved just by making the pickup time different than all the other companies. If they showed up at 2:30pm, they would have been the only bus there. read more

Fantastic. I have canoed this river for the past 20 years and for the majority of them it were through WRO (Wisconsin River Outings). The only times I didn't was because they were fully booked. I would like to add a little to Hillary's post. First off, I don't have any connections to WRO. I live north of Chicago and me and my friends canoe the river once a year. It has been a yearly tradition. We paddle 18 miles from Sauk City to Spring Green. I don't quite understand how a 4 hour paddle is an overnight trip? You literally drift at 1-2 mph. If you were to paddle your trip would be over in a few hours? Back to my point, WRO does tell you where you can and where you can't camp. There is a safety speech before you sign their liability waiver. The wild is the wild, you can get hurt out there..............it is nature. If you aren't looking for a natural experience then don't come here. Hillary was told about the flooding and, assuming she has the internet, should have checked the weather before her party left. This is NOT a guided trip. You are on your own. You are left to your own devices. Do not go if the weather looks ominous or if you like adventure then go and rough it out. Over my 20 summers on the river I have had my tent blown over (this is pre-internet and pre-smart phone) while a WICKED storm blew by. I have camped on a small island, with trees on it, only to be woken up with tornado sirens from the nearby town and having to wait until 11 am for it to let up. I tell you, people like Hillary are not meant for this river. You need to know what you are getting into and need to know how to adapt to the situation. Hillary, I recommend you go a safe, controlled camping area instead of posting a harmful post on Yelp. I think all of my fellow outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen would agree. Off to Yellowstone in 1 week, I hope they have all the wild animals on leashes so I don't get attacked. George read more

Great trips! Wonderful memories. We canoed the Srping Green to Boscobel stretch both times. Had a great experience with WRO in 2011, but not so great in 2012. We knew what to expect since this was our second trip doing the same stretch of river however, the customer service this year was sub-par. The guy who drove us to our launch had no idea what he was doing, no idea where he was going, and seemed rather disoriented. He was nice enough, and mentioned that he usually works out of Sauk City, but every time we asked him the simplest questions he replied "I don't know". I'm comparing this to our driver in 2011 who was a local teacher and obviously an avid paddler. He was awesome and gave us all kinds of tips and info. If last weekend had been our first outing, we would have been lost. We also received mixed information on a supposed "burn ban" from the staff. We expected so much more after our wonderful experience last year, and were sorely disappointed. read more