Sugar Valley Canoe Trip Ltd — Local services in Wallace

Upon arrival at 8 am, we checked in and were advised to pick our life jackets(many are in need of being repaired/replaced/cleaned). The wooden benches where you sit to wait for the bus had sections that had been broken/busted and the splintered wood was left behind which could cause harm to one of their paying customers. The restrooms are in need of a good cleaning and serious updating/repairs. The driver that dropped us off gave instructions as to how the tour would go but being that he says it multiple times a day/week he went so quickly (as to assume we had all been there before) that we knew exactly what he was saying. Our group (the 4 of us) all heard him say once you get to the white bridge you have about an hour to get to your pick up. The initial 10 miles of our tour was beautiful and enjoyable (even though the water levels were very low) but there are no signs or other canoes/kayaks at the "stopping point" so we had no idea that's what we needed to do. We had never taken this tour with this company and not from this area. Nearly 2 hours later(after passing the white bridge) we called the office because something didn't seem right. The office advised that we were supposed to stop at the white bridge. We were advised to keep going down the river and stop at the next red covered bridge and they will come get us. We traveled another hour down river and made it to the covered bridge. We called the office and let them know where we were and they said they will get us after their last pick ups and if we could pull the kayaks up out of the water. Unfortunately, there was no easy way off the river so our husbands pulled the kayaks up a rugged slope up to a gravel area in order to help the person(s) that would be there to get us. An hour had passed and we called the office to make sure they hadn't forgotten us. The office staff was extremely rude and basically said we will get there when we get there. Upon arrival, the young men that came to get us were clearly mad that they had to come get us. They would not acknowledge when we spoke to them, body language and facial expressions speak volumes. The bus we were picked up in was no way up to code and the young man driving barely stopped at stop signs and drove in a reckless manner. Upon arrival at the place of business which was maybe 6 miles from where they picked us up from they let us out. Again, no words exchanged from the young men even when we thanked them for coming to get us. Upon checking back in, we were advised that they were keeping our $50 deposit because they had to drive 20 minutes out of their way to come get us. We asked to speak to the manager and we were advised that he was busy and would tell us the same thing. Eventually, someone that presented himself as the "manager" came to a window to speak to us. He "listened" to what had happened to us and essentially said too bad you signed the waiver and nothing can be done. He defended his rude employees and said it was our fault for missing our stop. When we reiterated that there are no signs to assist with knowing to stop he got the signed waiver out that someone in our group had signed and said to me "if you can read and know your colors it shouldn't be a problem." NEVER in my entire life have I ever dealt with someone so rude and condescending and calls himself a manager. A good manager doesn't have to try to insult paying customers but rather listen to them genuinely (not with a hateful smile on their face and an arrogant attitude). We were exhausted from going an extra 3 hours on the river(and it rained) We understand that the error essentially falls on us and it wasn't even the point of them keeping the deposit but it was how we were treated by EVERYONE after the fact. To top it off as the "manager" was closing the sliding window he said to someone in our group, "why don't you just go drink some more alcohol" and walked away. Who says that to a paying customer?!? His lack of professionalism and attitude was horrible. ANY other place has to be more professional and put together then Sugar...

HORRIBLE! Beware! Wish I had read the reviews before booking this. Choose another company! We did the 10 mile. Bus driver said “once you get to the white bridge you’ll know you have about an hour left.” We got an hour and 40 mins past the white bridge and finally called the office. They told us we were supposed to get off at the white bridge. (We got to the white bridge at 1:15 (an hour and 30 mins before it was time to leave)). How did all four in my group hear the same thing. The remainder of the bus were all in a group doing canoes. They had been here before. We had not. We were told to go to next bridge which was an hour and 20 mins from where we were. Our husbands carried (dragged) the kayaks up a steep dirt hill. Had to wait for a van for an hour.

Each time I called to speak to the young lady she was super rude on the phone. Not like we had done this on purpose. We were mentally and physically worn out. The two young guys that picked us up were very rude. They didn’t thank us for having the kayaks up from the river and wouldn’t allow our husbands to help them load the kayaks. The driver drove like he was in a race. We were all over the road and barely stopping at stop signs. The van was the most disgusting thing I’ve even ridden in. I didn’t even want to get inside. We had to lay out towels across the seats and back of seats. It was filthy and that’s saying it lightly.

Got back and he’s cussing about a vehicle being in front of him in the parking lot. I get that he was ready to be off work, but don’t be so rude and inconsiderate.

Go to check out and the girl tells us they are keeping our $50 deposit for being late. Says it’s because the guys had to drive 20 mins to get us. It was 10 mins, but besides the point. We had only done what the driver (much older man) had told us to do which was go an hour past the white bridge.

I asked for a manager or owner. A guy came to the window who was maybe 30 years old. He listened to my story while practically rolling his eyes. He starts being very condescending. He did not care what I had to say at all. I told him his employees didn’t respect his vehicles and how we could not believe they were still in business with the state of the vehicles are in and how the property is dirty and ran down. I also explained to him how rude his employees were and he was being just as rude. He closed the window in front of my face. They have no compassion for their customers.

They are all about the money. When I called to make the reservation a lady on the phone was rude. She told me all tandem kayaks were rented for the 10 mile all weekend and how the water was a “little low” but fine. The water was so low in areas that we had to get out and drag our kayaks about 15-20 times during our trip. Also, we were the only ones kayaking so the lady lied about the tandem kayaks which now I’m glad we didn’t take because of the water level.

Me, my husband, and our friends have never been treated so rudely. We will NEVER go back. Choose another company. Do not go here!

P.S. our first 4 hours of the trip was great. Weather held off and it was enjoyable. After that is when our day...

TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE! I would give Sugar Valley a negative number if I could. I called and spoke with the manager, Annie, a month before arriving to see if we should make reservations for October. The day before leaving I called again to be sure we could still get canoes, I got the manager Annie again, and she told me in a needlessly very rude manner, we have not been running for 2 days because the water level is high. I asked if they would be running tomorrow and she rudely stated, we cannot predict the weather. I told her we were driving 8 hours to get there but we cannot get to our campsites until 2 PM so if the water is not down we do not need to leave so early because our plan was to be there by 9 AM to canoe. She rudely replied, we cannot control the creek. I asked her if there was a place to check water levels online because I know there are for rivers and creeks around where I live, she rudely replied, I do not know about that stuff, I am just an old lady that does not have a TV. I was very confused by the TV comment, I thanked her and hung up. I then found an online water gage for that area which showed Sugar Creek at 2.79 ft. I called back and this time I got the owner, he refused to give his name, just saying I am the owner! Again, extremely rude conduct. I told him that I looked at the gage online and it is showing 2.79 ft. what do you consider a safe level? This way I can watch the gage and see if we should leave early or not. He went into a child-like rant yelling, I have been doing this for 41 years, I go down to the bridge and put a stick in the water that is how I know the level. I do not need you telling me how to run my business. I said that I am not trying to tell you anything. I am simply trying to figure out what a safe level is so I can determine if we should leave early. He yelled if you want to know the water level call tomorrow morning after I check the creek with my stick and that is how you will know if it is safe or not. I asked him, why you are being so needlessly rude, we just want to rent canoes from you. He yelled back, we have been here 41 years and we will be here another 41 with or without your business. He then hung up on me. I am quite taken aback from such violently rude behavior for absolutely no reason. We just wanted to give him our business and needed basic information. I then called and spoke with Clements, another canoe outfitter, and they were extremely friendly and helpful. They told me they have no idea what Sugar Valley Canoe Trips was talking about because 2.5 is a perfect level and that is where it should be by tonight because no rain is predicted. Unfortunately, for us Clements is not running any longer this year and this is their last weekend for camping as well. However, Clements is the business we will be using for future canoe trips. We will certainly never be giving any business to Sugar Valley so it looks like we will spend our weekend hiking and doing...