Pictured Rocks Kayaking — Local services in Munising

Update: I contacted the company twice to discuss the refund they offered below for a couple members of our group, but did not receive any response. I switched from a 3 to one star review because of this.

Original review: It was a windy day and our tour got switched from paddling at Pictured Rocks to Trout Bay. I appreciate the company’s priority on safety, and they did great communicating this change with us and gave everyone the option of cancelling for a complete refund or continuing with the changed tour for a discount. This was all great!

We asked the captain to explain the Trout Bay tour to help us make the decision. He said it was just as beautiful as Pictured Rocks just not in the National Park, still had tall cliffs just like Pictured Rocks, there would be lots more wildlife, the tour would only be 30 minutes shorter, the tour had waterfalls you could kayak under to get sprayed, and was in a secluded bay with very calm water. Unfortunately, this did not turn out to be true. it was a nice area, but it cannot be compared to the pictures in the comments of Pictured Rocks there were a few cliff areas with slight color, but again, nothing compared to Pictured Rocks we saw one bird flying on our own and the guide didn’t point out any wildlife (I know wildlife is never a guarantee, but the way they talked before sounded like it was extremely common to see eagles and falcons) the tour was 3.25 hours, and the original tour was advertised as 5 hours. So this tour was significantly shorter, not the 4.5 hours we were told it would be there were a few trickles of water up on the cliffs that were neat to see, but no waterfalls you could kayak under the water was very choppy with fairly big waves (for kayaking). This is a big deal to a couple people in our group and we specifically asked what the wave conditions would be and the company said it was a calm protected bay, which was not true

I’m not complaining about the change in tour, because weather and safety couldn’t be helped! But please be honest with what the new tour is. We probably still would have gone, but we would have had correct expectations instead of being disappointed from what we were led to believe Trout Bay would be.

A few other things that could be improved: we were told if we had used a kayak rudder before we could let the staff know and they get it set up for us. We did this, and the staff acted like it was super hard to do and that they didn’t have time and did not allow us to use the rudder. A rudder would have been really helpful navigating especially since we were told it was an option and then that turned out not being true. The guide only talked to the person that was at the front next to him, not the entire group. We felt like the guide catered to just one party, not all of us who were with him. My family just kinda paddled along behind where the guide was going with little to no interaction with him. The guide also worked hard to make sure that the other family had several great photos of the tour, and only took a couple photos for us when we asked but didn’t work to make sure everyone was seen. I wish there had been commentary throughout the tour so we could have learned about the region. There were only five kayaks with our specific guide, but there were countless kayaks around us in the area, it felt like just a line of kayaks along the coast instead of being out in nature.

None of these are reasons not to do this tour, I just want you to know what to expect! And I’d also love to see the company address some of these issues to make it better for future groups. We paddled with this sister company in Apostle Islands and it was FANTASTIC, one of the highlights of our entire trip. It was professional, knowledgeable and friendly guides, nothing was rushed, and it was just an overall amazing company. We were hoping for a similar experience since it was the same company and were very disappointed with our...

We had a fantastic trip with this outfit. While it seems pricey, consider you're getting both a boat tour along Pictured Rocks, and the opportunity to kayak and get really close to the amazing rock formations for about 4.5 miles (2 hours) along the most scenic part of the park. The boat stays near enough during the entirety of your kayak tour that you're able to go aboard to use the restroom or if you've simply had enough paddling.

Only tandem sea kayaks available, but everyone paddles with a partner; if your group has an odd #, you'll be grouped such that you're not alone. The kayaks, life vests, and paddles all seemed well-maintained. The boat we road on was only a few years old and seemed in great condition.

Safety seems to be a high priority here. To that end, we'd actually booked a tour earlier in the week, but was canceled due to weather. We managed to snag some of the last spots on a tour the day before we left town, when the weather seemed like it would clear up by the time we were scheduled to depart. Prior to boarding the boat, we got a spiel from the manager that the previous group coming in had reported that the lake had gotten a little choppier than when they first put in. We were told in no uncertain terms that they couldn't guarantee that we'd be able to paddle the planned route; the backup plan was a slightly shorter but more sheltered stretch along Grand Island (and discount to the rate for the inconvenience). Fortunately, the wind had died down enough by the time we made it out to the drop point about 45 minutes later that we were able to do the entire stretch with no interruption.

On the boat ride portion, you pass by and can see the East Channel Lighthouse on Grand Island and Sand Point Beach. You also go by Miners Castle, though it's not so easy to make out from afar. A couple miles past Miners Beach, our group of 6 kayaks put in at Mosquito Beach and the up-close tour (led by one of the company's employees) began.

The day prior to our kayak trip we hiked the Mosquito & Chapel trails in Pictured Rocks and, while there were places you could see the cliff formations, this was entirely more amazing. It seemed like around every bend there were slightly different rock formations; our guide gave us a pretty amazing geology/history lesson with this, explaining how some layers we saw and could touch were literally 10x older than the dinosaurs. Other places you could paddle under a massive overhang or into a little cave (if you're daring enough). We paddled past Lover's Leap, Grand Portal Point, and over to Chapel Rock where the boat picked up everyone.

Not sure if it's standard, but our guide also made sure to take a handful of pictures of the group and texted us a link to the album before we even got back to the dock in Munising; it was nice having pictures of our family that, say, didn't have my daughter awkwardly twisting about 75 degrees around to try and look at me as I took a picture.

Recommend a dry bag/case if you're planning to bring wallet or keys out with you. And a waterproof case with a lanyard or flotation device for your phone, because you'll definitely want pictures.

Well worth every penny, very highly recommended. Pretty much the best part of our 2 week vacation...

This place is great!! They are super focused on safety and the staff is fantastic. Our scheduled Pictured Rocks tour ran into unexpected wind and large waves while we were going out on the boat. The captain did everything possible to try to get us there safely and explained everything that was going on but it was still too dangerous. The group has multiple other tour locations in much calmer water that they got us to instead. The tour at the backup spot is normally cheaper than the one we were scheduled for and they refunded us the difference and let us know we could request the rest of the refund that day if we weren't satisfied. The backup spot we went to was pretty darn good too and I had a great time!

BUT the reason I'm writing this is because of our tour guide, Alex! she was amazing! She was super flexible with different peoples' needs (groups are mixed with kayakers of all skill levels) and she helped one kayak back to the boat super quickly and then came back to continue the tour for the rest of us. When other people in our group wanted to turn back early we had the option to swap with a group up ahead that had someone who wanted to turn back as well. There was only one spot and another kayak also wanted to continue so my kayak couldn't (they keep to a safety requirement of max 6 kayaks per guide). We were a bit bummed at first, but Alex made sure we got to see some cool stuff on the way back to the boat AND THEN when we confirmed everyone was going back (the wind was loud!) she came back out and gave us a tour with just us (!!) a little further the other way! It was awesome and she definitely went above and beyond to make sure we had a great time.

BUT - definitely make sure you bring some cash on the boat to tip your guide! I had to run back to my car to get my wallet and I didn't realize the guides would stay on the boat after we got back to land so I didn't get to tip her in person and thank her!! So thank you Alex!!! You are the best!!! Everyone else reading this and thinking about a tour - definitely do it, they really make it awesome for kayakers at any level including kids, and even if the weather and water conditions at your expected destination aren't doable that day, their backup spots...