This is my second time floating this river with Zumbro Valley Canoe Rental and I cannot say enough…read moregood things about the experience. The staff and owner were great and made sure we had a safe and enjoyable trip on the river. We saw bald eagles, giant blue herons and other wildlife.

The float from Zumbro Falls to Hammond is a beautiful, peaceful 3 hour trip in kayak or canoe. That…read moregave my rating the fourth star. The establishment itself is a 3 star because the overall condition of the kayaks. The kayaks are Old Town which when new were high quality. However, most of the kayaks here are in pretty rough shape. My wife and I had two that were ok, but several had missing peddles and/or major damage to the fiberglass. So beware, before you pay make sure your kayak meets your approval. After all you're going to be in it for 3 hours. The canoes looked in better shape. The price of $35 per kayak was reasonable and Sully gave us excellent advice on how to navigate the river.

A group of friends and I came tubing for the afternoon & we had a blast! For $20 per person, you…read moreget a tube rental, twine to tie together, & a shuttle bus to the top of the river (where you then float back to the rental place/your car). We got an extra tube for our cooler, which did cost an extra $20. It's also only cash, so know that going in! The river is gorgeous, I wish I'd had a way to take pictures. It's super clean, a good pace (some faster areas & plenty of slower spots), & took us about 2.5-3 hours. Definitely wear sunscreen, that was a mistake we made I will absolutely be back & can't wait to bring my husband & other friends!

I wanted to share my experience because there were some serious safety concerns that I think would…read morebe helpful for the business to address. I called ahead before coming because rain was in the forecast and I wanted to make sure they were still open. I was told that they were. Their website also says to check their social media for updates, which I did, but there weren't any recent updates indicating that the water level was unusually low. Unfortunately, the water was extremely low, and throughout the entire trip we were constantly hitting hard rocks. At one point, a large rock hit my tube hard enough to knock me completely out of it. I landed on a bunch of rocks, and the current kept pushing me back down onto them, making it difficult for me to get back up. I ended up bleeding and was extremely lucky that a canoer happened to stop and help me. I honestly don't know what I would have done if they hadn't been there. My group had tried to help me, but the rocks are so slippery that they also got hurt. (See my bruises and scratches in photos attached) The experience at the end of the trip also wasn't great. A worker yelled at us and was quite rude about putting our tubes back, even though there wasn't any visible signage in the front beach area explaining where or how we were supposed to return them. There was towards the back area, but we hadn't gotten there yet before he had already started yelling. I strongly advise future goers to specifically call and ask about water levels, and think this business should be more adamant about posting about them giving that not only can it ruin an experience, but it can be a safety hazard as well.

Very friendly and helpful place. Easy process to rent bike - sign a waiver and pay when you…read morereturn. We rented their regular 24-speed Fuji bikes. The rate was $18 an hour plus an additional $5 dollars for every additional hour and $5 for helmets. They sell water if you need it and have a holder on each bike for a water bottle. We rode first to Whalen and checked out the pie shop and then returned and went back the other way for a while for a total of two hours. A pretty bike trail that is mostly flat. The visitor center is right next-door and has clean restrooms. A very nice experience.

Great bike rental place right on the Root River Trail. Mom…read moreand I rented two Biria bikes because they looked comfortable and cool. ;) The staff was super friendly and we had the best time on an hour long toodle down the path and back. Would definitely do it again! Seeing all the tubes and kayaks out front of the store made me think it would be super fun to hit the water next summer!

My niece and I have been tubing on the river for years and we look forward to this annual…read moreexperience. We went out on Sunday and we were told that the river was "running faster than normal" and the route would take two hours instead of the usual three. We thought that might be nice because the weather was kind of chilly and we didn't know if we wanted to be there for three hours. That said, we did not know that the river running faster would mean that it would also feel dangerous in certain parts and the rapids were a lot rougher than normal. We were pushed into various parts of the river where there were sharp rocks and fallen trees jutting out. I understand that root river outfitters doesn't have anything to do with nature, but I do think that there should be a warning about how the river running fast also means that the river is running more rough at certain points. My tube was pushed into a large tree branch from behind and I cracked my neck and I have been in pain ever since. I am not blaming root river outfitters for the situation, but I do think that they should at least let people know what they are getting into when they are going to be having a two hour experience on a river where they really don't have an opportunity to get off if they feel in danger or uncomfortable. This is just something I think that they should inform people before they go.

Great day on the root river. Easy parking and drop off with root river outfitters. Would recommend!read more

Found them on Facebook and IM'd them and they responded right away. No deposit needed to reserve…read moretheir stuff and it was easy to make a reservation and to find them using GPS. Their prices are super fair. It was $25 for a 4-hour flost on a single kayak. They shuttled us to where we started and gave us pointers about where to stop on the river for photos and where it might get faster. Overall, super friendly and helpful. I am hoping to return with friends and family.

Lee got us all set for a four hour trip of the river. Kind, knowledgeable service. We had a…read morewonderful time canoeing the Upper Iowa.

This place is clean and well-maintained. The Porta potty's nearest our tent camping site were…read moreliterally pristine even though it was rainy, and they had a nice little trashcan inside the Porta potty and outside of the Porta potty. It's the details! The land itself was gorgeous, the lady on the phone listened to the fact that I had six teenagers and put us at the spot right by the fishing hole where we had our own private beach for the river. The river the first day was up to our knees with a current that was manageable. Unfortunately the weather wasn't very cooperative with tubing ($11 a tube) which is what we wanted to do, but they also rented kayaks and canoes. The girl in the store was the family owner's teenage daughter and she was very sweet. At one point the four 14 year old boys took off on an Adventure down river, so I was in cell phone contact after hours with the owner of the campground trying to find out where they might pull aground when we spotted them coming in on an ATV from a local, friendly neighbor. They have a well-maintained volleyball court, gaga pit, badminton court with all the necessary equipment. They had covered picnic table area and a little camp store with cold pop and ice. They had cabins for rent at $149 a night which I looked into when there was a tornado watch. We were the only tent campers, (maybe other people had actually read the weather report), but it was a very quiet campground with only a crying baby early one morning from the many RV sites. None of us took a shower, but I did use the bathroom and peek into the showers and they were spotlessly clean like everything else. We also took a walk through their butterfly garden, so beautiful and peaceful. And for some reason not very many mosquitoes, not sure if they treat for them or we just got lucky but pretty much no bugs except for some flies when the teenagers didn't wash the dishes properly... it was about $150 for three nights of tent camping which included two sites and five packs of wood. A bargain! You won't regret it! Oh and my last bit involves cell phone reception: if you have T-Mobile you will get no service, if you have Verizon you will go from no service to 1 to 2 bars randomly, and if you have AT&T you will have full service the whole time.

Love this campground! We just spent three days here camping in an electric and water site. The…read morecampground is very well kept. The bathrooms are clean and the showers are hot. We stayed during the week and it was very peaceful and quiet. There were a lot of of children for my three littles to play with. The swimming area is so pretty! It is pretty shallow so it was perfect for my 2 year old and 5year old to play. Our last day we decided to float the river and it was beautiful and an easy float. The owner was friendly as well. My only suggestions are to bring lighter fluid because the wood is a little damp and some type of fly repellant. Mosquitoes were not bad at all which was great! Overall we absolutely loved Lost Falls!

Was looking for family fun over the Xmas break and the Badlands Snowpark was perfect. This place…read morehas multiple runs and tow ropes to meet any level. Other places just have a single run which gets boring after a while in my opinion. The cost is $25.00 per person and tickets must be purchased through their website. Highly recommend to get out of the house and go.

This snowpark is intense. Make sure you have protective gear for your kids (helmets, etc.) and know…read morewhat you're getting into.

If you are looking to have a shady adventure with a Wet Hot American Summer-vibe, you have come to…read morethe right place. As we walked into a strange unmarked building to pay for our adventure, we met an inebriated man sitting at the bar. Moments later someone came in and screamed expletives and threats at him until he stumbled out of the establishment. Then, a very nice employee helped us get our tickets and apologized for the behavior. The trip: A fuzzy van screeches around the corner, its car batteries spilling out of the side, this is the vehicle that will take you to the river. Without any order, drunk people pile into the vehicle, sitting or standing wherever. You take a very bumpy and seemingly unsafe venture to the river where you unload tubes (and drag them for a few mins across a muddy stretch of land to the water). The river itself is pleasant. The bottom is sandy and there are a lot of shallow parts/sandbars. The trip takes about 3 hours if you can get ahead of the 100 drunk partiers in tubes, as well. When you get back, you climb onto an incredibly shady dock and.......that's it. Some people love it, I myself thought it sure was something.

FYI I am not a skier and I've only snowboarded once. This review is for the hiking opportunity…read more First time I did this was with friends in a fitness group. It was late summer and hiking uphill in the heat, I huffed and puffed like an out of shape smoker. 2nd time I came by myself on a cooler fall Sunday afternoon and I walked it twice. There are 2 ways to tackle this. Start on left and hike by a water tower or start by tubing hill on right and walk up. The views overlooking the highway and crystal lake are awesome. They are now closed for hiking til spring due to ski season ramping up. The trails are also mountain bike trails but I never encountered anyone. The hike only takes 30 minutes to get up and down. More if you doddle and stop to take pictures. Bring a bottle of water along and dress light. I carried a fanny pack as I didn't want to leave my phone and money in my car.

What Buck Hill lacks in terrain it makes up for in personality. The staff is excellent and most of…read morethe beginning to ski group lessons end up being private or 2:1. Our two youngest kids both learned to ski at Buck and we wouldn't trade the experience for anything.