Hocking Hills Canoe Livery

Thank you Fox’s for such a fun event! We loved the moonlight canoeing!!! Will be back on our next visit to Hocking Hills! (This time with more headlamps)

Plenty of canoes and kayaks, life jackets, and paddles for everybody on a busy Labor Day. Well staffed, nice waiting area, clean restrooms, fun people. We had to wait about 45 minutes to catch the ride to the drop off point, but it was fine and pleasant enough.
Wear shoes you can walk through water in! In some places, the water was shallow and the kayaks and canoes got stuck, so you have to get out maybe three or four times and float your boat downstream.
Make sure to bring along a small cooler with plenty of snacks and drinks! There’s a cubby on each kayak. They also have treats for sale at the check in area. Load up!
I know I think I’m sporty and in shape and probably you do, too. However, unless you are used to a regular upper body workout or do this a lot, when it comes to choosing between a 5 mile ride and a 7 mile ride, DO THE FIVE MILER. My god, almost four hours of paddling a kayak in 88 degree heat is strenuous. I know when you look around at the other groups and families with small children, you think, oh yeah, I can totally do more than them. Well, you can, but you may spend the last hour hoping your arms don’t fall off!!!

I return to this canoe livery every summer! I have been to the one 5 minutes away but this one is definitely better, and why I return every year. Quality canoes and kayaks. Great customer service. Kid friendly. They offer a group discount and a coupon online for their river trips.

Amazing customer service. You just can’t ask for nicer people and we had a great time.

Price was steep. I think we ended up spending over $ 80 for 2 craft. The gear was pretty junky. Most of the oars seemed to be broken and taped up. The life jackets smelled mildewy. The river was super low and we got stuck at least two million times. It would have been nice if they had warned us about this, maybe suggested coming back another day or something. The 1.5 hour ride turned into a 3.5 hour ordeal. I cut my leg on a piece of jagged plastic from my beat up kayak one of the times I was trying to push it out of a hangup. No fun.

Glad we did it for the experience but won’t do it again.
Girl at desk wasn’t overly helpful but was nice enough. Felt like the prices were super high. $ 75 to rent 2 kayaks. The gentleman who took us to the drop off was very nice. He mentioned that we picked a good time/​day to come and that weekends tend to be crazy with parties on the river. Kayaks were dirty/​beat up and had old water in them. The life jackets smelled sooo gross, like wet musty sweaty laundry.
The first half of the trip was horrible, terrible and no fun. Water was low so got stuck a bunch. Found trash in the river and saw graffiti on the way.
But, the last half was much better. We did the 5 mile trip and were very happy when it was over. It was too long for beginners in my opinion. Views were better in the last part too.

For the most part, we enjoyed our Canoe /​Kayak trip with Hocking Hills Canoe & Livery.
Service was mixed. We went in two days earlier and were told not to make a reservation, that we could walk right in.
When we arrived two days earlier, we learned that a double kayak we wanted was gone with a large group that was using them all day. OK, we did a canoe.
The young woman at the front desk was great. She helped us select appropriate boats for two adults and two kids. She gave us advice on paddle sizes, etc. Off to a good start.
Until…
They sent us (with two young kids) on a bus to the drop off with a bus load of high school football players…
Needless to say, my children learned a few new colorful words. The river was extremely crowded, and it wasn’t quite as quiet and natural as we had hoped.
We were told the river was high, but we still got stuck in several areas. Knowing this, I wouldn’t bother with the trip if it hasn’t rained in awhile.
Overall, the trip was nice, equipment was good, and staff was friendly. They are more concerned about filling boats than their customers’ experience which is a bummer…

A lot of fun, and you don’t need any experience to do this. Kind of expensive for what it is. I’ve done the shortest trip number 1 twice. This past summer we opted for trip number 2 which is supposed to be two miles longer. I did not think there was any way for that trip to be 2 miles longer than trip 1. The longer trips are not worth the money IMO.

My wife and I took our first canoe trip in our own canoe here. At the end of the trip you can drive down by water and pick it up but you my have to drag it up the the hill a bit (30 yards) unless you have 4×4. Staff had descent customer service. We went on Friday before Labor Day so river was not busy.
Facilities and shower houses where very clean. We showed up an hour before trip and we where dropped off by the top of the hour for the 7 mile trip.

Outstanding company and very clean grounds. They also have rustic camping cabins that are exactly what you expect (basic and clean with no frills — too many try to make camping hotels and this is a cabin) and at a great price.

DO NOT do any of the night time trips! They make them sound fun but they are not! They make it sound like it will be lit but it is not. It is pitch black and IMPOSSIBLE to navigate fallen trees and through low spots in the river. You WILL have to get out of the canoe to drag it back in the river. You can hear everyone arguing with their partners about the best way to get out of the situation they got in. It amazes me that they are even legally able to let people canoe at night. Yes you sign a waiver but it is the same one that you would sign during the day. The «bonfire» after the trip is a small gas grill basically. This place knows that it is not safe, or fun, to canoe at night, they just sit back and laugh as they take your money and watch everyone come back pissed off!!!

I just got back from my second trip to Hocking Hills Canoe Livery. Both times myself, and a couple friends rented one of the camper cabins. They are very clean and well maintained. It had a full sized bed and a bunk bed, mini refrigerator, microwave, and a counter top. It even had AC! Each cabin has two chairs and a little table on the front porch, a fire pit, charcoal grill and a picnic table. They have 4 bathroom/​shower rooms that were all fairly clean, and never had to wait in line to use them.
We also did a canoe trip. The 3 of us rented one canoe, and the staff packed up our canoe, paddles, life jackets, and dropped us off for our 5 mile trip back. The trip took us about 2.25 hours, and we didn’t get out and explore to much. The river was to shallow at a couple of points, and one or two of us had to get out and push a couple times along the way. Hopefully one or two more rains will fix that! All in all we had a very enjoyable trip. 5 miles was plenty long for us… glad we didn’t do the 7 as our arms and bottoms were starting to get a little sore.

Great place for beginners and pros alike. They offer a 5 and a 7 mile course. We chose the five mile trip simply for time factors. It was a peaceful trip with easy paddling and a good current through most of the trip.
The staff is very friendly and helpful. The facilities are clean as well as their equipment. They drive you to the starting. point with gear (either your own or rented) you kayak downstream back to your vehicle where staffers help pull your boat out the water.
We used our own kayak, so I cannot rate their boats.
Fun trip and a must do for the Hocking area.

This is a great time for anyone that’s beginning or advanced. They have an 8 mile river ride that is smooth and fun for the whole family. We will definitely be returning this spring and summer.