Kinni Creek Lodge & Outfitters

We had nothing but amazing service from the staff at KinniCreek Lodge on our 6 hour Jungle Tour.
Everything started in time, we were transported to our launching spot and then kayaked back to the lodge!
6 hours was a bit long and we ran into some issues while on our trip. The creek its self was a bit more to handle for the beginner kayaker.
There were a lot of downed trees and other obstacles. It would be nice to have an employee check these things before sending customers out. When we got back no one asked our opinion about how the creek was. Or at least warn us when they drop us off.
We ran into a horrid fisherman who harassed us and verbally abused us. Lots of f-​bombs about us being rude (we weren’t loud and made sure to be very courteous as we passed) and he proceeded to tell us we were being «pretty f-​info rude». I’m not sure what he was wanting from us. To get out and walk our kayaks AROUND him? No thanks. we met him at the beginning of our trip. He, unfortunately, set the mood for the rest of our adventure. But to be fair we met 2 other fisherman who were super friendly and thanked us for being so quiet as we passed. So score one for us and a big FU To fisherman #1…
We received drink tickets and were on our way!
Tips:
The first 4 hours are calm. Some obstacles but nothing like white water rafting. It’s the last 2 hours that are harder for a beginner.
If you are a beginner: Possibly hire someone to guide you.
Bring snacks!
leave your phone at home!
Don’t park at the lodge. Park at the library across the street
Bring a change of clothes
Wear sunscreen
Put your sunglasses on a cord
Ladies pee before you leave. No bathrooms on the creek

Well worth exploring a kayak adventure with a Groupon if you have never been before… I would not have been as happy if I paid full price. The two younger girls working the shuttle deserve 5 freakin stars as they were friendly, hard-​working, and personable. The kayaks are a little beat down — my seat adjuster and leg support were broken. The river itself is stinky in some places —The owner of the shop was on her phone the entire time and not sure why she had to be in or around the shop at all because it really left a horrid impression on the group I was with. Literally she made no pleasantry with anybody and was on the phone — yet put herself in a position where you felt like she was there to work. I had a good day on the little creek and enjoyed meeting some fellow first-​time kayakers. I will kayak again but probably not here.

Loved it!
The lodge was so comfortable and our hostess so nice!
It’s a beautiful setting.
Our only complaint is that we only stayed one night!

This place knows their stuff, the staff has a ton of paddling and safety experience, the owner and an employee have spent lots of years as paddling guides around the country. All of these reviews about how the owner is a bad person and staff is unknowledgeable are written by people who CHOSE not to listen to the initial directions given to them by the staff.
–I’m an experienced flat water and whitewater paddler and these guys give everyone exactly what they need to be successful upon arrival. The website is informative and succinct, from what to expect on the water to exactly where to park and meet the staff, all you have to do is read it, like they tell everyone to do when you make your reservation. LITERACY IS EVERYTHING FOLKS!
On an important side note: I totally understand why they really don’t want people driving down into the driveway and they tell paddlers to park off site. The drivers are pretty skilled to get their rigs turned around in that drive, but if there are 4 cars parked in there, it bottles everything up. You can’t move and they can’t move, everyone is told to park off site and it says it all over the website. Why do people seem to think that they can be the exception to the rule?! I’ve seen multiple cases of this when I paddle with them.
–I found that the staff is helpful and always willing to answer good, informed questions (asking «Are there going to be rapids?» is not a good question). The first time I paddled with them they made sure to give a brief dry land lesson. The equipment is all in good condition and is truly fun to paddle as opposed to some of the oaf-​like boats the other rental companies have.
–Once on the river, they have done a really solid job of maintaining the waterway to make sure that is not exceedingly dangerous for the beginning paddler, but still challenging for a paddler like me. The customers MUST realize that the river changes daily and the staff can’t run the river daily to find a each new hazard. I believe the waiver everyone signs says that there are natural risks involved and that all those risks cannot be eliminated without removing the essential qualities in wilderness paddling. STOP WHINING ABOUT TREES IN THE RIVER, they will always be there. The fences are marked clearly and we are warned about them prior to hitting the water. The rapids are good and manageable for everyone, they don’t offer skirts or helmets, no special skills are needed, just paddle through. If they seem daunting, YOU, the paddler, have the option to get out and walk around them, it is not that hard.
On a recent visit I did the Kinni Jungle trip on a muddy water day and people were falling out of their boats and losing gear and then hitch hiking back and then expecting help finding their stuff or to not pay for their lost equipment. I don’t understand why they expect the staff to help find their boats. I vividly remember initialing something that said that it is my responsibility to return ALL of the equipment in good repair. The staff shouldn’t have to go paddle and try and find the stuff that people lose. That would be like wrecking a rental car in twin cities rental car and telling the Hertz that you aren’t taking care of it because they didn’t tell you about rush hour traffic. The gaul of some people.
This outfitter is the real deal. With the volume of boats they move and the quality of service they provide to everyone, they impress me every time I’m there. Whether I’m looking to rent something or to have them shuttle myself and equipment. When they tell you to do something, remember they know what they are talking about and you don’t and you should do it. Its like going to school without doing your homework. They keep the paddler’s safety a priority and want to make sure their paddlers are prepared for their trip. They are easily the best and only qualified outfitter to use in River Falls.

I would not recommend Kinni Creek Lodge at all. Perhaps if you’re an adrenaline junkie who enjoys rapids, high stress levels, getting tossed into cold water, caught in currents, and numerous obstacles at every turn, then maybe. But this is NOT for beginners or anyone who thinks this is a leisurely stroll through nature. It is anything but.
My fiancée and I went the day after Labor Day after getting the Groupon for the Upper Canyon (marked as a «beginner» course on the website). There was very little guidance in how to do anything (except hold the paddle), we were dropped off 6 miles from the lodge, and the «guide» promptly left without even helping us into the water. You really are on your own.
Within 15 min of hitting the water, the rapids picked up. My fiancée, who’s been kayaking for 10+ years, got caught in it, thrown into a fallen tree, and flipped into the water. Then I promptly did the same thing. Both our kayaks flipped on top of us and held us underwater for a while. I can’t swim, so it was terrifying. Luckily the river is not deep, but my knees got incredibly bruised up from hitting the river rocks.
As if that wasn’t terrifying enough, we still had to keep going for the next 6 HOURS. There is no one around to call for help, you’re kinda out in the middle of nowhere. The current is insanely strong. You will get thrown into trees without much control over it. You will get stuck on rocks and have to «rock» yourself out of it, all while raging rapids pile up and try to throw you. You may have to get out because there is literally no way around.
The employees aren’t aware of how dangerous it really is. When I told one of them my experience, I was met with, «Well you DID read the waiver, right?» Not helpful. Yes, I read the waiver, but in this day and age, waivers simply state the most EXTREME cases. Apparently in this rare case, whatever is in the waiver absolutely WILL happen to you! They should stress that more.
My biggest complaint? After I got back to work the next week, one of my coworkers revealed that he was set to rent kayaks on the Kinnikinnick river in River Falls the day before we went, but their rental company had called him and warned him the river was «too high and too dangerous» and advised that they cancel. So why didn’t Kinni Creek Lodge do the same for us? Did a whole day really change the river that much? I think it’s obvious Kinni Creek just wants your money, wants to cover their butts with waivers, and does not care about safety, education, or the enjoyment level of their customers.

Went kayaking for the first time and had an excellent experience! We knew what to expect based on the information provided on the website — we came prepared and had a great time. The scenery is beautiful and the obstacles were just tough enough to still be fun to navigate through. We are novice outdoors people and this is something we will definitely do again. We’d like to kayak the upper a few more times (beginner level) and then move on to more advanced. If you don’t understand the basics of kayaking (Sit, paddle, don’t tip, steer, paddle, don’t tip, enjoy) — find something that is guided. The website clearly states that it is not guided — if you do need/​want a guide, then reserve it in advance. The site also clearly states that you are expected to haul your kayak for launch and pulling out. Read the site and you will know exactly what you should expect.

Kinni Lodge is an adorable bed & breakfast/​cabin. It has three rooms to rent with a shared full kitchen and living room. There is a hot tub and grilling area. Each room has a closet, fireplace, tv, dvd player, and bathroom. All doors lock with your room key for privacy and security.
Every morning there is breakfast prepared; muffins and cinnamon rolls, english muffins, fruit, juice, coffee, tea, etc. It has a full kitchen.
The lodge is off the river and only blocks from downtown. It allows everything (or a lot at least) to be within walking distance.
I highly recommend this place for a place to stay. Much better than a hotel with a great amount of character.
When you set up reservations make sure to ask about payment. It was cash only so clarify upon reservation.

It seems the other reviewer on here only had to try calling this place for 3 days — I think I tried over the course of several weeks, at all different times on different days. I never once had anyone answer the phone, and usually I would leave a message along the lines of «Please call me back between these hours.» Inevitably, they would call back during the times I was unavailable, would leave a message asking me to call back, and the cycle would begin again. I also tried booking through email, where I was told to call the business to make my reservation. Not frustrating at all.
When I finally spoke with someone in person, she was not evenly remotely pleasant — but at least we had our reservations. On the morning of the trip, my friends and I met in the correct place (a park parking lot), where we were met by a guy from Kinni Creek who admitted that he was part-​time and wasn’t really sure what to do. No instructions, no explanation, just «Ok guys, whenever you are ready you can grab your kayaks and go.» So, we grabbed our kayaks and went… down the very obvious path to the water that we had parked directly next to.
After a loooong walk down to the water, we got in and paddled downstream about 15 minutes, where we quickly realized we were at the top end of a dam. After much confusion, and realizing that hey, where did all those other people from our group go? we paddled back upstream, got out, carried our boats back up the huge hill, where he was just arriving to meet the next group (an hour after we had met him the first time). A friend and I went to speak with him about what he was thinking while he watched us walk away down the wrong path, and his response was «I thought you guys would just figure it out, that you were in the wrong place.» Uh yeah, we did figure it out, when we ran into the freaking dam.
The Kinnickinnic River, once we started off in the right place (a secret hidden path not visible from the parking lot), was GORGEOUS, and lots of fun. Our trip was to go all the way to Prescott (not that we had any idea where that was or how to get there), which entailed leaving the Kinnickinnic and going into the St. Croix at a point where we were surrounded by enormous motor boats, huge wakes nearly knocking us over, and no current to help us along our way. It was a grueling 2 hours from the mouth of the Kinnickinnic to Prescott, where we were picked up by an SUV that held 8 people. There were 9 of us. We squeezed (this seems to be their norm, based on the previous review).
Synopsis: I would love to go back down the absolutely beautiful Kinnickinnic River again, but only if we stop before hitting the St. Croix and if it is in no way involving this company.

I thought this place was great as long as I was in the creek and kayaking. Other than that, Kinni was a terrible experience. Before I even got there it was painful. You need to set an appointment for kayaking before you get there which is understandable. The difficult thing was trying to get a hold of the people working there. I had to try calling during many hours of the day. I wasn’t able to talk to anyone until the third day of trying. If it want for a Groupon deal, I would have quit trying because leaving a voice mail does no good. I finally got a kayaking appointment along with some very vague instructions. So again I had to attempt to call back. When we arrived at the lodge on time for kayaking, she showed up 20 minutes late. The reason she gave me was that she was waiting for us somewhere she never mentioned. So we had to wait until the following hour to get in the water.
When I finally met up with her again, I realized why it was nearly impossible to make a phone call to this place. This lodge, bait and tackle shop, and kayaking company was operated by one person at the time. The company’s number is a cell phone number that she carries around with her. I saw her hang up on multiple people while she was briefly trying to explain the creek to us. She’s also the person that drives the shuttle to pick up and drop off customers. She is clearly taking on too many jobs for one person.
The creek was great! The water was a little low when I was there. We got stuck because our boats kept hitting the rock and sand on the the bottom a few times. It was still a fun experience though. It took us five hours to get through the lower creek. we had a few short breaks on the sand bars. The owner informed us that it would take four hours at most. SO BE CAREFUL ABOUT THAT because you have to schedule a pick up time. If you don’t arrive at the pick up point on time, the company charges you a $ 100 fee for having to pick you up later.
As expected she was 15 minutes late picking us up at our scheduled time. Eight of us plus the owner/​driver were expected to fit into a 7 passenger vehicle because it was too much work to switch it to the 15 passenger van.
I witnessed her pick up the phone for the first time while she was driving us back. She had conversation with a different customer. The subject was the same problem I had to deal with. They were also misinformed and showed up to the wrong place. So they also had to wait another hour. It was already getting cold by then. She was also reading and replying to text messages while she was driving us back. Talk about safety…
I’m certain that our group wasn’t the only group that had to deal with these issues. Another family that started kayaking the same time we did talked to us about how difficult it was to get a hold of this company to get information.
When she dropped us off, she said «see you next time!» and the only thing I had to say to her was «There will be no next time with this company.»