Wateriders is a perfect place to go to rent a kayak for a solo adventure or to join a guided group. The staff is friendly professional and courteous and provides training and instruction tailored to your particular level of experience. The location is wonderful as it is just up the North Branch of the river, off the main waterway and away from the heavy river traffic enabling you to get accustomed to the water and kayak before braving the wakes of the tour boats. And, the price is very reasonable, much less than what is offered towards Michigan Ave. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I was looking to go solo rather than taking a tour, and Wateriders had nice, flexible offerings. They responded very quickly to an initial inquiry, so I had a very good feeling right from the start. I arrived early, listened to a fun, informative safety briefing for a tour group and then was brought to the dock. All equipment was in great shape, everything that I might need was provided, including a map of the architectural icons along the river. The staff was simply great all around! It was a great way to spend an afternoon!
I did this with a friend, who had never gone kayaking. They did a great job explaining. Everyone was awesome, and most importantly, it was an amazing location. Totally recommend it for anyone with upper body mobility to do!
This was a lot of fun, with a lot of cool knowledge thrown in. The architectural tour of Chicago by Kayak gave a unique perspective. Wateriders has been doing this the longest on the Chicago RIver, and the experience showed. Their operation was efficient and the guides knowledge (Joel) extensive.
The people that we encountered at Waterriders were so nice, laid back and easy going, they were so happy we came and gave us hats and pens and told us about getting a 20% discount at the Motel Bar after we kayaked. It was a wonderful experience for the whole family! They seem to take pride and enjoy their jobs!
Great way to see the city of Chicago and get a great workout at the same time. The pace and the stops along the way are great because you get a history of Chicago from the guide at the same time. As a Chicagoan I never realized some of the facts. Terrific way to spend 2.5 hours doing something out of the ordinary.
We rented a two seat kayak for two hours. Our trip was self-guided, we did not take the tour. We paid $8 to park in the attached self park garage. The location of the dock is perfect, far enough from heavy boat traffic but close enough to paddle to the loop. The staff was vey friendly and helpful. They made sure we were comfortable with the kayak before sending us on our way. The staff at the Kingsbury Yacht Club were also very accommodating, allowing us to use their facilities to change clothes. We had lunch at the sandwich shop on the River Walk, although it is a little walk from the dock. We had lunch for two people for under $15.
Overall great experience, we will definitely return for another kayak excursion!
Went on the Gangster and Ghosts tour!! Highly recommend doing this tour as it is at night. The view of the city is SPECTACULAR!!! The guides Adam, Aidan and Seth were Great You learn alittle history with a comic twist. I disagree with a previous reviewer that was not pleased with Seth and his stories. You have to remember this is NOT a total documentary they do try to but in some jokes and make it fun!! Great job fellas!!!
We did the Gangster and Ghost tour with Joel and Adam as our guides. Both were extremely helpful, and friendly, but I have to give a shout-out especially to Joel who was the lead for the tour– he was exceptional!!! Joel started by meeting each of us when we were on the water and learned each of our names (there were 22 in our tour group!). His stories were full of details with dates, names, places and he gave us a great flavor of the seedy history of our city. He recited a great poem about the city’s gansta’ past. It was a beautiful evening (the guys could not claim credit for the excellent weather) and a great way to spend a Sunday night. We are definitely going to be doing this again, especially when we have people visiting Chicago. Great job guys!
My friends and I did the Kayout adventure this week and had a blast! The tour guides, Amy and Jack, were both energetic and enthusiastic and created a great environment for us to have a fun evening kayak adventure. Would love to do it again sometime!