Crystal River Outfitters

A great no-​fuss place to rent kayaks and canoes in the Glen Arbor area. The young staff members were friendly and helpful. Expect to pay about $ 40 a person. We completed the seven-​mile Crystal River route in about 2 hours at not a difficult speed. So if you want a longer trip just let the river take you. Beautiful clear water and great scenery. Check ahead to make sure the river level isn’t too low.

These guys provide an amazing opportunity to float/​paddle the pristine Crystal River. Get a group together, pack a cooler and sunscreen, and relax. They also carry a ton of outdoor gear including the best selection of sandals of probably anywhere in the county.

I’ve been a Glen Arbor summer resident longer than Crystal River Outfitters has been around, and used to rent canoes from the back of a gas station just a hundred feet or so down M-​22. The Crystal River remains the same, with a few trees falling every year or two, that only add to the interest of the trip down the river.
Crystal River Outfitters is the big game in town, and they have a nice, tidy little shop with everything you could need. They carry the best sunscreen and insect repellants, energy snacks, drinks, water shoes, tees, shorts, sunglasses, hats, and more. They offer just about anything you could need for your trip, and the boats are pretty well maintained.
There really isn’t much by way of «service» that a smile and a quick trip and brief explanation can’t cover– it’s a very short time you’re with anyone from the store, but we’ve had no issues from them this year or any other year.
I’m heading there to rent a bike later! The prices are a bit higher than they were a few years ago, but thanks to Good Morning America, and tour buses bringing loads of tourists and «fudgies» through town, they can charge whatever they want, I suppose!
It doesn’t take the 2 to 3 hours the rental companies advertise, unless you’re stopping for lunch, or simply coasting down the river. We paddle aggressively through the very shallow areas and around turns, and are always finished in about 90 minutes.
Bring a camera and a ziploc bag, and wear tons of bug spray, you should be good to go.

Really fun activity when the weather is nice! Great service, though it’s pretty expensive. We rented a double, and it was $ 48. I guess the prices have been steadily going up over the years. But for $ 24 a person in beautiful Michigan, it was worth the cost! It was a solid 3 hour activity.
The river is VERY shallow in certain parts, and it has a couple of turns that are hard to get around. We got stuck under some low hanging branches at some point, and we also had to get out of the kayak to get moving when we go stuck on the shallow parts. If you aren’t used to kayaking, maybe take a buddy and go together because it can get tiring! There are also two portages where you have to get out of the kayak, move it, and get back on the river because there are roads in the way. It wasn’t too difficult with 2 people per kayak, but I imagine it would be kind of difficult if everyone is in a single. I think it was unavoidable at those points to get in the kayak without getting in the water. The water is very shallow though, so no issues there!
The scenery was gorgeous, and we saw a lot of little fish and some ducks! Also some dogs that were hanging out in the backyard of some of the residential areas.
Best part was probably shooting the tube. I have gone kayaking a lot, but that was a new experience for me! Definitely try it!
Tips for your trip:
— Bring a lunch in a waterproof bag or a backpack, maybe even a cooler! Take breaks, eat, and enjoy the scenery because there is no time limit. Enjoy your time out there! It’s gorgeous!
— Attire — definitely shorts because you might be wading a little. You have to try pretty hard to get wet or flip your kayak, so don’t worry about wearing waterproof clothes. We did this activity spur of the moment!
My boyfriend was acting silly and ended up falling in the river. A friend also fell in after some miscommunication when they were carrying the kayak across the portage. They were very nice and gave us a towel to dry off!

We rented the Mountain/​Hybrid bikes for 4 hours and biked the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, a 27-​mile multipurpose trail through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. We rode from Glen Arbor to Empire, stopped for a cold soda, then rode back.
The bikes were in very good condition, staff was friendly and very helpful in adjusting the bikes for fit.
The Sleeping Bear Heritage multi-​purpose trail was awesome. Smoothly paved, new, and in excellent condition (as of August 2014). We were under tree cover most of the way, which was lovely and peaceful. Would totally recommend this activity for those seeking something fun, outdoorsy, and scenic.

If you want a relaxing kayak ride, don’t come here. There are no class 5 rapids, but the river is not very relaxing to navigate. There are low-​hanging branches, shallow spots where you get stuck on sand/​logs, and you have to get out of your kayak three times and drag ‘em around.
They give you absolutely no advice on how to navigate around. They drive you to the launch spot, hand you a paddle and then it’s up to you to figure out the rest. I’ve kayaked before so I knew what I was getting into, but for a family with no experience, this probably isn’t the river you want to learn on. They give you no warning of the condition of the river as described above.
The river is fun to kayak though. Lots of wildlife and flowers to look at, and it is quite a workout.
We also had one kayak that clearly had something wrong with it. Both my wife and I tried it out and both of us had issues with the kayak wanting to turn itself around when you were heading straight. It took way too much effort to keep it on a straight course. I told them about it when we came back and no one seemed to care.
This place would benefit from a little maintenance of the river and their equipment for sure.

We rented 2 double kayaks for the 4 of us. Over 3 hours on a very leisurely pace down a very very shallow and slow 7 mile river.
The cost was $ 84. They drive you up to the launch point, and you come back down river to the store. We did not see any wildlife [the kids were disappointed], but we all got an eyeful of the beauty of the area,

I’m not exactly sure what river these other reviews went on. DO NOT GO HERE! The staff is excellent at selling the river, and indeed the river is beautiful. However, they do not mention that you have to portage (carry) your canoe three times on their trip until you are in their van on the way to the drop off. If we’d known this in advance, we would not have taken the trip. Then, you get on a beautiful river. The problem is that NO ONE has maintained this river. There are portions of the river that you physically cannot get through in a canoe. My wife and I ended up getting dumped three times by downed trees and limbs. After we got back, we complained to the staff and they essentially blew us off.
Our plan was to canoe in the morning and then bike in the afternoon after lunch. Instead, we got ripped off by a polished business. They lost out on bike rentals for the afternoon (at least $ 50) because we were: a) drying out, and b) SICK OF GETTING RIPPED OFF!
DO NOT GO HERE!

We rented 2 single kayaks for $ 56. Seemed expensive to me but it was such a fun day! I have never kayaked before and it was a good route for beginners. The river never gets more than a couple feet deep. There are many times where trees are blocking part of the river and it’s really fun to try and dodge them. If you are very pale like me I recommend wearing plenty of sunscreen because you are in the sun the entire time.

My wife & I did the short trip (2.5 hours) last weekend, we planned for the longer 4.5 hour trip but we where getting some rain with a chance of more sever storms so we decided to play it safe. because of the rain we had the river to ourselves.
This place is very affordable, it was less than $ 50 for two single kayaks. All of the employees we encountered where super nice and friendly.
The river itself is VERY shallow, we where told up to four feet in spots but many areas are well less than a foot. There are two mandatory portages, one dam and and one road. There is also one optional section where you can go thou a 4 foot drainage tube going under a road. The river is pretty slow moving even after a good night/​morning of rain so do not expect any whitewater or such. the skill comes in to not get stuck in the shallow sections.
The highlight of the trip was this family of otters that swam along with us for a bit, very cool.
Do not expect any adrenalin rush, relax and enjoy the scenery & wide life, ohh and bring bug spray.

Single Kayak for $ 28, double for $ 34. Not bad for 2 – 3 hours on a beautiful river. The clerk even suggested that we get mosquito spray, THANK GOD we did. Billions of mosquitoes trying to ruin my day. Good thing I sprayed almost a gallon of that stuff on myself, other friends didnt, and they paid for it. I didnt get a single bite. Weird how the repellent doesnt repel all the dragonflies.
The sights are beautiful, but sometimes the water gets too shallow, and you get stuck. Also hard to dodge the tree branches that have fallen down. The only part that I didnt like was getting out of the boat to cross a street to the other side of the river. There was also one part where you go through a sewer tunnel, that was really fun. You can put your hand down and try to catch some small fish. Very fun, if friends werent trying to race. and if i didnt get punched in the face by mother nature’s branch.

The guys were great. Got us on a kayak and on the river in no time. Very friendly. One of the guys even told us to take the shorter route because it would rain in 2 hours, and lo and behold, in two hours it started to rain hard.

Kayak and canoe rental joint. Not much of a story to tell here, which is why I like them. Quick, knowledgeable staff. The river is great for novices or teaching your kids. It’s a Class I river, very shallow and clear water.