Urban Kayaks

Fabulous kayak experience — You MUST try this!
I was terrified in my little kayak for the first 10-​minutes but then I became a little more comfortable. It’s rather surreal to be in the Chicago river looking up at the amazing architecture.
Easy walk-​up service (although I do not like how they kept my ID — driver’s license — in a little flimsy folder on their counter… dangerous).
I think you can also reserve online. Single and double kayaks are available.

I was initially only going to watch my niece and her friend, but after some gentle encouragement I was convinced to join them. It was fantastic! Everyone was wonderful but the owners, Aaron and Asher were great. The place to go for «urban kayaking». Thanks again for a great experience!

We did the evening fireworks tour and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun way to see the city at night. The views were spectacular! Asher and his team made sure everyone was safe and stayed together during the paddle out and back along the river. The stories were great and the sights were even better! My only suggestion is to include more stories and facts about the city, since they were so interesting to hear.

At first I was a little disappointed that my Historic Chicago Tour was a no go (they were unable to find a guide) but Urban Kayaks set me up for Intro to Kayaking instead and it was a blast! Being that it was Mother’s Day at 11 AM and I signed up the day before, I can understand the difficulty in trying to find a guide.
Pros:
— I got to see Chicago from a different point of view. If I head back to Chicago I’ll definitely want to sign up for the Historic Chicago Tour.
— My guide/​instructor was so great, now I’m ready to go try kayaking in other cities.
Cons:
— The water was cold? But for real, no cons, it’s an awesome business with great people.

I purchased a Groupon for this place and loved it! It was the «sunset tour» so we got to see the city while the sun was still out and stayed on the water until dark. It was beautiful. The instructors were helpful. It was a lot of fun I will be doing this again in the city a few more times this summer for sure!

It seemed like a great idea until we paddled off in our kayak and saw a used condom pass by. Yes, it really happened.
I had fun & can’t say it wasn’t an interesting experience but seriously the water is filthy.
Then there are the jet skis, yachts, and boat tours you have to navigate around. It can be overwhelming if you’ve never kayaked before.
You’ll also get a beautiful, scenic view (sarcasm) of the homeless people that live in the grassy areas near the lake.
I still gave this place four stars because the guides are friendly & it’s a unique experience but don’t think I’ll be taking my rents when they come to visit.

Fun activity to do to learn more about the city of Chicago while getting some exercise!
I’m an inexperienced kayaker and the tour guide and his assistant were really helpful in showing me tips/​tricks to kayaking.
My two out of town guests also had an amazing time. The tour we took lasted a couple hours which was the perfect place to be on a warm summer day.
FYI-​Id recommend wearing clothes and shoes that can get wet.

Both my boyfriend and I really enjoy kayaking, however have never been on the Chicago River. So for his 26^th birthday I booked us the Historical tour on the river walk.
I had originally booked the tour for full price on a Saturday however, when the weather forecast changed to show 60% chance rain I contacted the office via email to see if I could change the date of our reservation. Melissa the manager got back to me within the half hour and kindly moved my reservation to the next day, no fee. Not only that but I was able to get the 20% fall discount refunded to my card (an option that had become available after I had booked the tour).
The staff were friendly and helpful in guiding us along the river! With all the boat traffic and random construction along the river, I’m glad we had two guides with us, helping us with the rules of the boat traffic.
The guide shared some interesting facts about the history of Chicago and the river. It wasn’t any thing too extensive given the nature of a kayaking trip and the heavy amounts of boat traffic. But we were able to make our way along the river, take pictures, see amazing views, and stop for short breaks to hear a few facts.
Thanks, for making Chuck’s birthday memorable!

My boyfriend and I booked the Sunset Tour with Urban Kayaks. We both had never kayak before so it was an experience.
The instructors were helpful and informing. Overall, kayaking part was amazing and a wonderful experience. We had such a grand time that we might even pick up this hobby together.
We will definitely try this again.

Fun, fun, fun!!! If you are looking for something fun in the City… this is it. Plus it’s different from the normal activities.
Don’t get me wrong… I love the architectural tours via boat and Segway or walking… but kayaking the Chicago River is a blast. I signed up on line and did the 2 hour guided tour in a tandem kayak with the husband. He had never kayaked before and I thought the tandem would be fun. Possibly doing the single kayaks would have minimized some of the colorful conversation between us as it was near impossible for us to get in sync. Don’t let that inhibit your choice to do some urban kayaking!!!
We walked down the river walk from the Metra train station, it couldn’t have been a nicer walk. There is a huge green (looks like old rail car) that is used as their location. You don’t have to book it in advance but I prefer to do that in case there was limited spots available.
There are little lockers to rent for $ 2. Do that and throw your purse in there with a change of shirt. You could get pretty wet in your kayak and if it’s warm… you might actually get sweaty.
We did a couple of miles up and down the river and the guides were great and surprisingly, everyone kept up with out any issues. You learn a little history from a different venue. So much fun and it felt awesome being on the Chicago River like that…
Go do some Urban Kayaking!!!

Just did the evening kayak tour with the Wednesday night fireworks as the grand finale. The weather was perfect, just cool enough to not sweat, the city lights were gorgeous and the fireworks were great. Our guides in the tour were well experienced and showed us the ropes in all regards. Being a middle aged out of shape Mom, I had absolutely no trouble keeping up and enjoying every moment of it. Really didn’t get too wet, just a little on my shorts from my own paddle. Our group was as its max, but still small enough to keep up. Our instruction was adequate and I can only highly recommend Urban Kayaks.

Did this last night as a surprise for my husband we have never kayaked before. We chose the firework tour. TOTALLY WORTH IT the guides were friendly and helpful when I asked how to do certain things.
Was an amazing experience I would do it again in a heart beat. The reviews saying that they don’t help you are crazy… It’s honestly a no brainer and I had many questions and was helped. Everyone says bring money for a locker … Bring that but also bring money to stop at the cool tiki style bar next door

What a great tour! I’ve done the architecture tour and a beginner 1hour tour. The longer ones are more fun. Architecture tour was informative and fun. The checking is hassle free and next thing you know your on the lake.
Lake smells like sewage and you will get a little wet eww ;)… But still so worth it! I will be back alone or with a group but will be back ;)
Bring cash for lockers or put your phone in a zip lock. They provide life jackets which have zips in them so u can put it in there but just enough space for phone, cards and keys and you should be good to go!
I am doing their fireworks China tour this Wednesday so will surely add that experience that I am thrilled to try out!

Best day kayaking! We saw the city from a new and unique perspective while still getting some exercise! The staff was super friendly and it was a perfect addition to our trip! Well fed be back ;)

Never kayaked before and decided to take the intro class with Urban Kayak. The instructor made my fiancé and feel very comfortable. He made sure we understand everything before we started. It was a great exercise for sure! But it was a awesome experience and plan to do it again. Bring your camera for pictures because the views are amazing.

I booked a tour over July 4^th weekend while in town with all the other hippies celebrating the Grateful Dead and I highly recommend this tour. It was easy to book, even from my cell phone, and we started right on time. I’m giving four stars because I want you to have this awesome experience, even though there is room for improvement.
I booked the 1.5 hour sunset cruise and took a single kayak because my husband was at his third Dead show of the weekend. I asked for some basic tips from our guide when I got in the water and in just a minute he had me up and running and feeling confident. There was enough information given to keep the group safe and we were able to head right out. Nothing too long and drawn out.
Urban Kayaks has an opportunity to take this experience from good to great by simply stepping up the service provide by their guides. It was a small enough group that the guide should have at least asked our names as he was giving us the run down on the boats, and maybe where people were from. Especially given that the guide can’t reasonably chat people up on the tour. That small interest really is all it takes to connect with your clients (and probably garners better tips). I tipped generously because it is appropriate and these guys work hard, and I assumed it would have been spilt with the guide who picked up the back end and who actually seemed appropriately interested in the clients.
Overall I really love this concept! I enjoyed getting a bit of a workout in for the first half of the tour and then some history and stories on the way back. We weren’t told that the first half of the tour would be paddling only, and I heard a couple people grumbling about that. Just a heads up that we paddle as far as we are going straight away and will have time to pause and get the touristy info on the way back would clear that up.
Also, for the love of god, don’t use their restrooms. Pop into the Hyatt or something before heading down.

Tour is inexpensive and requires little to no strength. Mind you the river smells like sewage and bring money for locker & change of clothing.
Generally it takes a lot to tip a kayak but it happened to my bf. Next day got a new Apple phone for $ 800. Just Don’t do it unless you zipper it up in shorts or jacket with the waterproof case on.
Instructors are energetic and super cool. They’ll yell at you if you don’t stay with the wolf pack. My 4^th of July was a memorable one

Must do in Chicago. When else are you going to be kayaking through the city? So glad we went with Urban Kayak. All you do is go to the meeting site, put on your life vest, and get in the kayak. Then you kayak through the river and get a history of the buildings you pass. Staff was friendly, funny, and made the ride enjoyable.
Also, originally we had made reservations for Saturday but couldn’t make it. We called them asking if we could reschedule for the next day because we couldn’t make it on time and they said that was fine! I’m sure this really depends on how booked they are, but great customer service for being able to reschedule us last minute!

Great experience! Enjoyed the last Sunset Tour of the season with Urban Kayaks owner and tour guide, Aaron, during my most recent foray to the Windy City. B/​c it is early fall, this was more of a Moonlight Tour, but enjoyable nonetheless!
I admit finding Urban Kayaks was a bit tricky, not being familiar with the Chicago Riverfront area at all. They do offer discounted parking at the Village Market Self Park Garage, a brief 5 minute walk (if you know where you are going!). I noticed there was on-​street parking available closer, though. Don’t be afraid to call Urban Kayak if you get lost — they are used to it. I imagine as the Riverfront grows as planned, the location will be more well-​known and easier to find. Keep an eye out for Aaron’s super-​cute and friendly chocolate lab, Joni, and you’ll know you’ve arrived at the right place. Lockers are available on-​site to pack up any goodies you don’t want to take the chance of getting wet.
Being solo on this mission, I set sail in an individual kayak. A couple was also on the tour and chose a tandem kayak. Word of advice couples, unless one or both of you are experienced kayakers, I recommend each getting a solo kayak. It can be stressful trying to coordinate paddling efforts in a tandem kayak, and you may be too busy navigating to enjoy the skyline. Plus, it’s sooo hard to talk to your partner in a tandem kayak:)
We paddled down the Chicago River and enjoyed ghost stories and historical facts shared by Aaron. I have never kayaked at night before, and it was a pleasant and relaxing experience, not to mention a unique way to see the Windy City. I’m looking forward to trying another tour next time I’m in town!

Bring your camera and muscles!
This was one of the best things I ever did while on vacation!
I never thought I had to exercise while on vacay, but let me tell you, DO IT!
I’m in no way physically active. The only motivation I had for doing this was just to get a better view of the river.
Just that alone was worth it for me!