Chicago Water Sport Rentals
Chicago Water Sport Rentals
4
About
Chicago Water Sport Rentals located at 31st Street Harbor rents premium Yamaha and Sea Doo Spark jet skis, Hobie Mirage Drive Kayaks, Bic Ace Tec series paddleboards, FlyBoards and offers banana boat rides. Open May 1st - October 31st, reservations recommended.
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Neighborhood: Douglas
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
4.0
43 reviews
Excellent
25
Very good
6
Average
2
Poor
4
Terrible
6
Tracey M
Detroit, MI127 contributions
Aug 2021
Bad from beginning to end. The location is probably the worst I've seen. It's in a boat harbor where you have to go around/get out of the way of boats, kayaks, paddle boards and other jet skis in this small area. The water was very choppy (4-5 foot waves) the day of our reservation so no tandem riders. Which is what 2 couples wanted, but they refused to give a refund. 4 of 5 agreed to ride solo. My daughter, her boyfriend, my nephew and myself. They refused to let us go out together for the safety of the jet skis. Said there was a greater risk we would damage their equipment if the 4 of us went out together. I had to go with my nephew for 30 minutes and after we returned, they let my daughter and her boyfriend go out. It's not like we were a bunch of drunk teenagers, I'm almost 60 years old and my nephew is 36. I told the manager that we were paying for the experience/fun of riding together as a family. He said that they had to protect their equipment due to the weather. The worst part was it was a very busy Saturday so you had to watch out for boats coming and going. The waves were really high and the boats causing a wake made it even worse. Once you get out of the harbor area it's wide open, but again there are still boats coming and going. NOT FUN AT ALL
Written 16 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Krista
Oswego, IL66 contributions
Aug 2017 • Family
We had a blast kayaking and sup at 31st street Harbor. The prices were half that of North Ave Beach. We had a blast.
Written 26 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kendall H
1 contribution
Aug 2017 • Couples
My boyfriend and I had so much fun! Employees were very laid-back and relaxed while still giving enough instruction and safety information. We had the whole harbor to ourselves! The water was beautiful and warm, and the jet skis were great quality. Would highly recommend.
Written 7 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Allison R
Illinois32 contributions
Jun 2017 • Couples
Chicago Water Sport Rentals was a great vendor to work with when renting jet skis. Their staff was extremely personable and provided great customer service as they walked us through the rental process. They were thorough and did an excellent job explaining everything we would need to know. Prices are a bit steep, but overall worth the cost to interact with good staff.
Written 19 June 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ittech1013
Chicago, IL5 contributions
Aug 2016 • Couples
Chicago Water sports is an awesome place to rent a waverunner! They are fast with customer service and work with you if you are running late. I will be going back next year more often.
Written 29 August 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
juliecostigan
Palatine, IL1 contribution
Jul 2016 • Family
My family really enjoyed spending the day at the Harbor, paddle boarding and kayaking were a blast! The water was super calm, the equipment was in great shape, and the view of the skyline is awesome! We enjoyed hanging out by the floating pool and relaxing on the really nice deck! There was a DJ playing music and a bar and restaruant right there at the harbor the whole experience was really enjoyable!!!! The staff at Chicago Water Sport Rentals was super nice and helpful!
Written 1 August 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Baxtem
Minneapolis, MN5 contributions
Aug 2015
John and his team have created a great location for multiple water sport activities. Kayaking JetSki-ing, Paddle boarding. Good prices and an awesome lake shore location
Written 13 December 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marsha E
Chicago, IL68 contributions
Sep 2015 • Couples
Had a Groupon coupon to use Hobie Kayaks as a 'touristy' thing to do although I live in the Chicago Metro area. We planned on tooling around in kayaks independently for an hour.
Things to know: (1) This is a hard location to get to and parking is tough, particularly on weekends. (2) Our time slot seemed to be the same time slot of everyone else. It was a mad house and I immediately knew this was not a well run organization. (3) The Hobie Kayaks we signed up to use have bike pedals. While being set up, the staff person let us know how expensive the pedals are and how often they break. (4) We returned within the hour and my pedal did fail so I was paddling.
There are other kayak rental companies in Chicago. I suggest checking them out.
Things to know: (1) This is a hard location to get to and parking is tough, particularly on weekends. (2) Our time slot seemed to be the same time slot of everyone else. It was a mad house and I immediately knew this was not a well run organization. (3) The Hobie Kayaks we signed up to use have bike pedals. While being set up, the staff person let us know how expensive the pedals are and how often they break. (4) We returned within the hour and my pedal did fail so I was paddling.
There are other kayak rental companies in Chicago. I suggest checking them out.
Written 18 November 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dominique D
55 contributions
Sep 2015 • Couples
We picked a calm weekday to go tandem kayaking which was terrific as we were able to kayak out into the lake without any drama and paddle along to the 49th Beach before turning around and take some fab photos of Chicago's Skyline. The allocated two hours is plenty of time to paddle about. Allow extra time to find the actual place. We walked to and from 31st beach which took us just over an hour each way. You could easily hire Divvy bikes which we were going to do on the way back but there were no bikes left. The location was a bit hard to find initially but if you put the info in google maps you will find it.
Written 30 September 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brandon H
1 contribution
Sep 2015 • Friends
While my group was already running late for our 2-hour kayak rental, it certainly didn't help that nobody could find specific directions once we got to 31st Street Harbor. The launch point is inside a boat harbor, which wouldn't necessarily be a problem if the company (or city? ...unimportant) didn't restrict the area you're allowed to kayak to a tiny strip of water up against a land wall right outside of the harbor. There was a dude in a boat racing around and corralling us every 10 or 15 minutes to get us out of the way as boats would approach the harbor, and we spent most of our time being shouted at, with severely limited views (you will barely see the skyline from where you're allowed to go), in a very choppy portion of the lake. The equipment was great, just a shame that the location was so terrible. Don't be tricked by a Groupon deal, that money will be far better spent applied to a higher-priced rental on the North side.
Written 9 September 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Claim your listingCHICAGO WATER SPORT RENTALS: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
Frequently Asked Questions about Chicago Water Sport Rentals
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