Saco Bound Canoe & Kayak

Overall my experience with this company was pretty poor. We arrived and waited in line to check in and once we got through the line they charged us an extra $ 258 for our 3 day 4 canoe rental and transport back to our cars. We thought we had pain in full online with our reservation. Obviously this was a shock when we were then informed that we still owed significant money.
The gentleman we spoke to at the counter was very nice about it understanding our questions and concerns. He called over his manager to assist because he didn’t have the authority to adjust payments for the reservation. She then told us that the ~$ 550 we had already spent was the cost of camping for 2 nights and simply a deposit to hold the canoes. We then skeptically paid the amount and spent a few minutes in the parking lot doing the math to see what we missed. We realized they charged up the summer rates not the fall rates which start September 1. We went back inside and waited in line again to speak to the manager. They acknowledged their mistake and knocked the price we owed down to $ 90. Still not what we were expecting but slightly more palatable that $ 258. We accepted and finally went back to camp to finish packing.
We later went to pick up the 4 specific canoes that saco bound had assigned us. The canoes were gone and the last one was currently being loaded into the water by a very nice couple. They told us they had the same problem with their canoes being gone, had called saco bound and were told they could take our canoes. We let them have them since their gear was loaded already. There were 2 canoes on site, but neither of them were our assignments. We called saco bound to inform them of this and they told us to take the 2 available canoes and there would be 2 more canoes on site within 30 minutes. We started loading our gear and decided we could fit in 2 (we also had an inflatable raft) so in an effort to save some of the money we were over charged, we tried to call and cancel. The manager was completely unhelpful with this situation saying that she couldn’t refund us the 2 canoes even though it was their fault that we were left waiting around again for saco bound to deliver. We had multiple people call and try to cancel our 2 canoe reservation. The manager continued to be rude to us an unaccommodating and eventually hung up. Our canoes were gone because they did not have an employee at the canoe pickup location when they should have been. We eventually decided to stop fighting it and get on the water once the employee showed up to deliver the 2 canoes. He assured us he would raise our concerns to the company and we ended up getting an IOU for canoes at a later date. I don’t think we’ll ever get to use those canoes since I never want to deal with this company again.
On top of all that, we wasted so much time with the company that it was late when we got in the water. We had to canoe 5 miles through all the fiddlehead beaches to the first free camp site and got there right before sunset which was stressful. This could have been avoided if we had left after we checked in at 9am.
There are so many companies in the area that rent canoes and kayaks. I would definitely recommend using someone more organized and accommodating than saco bound. The trip itself was enjoyable but the company was a HUGE headache.

Saco Bound does a fantastic job at providing canoe and kayak rentals. If you’re expecting services that they don’t offer, such as a guide or a tour, you may be disappointed. You will have to read a map, pack appropriately, pull the boat in and out, and might have to be patient if you don’t time your trip quite right. I’ve rented from them at least ten times, and will continue renting from them in the foreseeable future.

Terrible experience won’t ever go with Saco Bound again. Wish I had read the reviews first as well. First off nothing was explained to us at all being our 1^st time. We were charged full price for our 2 children although website said 10.00 $. Plus the optional 3.00 ins isn’t optional its automatic. Then we waited 40 minutes at the end of the trip for the bus although they said it would be at 4:00 not true. When we inquired at the end staff was not nice or helpful saying oh nothing we can do about it… sure.

I have to agree with many other posts.
The biggest issue was the ending point. You were told it was in a general location but when you got there, there wasn’t any signage. Interestingly, there was signage for a competing company just down river though. We ended up heading further down river looking for the location and ended up calling and paddling up stream. Usually not an issue but the water level was high and we had young girls in one of the canoes — they really struggled. When I got to the landing place, I commented that there should be signage to alert customers. The attendant said «Yeah, I know. It happens all the time. I watched you guys keep going and wondered what you were doing».

Don’t go here! Had we read the Unilocal reviews we probably wouldn’t have either.
We were in from out of town and figured some canoeing down the Saco river would be fun. We made reservations, went on the warmest day of the week, and figured we were good to go. Check in was crowded but relatively efficient, and they went through the speech and then sent us to the dock to launch. It was when we got to the dock that things got icky. We had reserved 1 double kayak and 3 singles since we’d all canoed before and wanted to try the kayak thing. Well, we got to the dock and there were no single kayaks. The college kid working there over the summer told us that kayaks were on the way and it should only be a few minutes. 15 or so minutes later, a van showed up with canoes, one double kayak, and… no single kayaks. Since my parents wanted the double kayak they sent them out on the water figuring we would only be a few minutes behind.
Meanwhile, the other person waiting for a single kayak has been waiting longer than us. He is a middle-​aged man who is being very loud about his displeasure. At one point he started yelling at the unfortunate college kid, when it obviously wasn’t his fault that there were no kayaks. He then called the front desk and yelled at them, which was obviously very helpful for the situation (sarcasm intended). After some more yelling I think he ended up getting a discount out of someone and taking a canoe to join his rather embarrassed looking wife and older son.
Meanwhile, the poor college kid has some sort of nervous breakdown after being yelled at (can’t say that I blame him), and another guy shows up to be in charge of this mess. He starts offering free rides to anyone willing to take a canoe, and apologizing all over the place. His explanation is that the person in charge of booking reservations is new and reserved more kayaks than they actually own. Oh, and that the van that DID have kayaks broke down on its way to the dock. While we were waiting I saw at least 2 other large groups show up with reservations for kayaks that didn’t exist. One group was from out of town but was offered a free ride if they came back another day. The other group had taken a day off of work and looked royally irritated. I think they opted for a full refund and left. A few more groups that were mixed kayak/​canoe took all canoes and got on their way. At some point he finally called the front desk and told them to not send any more kayakers.
After a while my brother in law talked to the manager of the place, who was apologetic and promised a discount and to take kayaks off of the showroom floor if he had to in order to get people out on the water. I don’t think he did. In the end, we ended up out on the water about 90 minutes after we checked in for our reservation, and probably 75 minutes after my parents got in the water.
Once we got out on the water, the paddle/​float down the river was pleasant. We had been shown a picture the dock to get out at, but I was still worried that we’d miss it on the way by. We did find it partly because there were people standing on the dock, but it turned out that we had to haul the kayak up onto the dock and up a small hill without any real help. That was fine for younger people in decent shape, but the senior citizens in the canoe behind us would have had a pretty tough time of it if there hadn’t been a bunch of people waiting for the pickup van. There were also no restroom facilities at the dock, not even a junky port a potty like the one where the kayaks/​canoes launched.
The pick up van showed up, and turned out not to be big enough to hold everyone who was waiting. I got the impression that many people had been waiting for a while. Fortunately, the driver radioed back that they had more people who needed to be picked up, and about 10 minutes later a bus showed up. After our initial snafu with the kayaks I was afraid we would be waiting forever for a ride (I voted for walking back). I think we lucked out in that it was just before 5 and everyone wanted to go home, so the van showed up in good time. We rode back to the dock and drove back to the main office to see about our discount, but at 5:03pm the place was locked up and shut down. My brother in law ended up talking with the owner a few days later and got a partial discount and a free ride (which we’ll never have occasion to use). Had I not read the Unilocal reviews after our experience I might have thought ours was an isolated incident, not a pattern. Sorry, we won’t be back.

This is the 4^th year in a row we have rented kayaks form Saco Bound. We have never had any issues. Staff is helpful and friendly. We had a great time out on the river.

I have taken two canoe trips thus far this summer with my family and the first one was with Saco Bound. When I first rented, I failed to do my homework and look on Unilocal for reviews, which would have saved me a great deal of headaches. Let me start by explaining that I was with two young children and I spoke with customer service a great deal in an effort to make a reservation for a trip that would avoid some of the more populated areas of the river where the inebriated young adults tend to flock. However, when we started are trip at Swans Falls, we learned that is was in fact one of the most popular spots for drunk college students to begin there trip down the river. This wound up with my family be surrounded by very rowdy individuals and was a subsequent nightmare. At the next bridge, we called Saco Bound in an attempt to get picked up early or brought to a less busy part of the river was scoffed at and they neglected our concerns. At our final take out spot, we were speaking with a different company van driver who kindly informed us that we were in fact on the busiest section of river and of the appropriate route to take if we were to canoe again. Upon being brought back to our car we went back inside to talk to the woman at the desk who had no sympathies and made no effort to right their wrong. Overall the customer service was terrible, the quality of the equipment sub-​par, and the trip an entire disappointment. With the number of other canoe companies in the area, it is certainly worth going to one of the other one’s.

Ok, we all know tubing/​canoeing down the Saco is a BLAST, so let’s get that out there. This review is on the STAFF of Saco Bound, not the tubing trip.
We had a reservation for 2 tubes/​life jackets and arrived about 11 am. They take anyone looking for 4 – 6 hours on the river and figured we could get a trip which allowed us to not do a «return» shuttle. Nope, that wasn’t available, only a 3 pm pickup time to come back to the car.
We asked about a dry bag for our stuff and they were already out of their rentals, and appear to never have any for sale.
I also asked about water shoes and was pointed to a poor selection of crappy floating flip flops. Their website says you can get them for $ 10. NOT
Over all the service was pathetic. Not being interested in helping, we decided to cancel the tubing run and found a better thing to do.
I won’t be back! I will be emailing the owner.

For those who are thinking of using Saco Bound… DON’T. This company almost ruined a weekend that my family looks forward to all year. In the summer of 2012 we rented 4 canoes for 2 days. Saturday morning we arrived up at the River around 8:30 am. When went into the building to check in the woman told us that at the time they were not letting people onto the river due to rain the night before. We were told that the river was high and they would be checking the water level and hopefully we would be able to get into the river by 11am. A little before 2 we were told that we would not be allowed in the river. At this point we had been sitting in their parking lot since 830am. The woman was extremely rude and said there would be no refunds to anyone at all today. However, you could take a credit to be used within the next year. I work in customer service. I understand that this woman had probably had some nasty customers throughout the day, however, they way we were spoken to made us almost feel uncomfortable. We had actually started calling around and found another company, Saco Valley that was allowing people on the river. Come to find out it was only Saco bound telling people no. We decided to take the credit, hoping for better luck the following summer. Saco Valley was amazing. The people we dealt with actually enjoyed their jobs and wanted to make sure that we enjoyed our weekend. They had easy pick up and drop off, with multiple sites and times. This past summer, 2013 we went back to use our credit. The only reason we went back was because we had a credit in over $ 200. Well, weren’t we surprised when we showed up this year once again around 9am and they weren’t letting people onto the river. Once again we were told maybe at 10am. Maybe 11am. At this point we explained to the woman what had happened last year and asked that since this would be the second year in a row of us spending most of our first day in their parking lot just for them to tell us we would not be allowed onto the river, if we could simply have a refund. The woman said, no refunds, no exceptions. With no other real options since our credit was expiring, we took the gamble to wait it out. 12pm they still were not letting people onto the river. 1pm they finally were going to let people onto the river, however, only at certain points and certain times. We asked about drops and originally one of their stops is THEIR camp sites. We explained we understood that we could not canoe to the camp site, however, would their be shuttles available to take us from their pick up spot to their drop spot to THEIR camp ground. The manager told us not a problem he would make a note on our account. We finally got on to the river. After only being able to canoe for 4 hours, we hit their pick up spot at the pig farm. The pig farm actually has two docks ties together. When we went to get off my sister slipped and had gotten her foot stuck between the two docks. The Saco Bound employees on the dock continue screaming at us to keep it moving and were basically pushing us out of the way, while her foot was wedged between two docks. We pulled up our canoes, unloaded them, and waited until the last bus came. The employees once again began yelling at us to get on the bus or be left behind. We asked if that was the bus to go to the camp sites. They told us that NO shuttles went to the camp site. We explained we had talked to people at the main rental, they asked who we had talked to, when we told them their names they told us noone with that name works their, when we started to describe the people they replied, «oooo ya that’s actually so and so and they will tell you anything you want to hear in order to get you to rent from them». We finally convinced them to give us a ride to our car and camping equipment. The next day was pretty much the same. They were only letting people on where they wanted and only certain times, apparently this happens often we were told by the employees who drive the shuttle. All in all we were supposed to have our canoes for 2 days. Of the two days we actually got to canoe for a total of 9 – 10 hours because they didn’t want to shuttle all the way down, didn’t have enough busses, etc. We spent more time in their parking lots both years than we did in the actual canoes. These are the mo

A group of friends and myself went last weekend when we were told they were not sending anyone out, but refused to return our deposit. We went with saco valley who were sending people out and were very friendly and helpful. If you want to canoe saco, go with sago valley.

Overcharged our card and didn’t provide transportation for all of the renters of the canoes. Don’t do business here, go elsewhere much more around the area!

Don’t do it !!! This place is the pits ! If you make a reservation and they decide not to open the river for whatever reason say good buy to your deposit. That’s right! How’s that sound to you? It’s in there policy, imagine that. Ithey took 125 dollars from me. They said the river was to fast the day I was suppose to go and offered me and my family to go on a lake. Despicable place. Save your money and look else where.

No complaints here! Called in our reservations for a large canoe trip down the Saco River. Not only were the staff very helpful on the phone, but they told me to print the rental contract and have all parties sign before arriving at Sacobound. This was the best tip they could have given me, I was in and out and on the river! Staff were super nice and helpful. Would definitely rent from them in the future.

The staff should take lessons in hospitality. They were not very friendly. The young lady at the counter was very uninterested. When we arrived at the drop off site, we had to get the kayak into the river ourselves. This involved navigating down a steep decline. Once my husband and I got the kayaks in the water he had a little difficulty staying upright as these kayaks are not like the sea worthy ones we are used to. So, he had to try to pull his kayak back up the incline. The guy who checked us in never helped my husband drag that friggin kayak back up. Another guy who was waiting to put his kayak in helped my husband pull the kayak up.
The river was beautiful.
We made it to our pick up site with no problems. We got there early and had to wait in a mosquito infested area at the «pig farm» take out. Take plenty of bug spray. Also they don’t tell you but you should bring plenty of water and also stop along the way because they tell you it’s a 4 hour trip although if you don’t stop you will be there at least an hour early.
OMG, the bus driver was the worst. I said hello and he never acknowledged me or any of the other people getting on the bus. If you don’t like your job get another one. Another sacobound bus driver was at the second pick up site. He was also rude to another employee who tried to get him to give his extra pick ups a ride.
If we do come back to this area we will NEVER use Saco Bound. In fact we’re still in town and might do another trip but it will be with another group.
Saco Bound should change the name to Sucko Bound.

These guys are great! Purchased a high end life preserver from them last year and when I took it for the first time this year I noticed the zipper was broken. They replaced the entire life preserver with newer model at not charger.
Customer service like this is hard to finde these days… Kuddos to the staff at Saco Bound!

We had absolutely no issues with Saco Bound on a recent weekday trip with them. I had 6 tweens and 3 adults in our party. The river was quiet on the day we went (second week of August) and the base camp was busy, but not overcrowded. The staff was attentive to our needs when we arrived and helped us get canoes and paddles. We canoed 7 miles from the base camp, taking out before the dam and had no issues with pick-​up. The only small problem we encountered was cutting it a BIT close with the pick-​up time due to the girls becoming tired as the day went on. Overall, we were very pleased with our experience.

No. Just, no.
This is the second year we have used Saco Bound to rent kayaks and it will definitely be the last. A few weeks prior we made reservations, but upon arrival, after navigating the parking lot full of pregaming yahdudes and brohos, we walked into the building to pay off the balance and get our equipment. Or at least we tried. The layout of the building is so poorly planned that it leaves the 100+ people overflowing outside with absolutely no organization whatsoever. Although we had a reservation, we had to wait in line with the rest of the idiots that showed up expecting to rent a canoe with no prior thought. After roughly 45 minutes of defending my position in the amorphous blob of a line (of which there are three sub-​lines), we finally make it to the front to pay and are sent off down the road to load into the river.
The river itself is a blast. Anyone doing the Saco River trip generally knows what they are getting themselves into (read: floating frat party), so this review is doesn’t really consider the actual experience. Still, after seeing the sheer volume of Bud Light cans being consumed, floating down the river, or sitting on the river bed only to become the shelter of a lucky aquatic creature, I can’t help but be depressed that I do not own any InBev/​Budweiser stock. Alas, I felt like a black sheep sheepishly sipping my Narragansett tallboys amongst a sea of blue-​canned piss-​water brews. The trip itself is pleasant if you completely ignore the lack of quality and generally abysmal condition of the kayaks and oars as well as the constant peacocking of hundreds of poorly tattooed and chinstrapped dudebros secretly peeing while they wade waist deep in a river consisting of 10% Michelob Ultra, 44% Bud Light, 4% Red Bull, 12% of the sure-​things-​of-​a-​fake-​blonde in every group, 19% piss, and 11% actual river water. But I digress…
Anyways, I plan to do this trip again next year like we have previous summers, but next time I will be renting from another company. Some quick internetting shows a ton of companies that have lower rental prices and less hassle than Saco Bound. I really don’t see how this company became the go-​to for all the brohemium dudeoxides out there, but take the extra minute to find another company to rent from. You’ll still run into all the brofessors that rent from SB while on the river («SACOOOOO!!!»), but at least you won’t have to be in such close quarters with them while you fight your way to the front of the line to rent your shitty and overpriced gear. I’ll be generous and give SB 2 stars due to the one nice employee who actually explained the map of the river without any rudedudetude.
TL;DR: Rent elsewhere, buy stock in InBev/​Budweiser, and wear glasses with dark lenses to stare unsuspectingly at the poor-​life-​decision-​making «ladies» on the river.

Wow, dealing with these people put my patience to the test. It’s rare that so many people in a place seem so genuinely pissed off that you decided to become a customer. Perhaps they were more angry at each other, but they were completely unhelpful. In the end, once we went over to the launch site and got in the water it was an amazing trip, but next time I’ll find a different place to rent our kayaks. We booked online, which was a big mistake because their system was all messed up, and then it directed us to a different location in North Conway (which has a lot of traffic) though that location couldn’t process our order. And there seemed to be plenty of extra kayaks. No bathrooms (besides a couple crappy portable outhouses), no water, and legions of whining kids, entitled parents, and drunk bros. Come to think of it, I’d be angry too if I had to deal with that all day!
Short version: Never again. Nasty rude people, crappy equipment (for about $ 70 per person after hidden fees), late shuttle pickup, and crass and annoying other customers and people on the lake.

Hm. Now that I know what real outfitters provide, it’s hard for me to review this small canoe and kayak rental joint. Also, I use the Charles River guys in Boston a fair amount, and they are awesome, even providing tips and all kinds of help. And I’m an experienced kayaker (ocean, mainly). So I have expectations.
Saco Bound, while friendly and efficient, and honest enough about telling us we didn’t need a rezzie on this sunny but very cool day at the peek of New England’s leaf peeping season in the Whites, had crap for equipment and didn’t even bother walking all the way over to the launch site across the busy highway from their rental headquarters. They gave us a map for finding the exit point down river. We hauled our little lightweight beat-​up rental kayaks (Charles River wouldn’t be caught dead with these, but I understand. it’s a different population, right?) down the scary steep stairs to the water by ourselves. We saw some pretty trees, colorfully forested mountains, and enjoyed a nice paddle. We got out at the nastiest farm I’ve seen in a while (seriously, someone needs to inspect this place), and were picked up in a timely manner by a friendly driver. They tolerated our dog. We had a choice of 2p or 4p, 3 or 7 miles (or longer, but we went 7 miles and got out at 2p, 2.5 hours after launch).
Bring your own paddles if you have them or you’ll wish you had. We at least had our own PFDs. Be aware that the current is fast at times, and the water level in the river can vary a lot, creating some shallow areas. Keep your eyes peeled for that exit at the «Pig Farm». it’s not marked! Bring a lunch and eat on one of the many sandy spots you’ll pass, but allow for extra time if that’s your plan.
Three stars because it was so beautiful out and I’m in a good mood.

I dislike this place for a few different reasons. I come in here and it was the first strike. There were 5 employees and none of them even acknowledged I was standing at the desk waiting until I blurted out HI! (super friendly with a fake smile, of course) Then someone proceeded to tell me that someone else would help me at the other desk over there, which was the girl eating Chinese food in front of me with chicken in her mouth. SO UNPROFESSIONAL.
Beyond the customer service, they only offer ONE pick up time at the second to last pull out on the river. ONE PM… does anyone else know how hard it is to do that? The river was so low, we got out and dragged our canoes so many times and it was packed (probably because there were lots of people trying to beat the ONE PM pick up time. Even though we got there a little before 1, they were behind and we waited well over an hour. So what the hell was I rushing there for?
I won’t be renting from them ever again, and girls… enjoy being unprofessional and eating your sloppy Chinese food in front of customers. GAG