We had a good time doing the longer Barton-Gallup trip. We saw a lot of wildlife including deer, swans, ducks with their babies, Canadian geese, a beautiful kingfisher, and a number of herons. There must be some good fishing in this stretch of river because we saw lots of fishermen catching nice-sized fish.
When you get to the livery, you'll have to leave your car keys or ID as a deposit. This is annoying because when you return, you have to stand in line again to retrieve your item at the end of your trip. This is an important consideration if you're planning to go on a Saturday. We tried to go one Saturday around 11AM and after 20 minutes standing in a line that barely moved we bailed. If you're going at a peak time, I'd consider handing over an expired ID or keys to a car you don't have anymore and just leaving them so you don't have to stand in the line again.
I was a little disappointed at first because I specifically asked for sit-in kayaks instead of sit-on kayaks, but when we got to the launch I saw they brought sit-on kayaks. This complicated things because we each had a small cooler and a backpack. One kayak had broken bungee cords and the other one had a broken seat. I informed the livery worker that we asked for sit-in kayaks and she told me that they provided sit-on kayaks because the rapids cause a good deal of water to accumulate in a sit-in kayak. However, once we were through the rapids, I saw a number of people in sit-in kayaks successfully navigate the rapids and they looked significantly drier than I or my companion.
The rapids are not well-marked. You approach a dam and there is signage warning you to keep away. We weren't sure if we were supposed to portage or what and this information was not provided at the livery. The entry to the rapids area is on the left, but had there not have been other kayakers in front of us, we would have had a hard time finding it. The rapids are class 2, so they are very manageable for experienced paddlers. The biggest danger comes from other, less experienced kayakers who get turned around at the bottom of each chute. You can tell who has more or less experience so either stay away from them, letting them go first, or ask if you can go before them (paddlers tend to be very friendly).
In addition to the wildlife along and in the river, you will find some of Ann Arbor's homeless or transient population lurking/sleeping/camping on the banks of the river. Some of them are aggressive panhandlers so try to avoid them if you want to stop along the river for a snack or a smoke. Also, some areas of the river trail are notorious for sexual assaults so I wouldn't recommend going exploring along the river trail (to look for a place to relieve yourself, for example) alone. This is only a limited area of the river near the medical research complex; for the most part the river is beautiful, picturesque, and quiet.
The facility is well-staffed with friendly, helpful young people. They help you in and out of your boat. Bathrooms are spartan, but clean. We didn't use the snack bar, but they do have one and a coffee shop. They also sell bait if you want to fish. We had a pleasant trip. With stops, the 2.5-hour estimate for the trip was spot-on. I recommend the Gallup Park livery to anyone looking for a pleasant way to spend an afternoon...
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