Jordan Valley Outfitters — Local services in East Jordan

We just completed the 2 hr Old State to Rogers trip with our 3-year-old. What a blast! Taking the kid in this trip without first scouting it by ourselves was maybe not the smartest decision we have ever made, but she was a champ and we all had a wonderful time.

The staff were nice about fielding our multiple calls for advice about the best equipment choice to carry us and our preschooler. We ultimately decided to take two of the smaller cockpit-style kayaks with the kiddo riding on a cushion in front of me (the slightly more experienced paddler).

The day of the trip we had a nice chat with the staff about trip difficulty and our other river experiences that helped us make sure we weren't in over our heads. We paddled after an overnight rainstorm raised the river stage, so the current was apparently a little stronger. There was some cool whitewater at the (really nicely constructed) put-in at Old State Rd.

We are mostly flat water paddlers, although we have kayaked bits of whitewater in the southern part of that state on the Huron River and River Raisin. This stretch of the Jordan reminded us most of the River Raisin by Tecumseh with the narrow channel, fast flow, and deadfall obstacles.

The biggest challenge for us was the fast flow under fallen logs (unlike negotiating around rocks, which the water flows around, there are lots of places on the Jordan where the fastest current travels right under a log, making maneuvering extra-tricky). Two of those logs capsized my husband, but the kiddo and I came through with nary a bump. There weren't many places to pull out of the water - when waiting for our capsized partner to catch up the kid and I just grabbed an overhanging cedar in a slower stretch, sat in our kayak, and hung on.

The second half of the trip was definitely more relaxed, but the river keeps you on your toes and there were some interesting challenges here and there right up to the end.

All in all it was a beautiful, fun trip. We went on a Wednesday morning and never saw another paddler on the water. Wildlife viewing was great, when we weren't too busy concentrating on our paddling. I'd definitely recommend this trip to anyone with some decent paddling experience and practice reading the river for obstacles. It also wouldn't hurt to do it on a day you don't mind getting wet, and to be sure your stuff is packed and secured accordingly. One thing I would check in advance next time is to make sure the bungee on each kayak is in place for securing the paddle when self-rescuing. Overall, we had a great experience with Jordan...

Warning!!!! Do not take a kayaking trip down the Jordan river if you have children or even young teenagers. This river is very cold, fast moving and debris of fallen trees is everywhere! My sons and I rented kayaks from Jordan Valley Outfitters and they did not communicate how bad this river was! We lost our paddles, my older son got separated from us, and my younger son’s kayak flipped over and he couldn’t get back into the kayak because of the fast moving waters. We were dodging huge fallen trees with large branches sticking out of them. All of us got cut or scraped by these branches. I was scared for our lives! I ended up clinging to a branch and calling my husband to call JVO to send help for us. Luckily, Al came and rescued us in a raft and took us back to safety. Myself and my children were shaken by the whole experience. The owners acted like it was an inconvenience for them to have to send out help and thought we should be thankful that they waived the fee for us. They were completely unsympathetic, rude and down right horrible to us! They should have had better communication about this river and they should not allow anyone under the age of 16 to kayak down this river. This company only wants to make a buck and they do not care about the safety of others. DO NOT...

DO NOT EVER BOOK INTERTUBING HERE! I booked the river tubing activity for our party and when I say this was one of the scariest activities I have ever done in my whole life, I mean it. The river is completely unsafe to tube in. Whether it be sharp rocks that scrape your legs and arms or fallen tree branches that whip you in the face and puncture (literally) your legs, you will get hurt. We came well prepared for this to be a fun adventure, but it turned sour 5 minutes in. Several of the group members were stabbed by tree limbs, cut by sharp rocks, and flipped out of their tube by the current 4 times. They also did not provide life jackets to the individuals that were tubing, so if you fall in, it is a terrifying struggle to get back on the tube safely. All of the group members were injured AND struggled to maintain balance to some extent, and we are all experienced swimmers. The ride also took way longer than listed on the website, so block out much more time than you think you need. Oh, and if you are not a fan of spiders, AVOID!!! Multiple members of our group had wolf spiders jump off the trees and land on them. We passed by several other locals who told us "they would never tube in this river." So, if you choose this activity, be mindful that it is not...