Wilderness Rocks

Nice small group. I went kayaking and loved it. Nice and peaceful waters. Great couple running it with their amazing dog! Would go again on this and some of their other trips.

This was a total disappointment. Similar to what other Unilocalers say — their customer service is pretty poor.
I am an avid hiker and organized a hike with my friends to take a trip with Wilderness Rocks. Prior to the trip it took days/​weeks for them to respond to emails and calls, so that it in itself wasn’t a great sign.
On the day of the hike I got sick, so I was not able to go. I tried to contact Wilderness Rocks to see what my options are for future hikes, they told me to look at the dates in the website. Almost all of the dates there were old in the website, and I tried to follow up and got no response. It’s like they totally forgot about me now that they’ve taken my money.
I was genuinely looking forward to the hike and am very disappointed at their customer service. I would have appreciated at least a response. I paid my money fairly and got nothing back at all.
I regularly go on hikes via these companies — I am totally not going to book anything ever again with this company, and they’ve lost future sales from me.

5 stars. Joe and Missy are true outdoorsman while being professional and friendly. We went hiking near the town of Tuxedo, NY through the Appalachian mountains in the snow. The length of the tour was perfect and halfway through the hike we stopped at a shelter, built a fire and drank hot chocolate. It was a great day (minus the cold).

We had a fantastic day hike on the snowy Appalachian Trails and can’t wait to book an overnight trip with a group of friends next! Joe and Missy are enthusiastic and full of helpful nuggets of information about nature and how to navigate the woods in winter. We loved the experience!

So much more than what we expected!
Joe and Messi are amazing! + CHief of course is da best part of the trip! he snuggled with me the whole ride up, and he just a really well behaved traveling pal.
We went on the North Fork Kayak trip.
Met in the upper east side (yep they do leave at 7.15 sharp, but they also waited just a minute pass! fyi). It took 1.45 /​2 hours to drive up to the fork. along the way we stopped at a starbucks. we were able to chill and relax at Joe + Messi’s private beach at the fork while others go kayak (only 6 people out at a time), which was awesome because it felt good to chill on the beach, and it felt good to be on 1 out of the 3 kayaks on the water. The fork was beeaautiful! endanger birds, fish, private beach, and beautiful old houses. we spent about 30 minutes at a local farmers market, and 45 minutes at a vineyard for wine tasting before coming back to the city. it was a lovely day
Will definitely join other trips!

I enjoyed the North Fork Kayak trip that I went on recently with Joe. We had a beautiful day and the bay in the North Fork is a beautiful spot to kayak in. Wilderness Rocks does need to get its rear in gear on some things, though. Biggest problem was that they don’t have nearly enough kayaks! It should be well-​advertised that you won’t have a kayak of your own — you’ll share a double. On my trip they had 2 single and 3 double kayaks for 13 people. This also means you go in shifts, so you may arrive at the spot and be asked to sit for 90 minutes. I think this is a big problem for a trip whose focus is kayaking.
(If you are going to have a lack of kayaks, it’s also imperative that the guides take charge of helping decide who gets the individual ones. There were some awkward, tense moments on the beach with people hammering out who should sacrifice what for other guests, during which the guides stood by and said nothing. Definitely contributed — along with the going in shifts — to the total lack of group dynamic.)
I should note there’s also no kayak instruction whatever.
They’re under-​resourced in other ways. You’re basically at someone’s house, so not even all seven of us could be seated at the picnic table to eat lunch together, because there weren’t seven chairs!
They bring a dog with them in the SUV. The dog is well-​behaved, but many people are allergic to dogs, find them annoying or dirty; in short, it’s pretty unprofessional. Just something they should be aware of ’cause one day they may have a problem .
Also this company desperately needs a point person to respond to calls and emails. As others on Unilocal note, there is extremely poor communication resulting in conflicts. Don’t expect to reach anyone on the phone, ever, and expect it to take several days to get a return email. Unconfirmed, I had to just hope I had a reservation and chance it on a Saturday morning at 7:15, but who wants to do that?
This is a fine trip for someone who doesn’t mind all these quirks, just wants to spend a nice day at someone’s lovely beachfront home in the North Fork (and visit a winery en route back. Me, I have seen several wineries and I think that this commercial aspect could be replaced with another nature visit that would surely be more interesting. Essentially, with this trip, you are paying for the ride out, and the loan of someone’s (half) kayak.

My friend and I booked the kayaking trip and had a really enjoyable time. Before the actual trip, we were a bit put off that it was rescheduled twice due to lack of demand, and the third time we had to move it up a day due to weather. However, once we realize it’s a couple running this with limited resources and big hearts, it was easier to understand. Joe was prompt picking us up, friendly and informative. The kayaking itself was enjoyable, and the winery a nice addition. I would book through them again.

I’ve been on several hikes led by Joe and I enjoyed each one immensely. Besides being a nice guy, he’s a talented and competent guide.

Great trip! My girlfriend and I just returned from an overnight winter backpacking trip.
Joe and Missy definitely know their stuff and run a great trip. They put their customers first and look out for them every step of the way. It’s clear that even if you’re not outdoorsy Joe will cater the trip around your ability level and still make it fun.
In an industry that is very temperamental and reliant on a variety of factors (weather, potential injury, gear malfunction, etc.) I can’t imagine anyone better than Wilderness Rocks to guide you.
Don’t hesitate to sign up for any trip!

If the zombie apocalypse comes, Joe is the person with whom you want to be.
Extremely knowledgeable about the outdoors, every trip (and I’ve done several), have been amazing. From kayaking on an amazing piece of private property in the summer to camping in the dead of winter, you’re sure to both have a great time and feel like a bad ass survivalist.
WR really shows that they value your time by giving you an incredible outdoor experience AND by leaving on time (unlike other outfitters where you lose an hour to waiting for those ppl that show up late and don’t even apologize). The lesson here is to respect your fellow enthusiasts and get your ass there on time (note; on time does not mean 5 minutes late or ten minutes late or arriving and needing to go to the store; it means … wait for it … wait for it … arriving on time).
I’m hooked, the friends and family I’ve referred are hooked. I’ll book trips with Joe again and again and again.
Colorado 2013! Can’t wait.

I went on a day hike and really enjoyed it. Joe was a great guide, Missy (his wife, who I think goes on the hikes as long as there is space in the van) was nice, and Chief (their dog) was adorable. The hike was ~5 miles and was at a good pace with stops along with the way at scenic spots or for Joe to point things out to us, i.e. wildlife, flora, fauna. We stopped for lunch for ~45 min. and had a campfire. Joe was a knowledgeable guide and obviously loves the outdoors and sharing it with others. Missy was also great and pleasant to talk to. Great way to spend a day out of the city.
It was a relatively small group of ~8 people but perhaps that was just luck (I’ve gone on other day trips with other outfits, where the group was much larger ~12 people). Group was somewhat friendly, though people seemed to keep to themselves more so than I found on other day trips (maybe that’s also just one off for this trip too though).
I understand the unsatisfactory review someone posted on slow response/​organization, but I guess that just has to do with the fact that this is a small outfit (just Joe) and not a big company with a larger infrastructure in place. That also limits the number/​variety/​intensity of hikes that can be offered, as the selection here is smaller than can be found elsewhere. In fact, I was unsure heading into the trip but all said, I’d go on another hike with these guys without any hesitation and likely will do so when I can find the time.

We found these guys on Timeout NY and booked a hiking/​winery trip with them. Had a great time — our trip consisted of some easy/​moderate trails, with some rock scrambling thrown in the mix. Joe and Missy were hospitable, helpful and extremely knowledgable. Chief, their lovely dog was adorable!
Our group of 12 consisted of mostly couples and friends. We hiked a small stretch of the Appalachian Trail. The post hike stops included an ice cream joint overlooking a valley, and a winery/​distillery in Warwick, NY. All in all, a great time. I would definitely reccomend these guys to anyone who wants to spend a day outside the city without the hassle of renting a car.

Had an amazing time with Joe, the BEST guide I’ve ever met and his lovely dog, Chief!
As a group, we went on a small portion on the Appalachian Trail while gaining a large knowledge on different types of trees, how to start a proper camp fire and watching Joe create a whistle and a fork from a tree branch.
One of the nicest and coolest person ever, Joe offered a ride for a fellow hiker to the wine valley that was also part of our day trip!
All in all, it was entertaining and fun and it was truly thanks to Joe and Chief that created such an awesome environment. Don’t miss out and definitely take one of his fun excursions!

This was a truly great day hike in the Catskills for me and my wife! Joe and Missy were totally competent and warm guides. They threw in some birding, history of the area, and an excellent lunch. We recommend them without reservation!
Bob and Barbara