Sugar Valley Canoe Trips

Not a bad place. Came here for a company picnic so we didn’t have to pay. We went on the 3 mile canoe trip with a 16yr, 6, & 5 year old & they did fine. They have lifejackets for all. The only thing is you got to bring your canoe up a small hill at the end.

My girlfriend and I woke up really early to go canoeing. We made the trip from Bloomington, Illinois ! Don’t forget Indiana is on eastern time ! We were told to get there at 9:30 est for our 10am departure time. We arrived about 20 mins early. It was Labor Day weekend ! Lots of people ! It was definitely a chaotic scene when we first got there ! I had never been there so it was definitely overwhelming at first ! The first thing you do is get in line at one of the available windows. An employee was handing out liability and deposit forms. My advice would be bring a pen ! They didn’t have a lot of pens. We got to the window. The young gal who helped us was friendly. We had a reservation. We booked a 10 mi trip with 1 canoe 2 people for just $ 25 ! The price is great. They give you a little waterproof container with your deposit form. $ 20 deposit. I used cash. I paid for the canoe rental with a credit card. After you pay then it is time to board the bus! This is a very unorganized experience! At first, we were going to board a bus for the 12 and 15 mile trips. We then got on the next bus. Literally we had no idea is if it was for the 10 mi trip or another trip. The bus driver left before everyone had a chance to sit down! The bus driver drives fast ! It adds to the chaotic experience ! They obviously know the roads ! We got to our destination ! The bus driver was great ! His safety and trip instructions were spot on! You have to listen up ! Then it’s off to the races to get your canoe kayak or tube. They have canoes just randomly spread about the shore of the creek. Grab a paddle first from a guy standing near the paddles. My gf and I found this lonely canoe in some grass! Flipped it over and off we went down the creek! We had to maneuver around quite a few canoes, kayaks, tubes ! We continued down the creek and made our first stop near the walking bridge for turkey run state park! It was a good stop ! We got our picture taken on the bridge! A few families hiking the park were on the rocky shore too with their dogs! We took off again down the creek! The water level is really low at times! A few times we even got stuck and I had to push ! We ventured under the cox ford (red) bridge. This is the end point for the 3 mile trip ! After the cox ford bridge the trip flew by ! We still had a few more times where the water level was low! However, at times the creek was fairly deep with a few really good currents and obstacles in the creek! A lot of tree limbs and bigger rocks! We saw the silo which meant we were ²⁄₃ the way done for the trip ! We soon saw Jackson (white) covered bridge which was our ending point! We went to the shore before Jackson and had lunch ! We had some sub sandwiches ! We reached the stairs just beyond Jackson ! It was a muddy mess! We had to carry the canoe up the stairs ! Kept our life preservers. We got our deposit ticket initialed. Then we waited for the bus ride back to our car ! The bus smelled awful and was jammed with people! It took us about 4 hours to get to Jackson bridge ! We were one of the first groups to get on a bus! The bus ride was fairly short for the 10 miles back to the car! We returned our life preservers. We returned our deposit ticket and got the $ 20 deposit back ! We washed our feet off with the hose ! We wished they had some showers!!! Maybe, they did have them but we missed them ! Also, wish it was more organized getting onto a bus ! This is a no frills adventure ! It’s bare bones and fun ! Overall, we loved our Labor Day weekend adventure ! We recommend giving Sugar Creek Canoes a try for a good time !
We recommend you wear some sandals or water shoes ! Bring a small to medium sized cooler, lunch in zip lock bags, lots of sunscreen, a few towels, change of clothes, and deodorant !!!

On the plus side, the canoe/​kayak float itself was great. But they don’t have any control over the water in the creek.
Then there is the down side, rude employees, zero customer service skills, muddy nasty old dilapidated school bus to ride in, muddy area where you are supposed to wash the mud off your feet, at the end made us carry our own heavy fiberglass canoes up the slippery hill, the canoes were cracked and a bit busted up, the first kayak I tried to pick out was missing the drain plug, the bus driver was actually driving away after I was on and told him that «those 2 are with us», …
Then all the drunk, rude, idiots that you have to deal with; in the parking lot, on the bus, on the river. If the cops wanted to make a LOT of money they should put up a DUI check around the bend from the parking lot.
We had fun, the kids had a great time, but the people (employees) suck, and if they actually gave even half a damn the experience would be a lot bletter.

The reservation system online is easy to use and I got a confirmation email as they stated I would. You have to pay a 20 dollar deposit to make the reservation, at least I did for the six of us. They called a few days before to let me know the latest they will do the six mile kayak trip is actually 1:30 at this time of year, not 2pm so we had to be there at 1pm. We showed up and checked in. They asked if we would be drinking and we were not. Otherwise, you have to pay a 50 dollar deposit in order to do that. We were not given very clear directions when asked where we finished, there was just a map in front of us. They gave me a receipt we were told to get signed before we came back in order to get my credit card back that they were holding. They announced the loading of the bus and we hopped on. Luckily, the driver gave us a good idea of what we would see and where we would end up. We unloaded to chaos. It is every person for him/​herself once you are off the bus. The kayaks and canoes are tossed off the van and you just have to grab one and drag it down a steep hill and hope you don’t tumble down. Also, two in our group were stuck with canoe paddles instead of kayak paddles because they somehow didn’t have the right amount. These are all sit on top kayaks and they were pretty beat up. Basically, the bare minimum and when you are paying 16 dollars, I guess you shouldn’t expect much more than that. Off we went once our whole group had secured kayaks. We had to wait for the second delivery of them in order to leave. It was very crowded, which I guess is to be expected for a Saturday afternoon as the weather was nice too. There were a lot of drunk people as well. One woman was just laying in the water and her friend was trying to help her out, another guy was passed out and his friends had tied his kayak to theirs. Others seemed to be drinking and maintaining. I must be getting old. There was a lady trying to rescue her dog, who was perfectly safe and seemed to be calm as well, on another lady’s kayak. The river was low and we got stuck a few times and had to get out and move our kayaks, but it made it part of the adventure. We made our way to the bridge and pulled our kayaks to shore. Alas, we were supposed to carry our kayaks up a flight of stairs. Um, ok? My kayak was heavy and had no cord attached to it to pull it up. Luckily, another random lady helped me carry mine up and we helped each other on the rest of them. I think this is a bit absurd for the every day person to do. We got our paper signed and kept our life jackets as we had to turn them in. Picked up my card and we were on our way back to camp. I did enjoy the kayaking part, not so much the lack of communication and the general «Not my job» attitude the employees gave off.

We (a group of 6) were actually referred here by Clements Canoes because they said «all their tubing shuttles were full.» We jumped in line (though relatively long) and when our turn came, explained we had a group of six people with all our own gear to go tubing and just needed a shuttle to get to the launch point. They said that’s fine and put us on the next shuttle available shuttle at 1:30 (45 minutes away). We had out group sign our waiver and head to the life jacket station about 15 minutes prior to our shuttle arriving. We grabbed our life jackets and all the stuff. We wanted to bring.
When our shuttle arrived, we loaded our gear onto the bus with no problem. In total (including our group) there were only about 12 people on our bus. The bus ride was quick, and when we got there, the bus driver explained everything to us and some simple minor rules and preventative measures for river safety. We waited to get to the launch point to blow up our tubes and tie our tubes together. We walked down to the launch point and pushed off. While on the river, we met some really awesome fellow river folk. It was a little crowded but we enjoyed our trip thoroughly. Everyone had a blast.
When it came time to get out, we were sad to leave but unloaded our stuff, deflated our tubes rolled them back up and got a loft back up the road to where we parked. We got our $ 50 deposit back (which is mandatory if you bring alcohol) rather quickly and painlessly and were on our way.
Best first tubing experience ever.
Will return.

This place was absolutely horrible! If you want to be searched and treated with an attitude like you are about to board a prison bus then this is the place to go! We drove to Sugar Creek from Texas, we own our own kayaks and was just looking for portage, the people at this place had an attitude like prison guards If I could rate them with negative stars I would! You certainly won’t find any” Southern «hospitality here! Do yourself a favor and use a different place. Try Clements, we spoke with a young man from there as we put our kayaks in the Creek and he was quite nice. The people at Sugar Valley portrays Indiana in the worst way.

They gave me a kayak that leaked and took in water my whole trip. Ended up pulling it behind a canoe and went 3 deep in a canoe. Pulled up to where we get off and the guys saw it and emptied it out agreeing they needed to trash it. Since I didn’t use it and paid $ 16 I figured they would refund me or some at least. But they got an attitude instantly. Also another customer was up there for the same reason and they also essentially told us too bad so sad. I used to come to here often. This was my 3^rd trip there this summer and I’ll be looking elsewhere for rentals and runs from now on. So I gave them money for no services.

Really friendly people, and beautiful trip!

we have been kayaking here and tubing for 28 years! Have nothing but happy times! the owners, their children and staff are there to make everyone’s experience fun and memorable! my children have been kayaking since they were 8 years old!
The Concerts are great… we’ve seen Mac McAnally, Scott Kirby, the Doerfels to name a few!
Ron also puts on an awesome firework show!
The trips vary in length and difficulty! It’s a wonderful way to spend a day! you can even get breakfast or lunch!
Last year we camped there instead of the state park. Reasonably priced and nice sites. look forward to camping again this summer!

We did the 3 hour trip through Turkey Run State Park. The canoes and kayaks were filthy and the staff at the put in were completely indifferent. The buses we’re also disgustingly filthy. It was cheap, but gross. I’m sure the creek was more pee than water, too, given all the drinking and drunken tubers and boaters. Avoid this experience if at all possible.

This place was a joke terrible customer service and wanted nothing more than to get us on the river so they could go sit back down and do nothing. They have no knowledge of the river conditions. I was told that the trip that took us 9 hours could be done in five. Also charged me for being 2 hours late and charged me 50 $ for them to pick some one else’s trash up when we clearly had our trash in bags. I would not recommend anyone to go here drive an extra hour and go to Missouri terrible terrible place to have fun

Having tried both companies in this region for kayak trips on Sugar Creek, Sugar Valley wins hands down. They’re the most organized and efficient, getting you in and out quickly and with little fuss. Their vests are a bit tired, and sometimes you get a kayak with a little leak in it, but compared to getting down to the creek and not having enough of what you paid for (like the other place) those are minor inconveniences. The price is great, and makes for a really nice family-​friendly day.

When you find out that you are going to be laid off in a week, you freak out a bit, try to figure things out and inexplicably want to have fun.
Which is not the best thing to do when you won’t have a regular paycheck for a while.
Enter: Sugar Valley Canoe Trip & Cabins.
For $ 40 a night, you can sleep with 8 of your friends in a wooden cabin, make your own fire, tell ghost stories (or attempt to), stumble in the dark, brush your teeth in smelly water and feel like you are in summer camp all over again.
Doesn’t sound appealing?
I promise it is!
I was excited beyond words when we parked our cars in front of cabin #4 and I saw the fire ring going strong. Conveniently located two minutes away from Turkey Run State Park, this campground is ideal for low-​key fun with friends, and you can’t beat the price; we each paid $ 5 to spend the night, and even if the bathroom facilities were definitely not impressive, we had a wonderful time. You do have to come with your own bedding and everything you need because the beds are bare. And yes, the bathroom is communal. Get over it for one night and just enjoy the simple joys of being in nature, under the Milky Way. Grill, laugh, be silly, sleep tight and wake up the next morning ready to conquer the Sugar Creek below. Tubes, canoes and kayaks are available to rent next door, and prices are super reasonable. You can take alcohol (up to 3 cans per person, no glass allowed) or your dog for an extra fee, and lazily paddle down the river. It’s relaxing, lovely and will reconcile you with Indiana forever.
For the non-​grill masters, the place is also equipped with a mini-​mart/​restaurant that offers food items such as quesadillas, sandwiches, pizzas and breakfast all day. If you like Jimmy Buffet, you’ll feel at home.
Highly recommended for an easy weekend of fun.

This business favors quantity over quality. Terrible customer service. If you want to feel like a cow in an assembly line, by all means proceed. You’ll be yelled at, herded, get fingers in your face, and told not to complain and to just sit and wait on the bus with the rest of the cows. Please, somebody, this is a lovely creek and deserves a decent outfitter. Sugar Valley ain’t the one though.

I think the secret to having a good trip here is to go on a Sunday instead of Saturday! Much more peaceful, no long waits. We didn’t need a reservation this time and did the 12 mile (mistake, my arms were falling off for 3 days afterwards). It’s really a lovely trip and they are dog-​friendly too if you’re into that.

We took a 6 mile kayak trip this weekend from Sugar Vally and on that trip there is a nesting Bald Eagle in a river birch on the left bank of the creek. The nest alone was awesome 3 or 4 feet around. AMAZING to see our national symbol in the wild in central Indiana. I guarantee you’ll have goose bumps from this majestic site. If your thinking of putting a paddle in the water this spring, Sugar Vally Canoe & Kayaks should be the only option on your list.