Chicago River Canoe and Kayak

My friend and I had so much fun. We are newer to kayaking and are getting to know the different types of boats and equipment, but really just started so we could observe wildlife, and what a great place to do it! Malcolm and Mitchell were extremely helpful and friendly, we will be back!

Sorry to report there are some devious people employed here.
Went to the Tower Road location with my son and a friend on a Sunday afternoon. We started at 4:05 p.m. and enjoyed it well enough. Went to pay and found that the paperwork said that we had started at 3:05 p.m. and they tried to charge us $ 70. My friend finally won the argument.
If you use these people, read their paperwork carefully before you sign the waiver, and get the correct time on the form.
Or better yet, avoid all of their locations and find a different company.

Over the years I was a frequent renter for fishing at Busse Woods in Schaumburg. This co took over the operations recently and reliability went down hill. It is aggravating to show up at the scheduled opening — early morning is the best time to fish — but employees arrive significantly late. Just sit at the entrance and wait or, like, me, just go elsewhere. Ashame because it was such a good operation for many years.

Went for kayaking tiday. Great experience the lagoon, the island very serene and peaceful. Great for beginners.
Life vest provided, I even got a towel to dry up. Cards taken.
Will definitely be going back again!

Went this morning. Seemed pretty busy for memorial day. They had a ton of kayaks and canoes and no one seemed to have to wait too long. We signed up and got into our kayak within 5 minutes of being there. Really nice view on the lagoon, spent an hour paddling around and headed back to pay. $ 20 for a tandem kayak for an hour was a pretty good deal. Guys running it were really nice too.

This place is a lot of fun. If you’re interested in starting out a kayak or canoe hobby this would be a great place to begin. You can take lessons or just go out and teach yourself. It had been about seven years since I kayaked and it was no problem. About $ 20/​hr depending on the type of vessel you get. One thing though, and this is not a fault of the business, if you look at a map of the lagoons it looks like there are more places to go then there really are. We discovered our first time out that there are dams and bridges that block you from going all around. But there are still plenty enough places to explore your first couple times.

This was so much fun! I went to Chicago River Canoe and Kayak last week on a «triple date» with my fiancé and his college buddies. I must say, I was very surprised because we’ve lived in this area all our lives and had no idea this was here. We arrived at 10am on a beautiful Saturday morning, no reservations, and there was no wait at all! Chicago River Canoe and Kayak has locations in Chicago and this one (Skokie Lagoons) in Winnetka. The staff here was super friendly. The supplied us with our canoes, paddles, life vests, and a map to navigate the area.
Rentals were very affordable:
–Single Kayaks are $ 15/​hour
–Canoes & Tandem Kayaks $ 20/​hour
We packed a picnic and were on our way. Several islands to visit and the wildlife to see. We saw a lot of birds which we had no idea were native to this area. The trip itself was very serene. It was a nice way to spend our saturday morning.
They do offer guided trips as well (i.e. sunset dinner & Des Plaines River trip), which I hope to try out soon.

Overall: A wonderful gem, cheap rentals, great lagoon. Worth every minute.
The Deets: Located along the south side of Tower Rd along the mid-​Lagoon region, Chicago River Canoe and Kayak awaits with tons of aquatic transportation for your pleasure. If its a weekday, it is as simple as just showing up and filling out a simple form, putting on a life-​vest, getting a quick tutorial, and off to the lagoon you go. If its the weekend (and a nice day), you may need to try to call ahead to place a reservation because the boats may be taken at a moment’s notice.
Either way, simple to get, and simple to use. The Lagoons themselves are very serene and gorgeous. No motorized traffic allowed, so its a kayak/​canoe heaven. Most folks head around the large central island (about a 30 – 45 min journey) — can see many herons, bird nests galore, fish jumping out of the water, frogs darting around the shallows, and the frequent optimistic fisherman along the shores. Another journey is underneath the Tower Rd Bridge and extend north (longer route about 1 hour min journey). I like to bring a large ZipLoc baggie (filled with a book and camera), a large water, and a granola bar. You can stop along at some shallow shores and disembark for a lil stretching without any problem.
Overall, a great place and I highly recommend all my buddies (and Unilocalers) to go.
Cheers!

Explore your way through the Skokie lagoon! It’s $ 15/​single kayak or canoe or $ 20/​tandem kayak or canoe per hour.
Everyone’s friendly, helpful and efficient. You don’t need a reservation but they will take them a day before for peak hours.
They open til 8 pm with the last send off at 7 pm.
Perfect for a cool summer day! We loved seeing a family of heron during our kayak trip! LOVED IT!

Came here to take the Seahawk II out for the first time. There’s a little shop here to rent out gears, canoes, or kayaks by the hour. It was kind of confusing when we first got into the water. If you take a right you will end up going to a longer river for a longer ride. IF you take a left you will circle a little island.
I have to say, it was pretty fun and relaxing here. There are a lot of fallen branches or trees amongst the moss growing.
Bring bug spray if you attract bugs easily… they obviously don’t supply that at the rental.