Blue's Canoe Livery — Local services in Indiana

Where do I start? Firstly, I have been kayaking plenty of times and have had zero issues any where else. I arrived first and I was greeted in the morning by overhearing conversations at their office about what one of the men (staff) had eaten the previous night and the "fun activities" he did with his wife in bed, which was already very unsettling. I went here with two of my sisters for a nice relaxing day and from the jump, there was zero instruction. You had to ask where to grab a life jacket, you had to ask where the paddles were, you had to ask where to go and if you were waiting for a bus to pick you up or what was going on? We boarded the bus and once we reached our drop-off location, again, no instruction. We were told "don't jump off of the iron bridge or DNR will come get you" and that's really it. No instruction on any kind of landmarks, halfway points, what to watch out for, etc....nothing. Fast forward a bit and I'm noticing there are a lot more (in my opinion) limbs and logs down here and there than anywhere I have ever been and you have to dodge things pretty often. I tried not to make a big deal of it and just enjoy myself. About 2 hours in, we came up on this spot where the water was rushing so uncontrollably and the turn was so tight that unless you had someone to warn you, you were done for. The pull was so strong that we all three got sucked in and wrapped all up in this massive drift wood pile and I ended up flipping and couldn't surface for a bit, trapped under my kayak. We all worked together, essentially, to save each other, and to try to feel normal after all of this happened. I remember saying over and over, "That is not normal. This should not have happened." They had been closed due to high water and in my opinion, they should have waited longer to open still. We passed someone down the way that had also flipped and had a big gash on her arm and we wondered just how many others there were and if we were all just too embarrassed to talk about what had happened to us while no one else was around. We couldn't help but to feel like we all almost died and no one even knows!!! Fast forward to the end, we hit shore and pull our kayaks up and again, zero instruction. We are all standing around waiting to be told something and it's like all of the employees were just mute and it was very confusing, just the same as the drop-off. Overall, I left feeling angry and traumatized and I can probably partially speak for my sisters as well. There were some fantastic moments on our trip but it ended in panic, essentially. Zero instruction, zero warning on that turn, no signs, nothing. We even passed a sign later on warning people of a downed tree but the one that almost killed us was apparently just not as important? Don't go here. Coming from someone that doesn't scare easily and will go up against just about anything in life, I now look at water and am not sure I want...

Didn’t have a good experience yesterday. We called early in the morning, were added to the waitlist and they called us back a little after 10. We arrived at 11, waited in a long line (they were very busy and this was no fault of their own-good business and free masks!) but finally checked in and paid at 11:25 and waited out in the sun for over an hour and a half. We kept asking the people calling out names to board buses if our name was next but we were told no repeatedly. Finally at about 12:45 we asked again (I thought I had heard our name with our two kayaks) but I was once again told no, and they thought they had already called out that name and it had been “reshuffled”. Impossible because we had been standing there the whole time, where they repeatedly would call out names over and over to make sure people heard. And we were no more than 20 feet from them at any given point. It was very disappointing to wait so long and to be forgotten. We went up and asked for a refund and weren’t even really questioned about it- just handed me the cash for $64 (which is strange because they charged my debit card and their website says you can only use card) as soon as we got up to the office, they called for us to board the bus, but at that point we had waited so long that the kayak ride would have conflicted with later plans in the evening. Two stars because we got a refund with no issue, but we won’t be returning. Overall disappointing day *i have edited my review to reflect one star since the owner/person in charge of the page basically is insisting we are lying or were somewhere we weren’t supposed to be, when fact of the matter is they forgot about us and then let us sit in the hot sun for almost two hours, even after we repeatedly asked about our reservation. We kept being told “not yet, not yet” until we got the answer “we think your name has already been called. Head up to the office to check” and it was at that moment they finally called our names. Mistakes happen, people are human. My review wasn’t even nasty, but playing the blame game is a quick way to show you lack integrity. Notice how everyone who has a bad experience here gets...

I love Blue's Canoes!!! What a great family run business. Is it hot? Go to Blues! We caught tons fish on the river and it was AWESOME.

Pros - Tons of boats including two seat kayaks, they move you up the river quick in the buses, all different size life jackets/paddles, great staff, fun environment, you can make reservations if you think it will be a busy day, they keep your keys if you want in the office so you don't lose them, and even a basketball hoop to play while you wait.

Cons - NA

This is outside. So there might be bugs, there might be sunburns, heck there might be wildlife you encounter. Blue's can't control those but they can control a great time. The river offers plenty of places to swim and explore to find rocks and shells. They are constantly working to remove deadfalls and debris piles in the river. If you have your own boat they will even haul it up river for you.

Blue's is a top summer fun destination. We have been coming to Blue's for over 20 years.

Thanks...