WI River Outings
WI River Outings
4.5
River Rafting & Tubing • Kayaking & Canoeing
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9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
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About
Providing canoe,kayak and tube rentals on the Lower Wisconsin River out of Boscobel and Sauk City, Wisconsin. High quality, light weight canoes will gain you access to the sand bars in the middle of the river for lunch or camping based on the length of your trip. Come enjoy a 1-5 day paddle over 8-92 miles with us!
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(16 reviews)
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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4.5
205 reviews
Excellent
157
Very good
31
Average
8
Poor
3
Terrible
6
Trista R
1 contribution
Aug 2023 • Couples
The trip was awesome but the service not so much. We booked way in advance and we were told we got a bundle of wood and we ordered seat backs plus we were told our car would be at the end. None of that occured. It was so disorganized and confusion when we started. No wood, No seat backs and our car was not at the end we had to leave it in their parking lot and get a ride back to it. I will plan another trip just won't use their services.
Written 14 August 2023
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.
Nicole N
1 contribution
Sep 2022
I'm torn about this business, because I've had some good experiences with them before but had a quite negative experience on the last trip. We did an overnight to Wyalusing and hit some strong winds midway through our second day that made paddling difficult. We made it to the pick up site nine minutes after our scheduled pickup time, just in time to see the van driving away. I called four times in 45 minutes and finally got someone on the phone, who told me if we wanted to be picked up it was going to cost us an extra $50. A person (I think the male owner) was in the background of the call, telling me it was our fault that we were late and their website was clear as day on their late policy (the exact wording is "If you arrive late, you will have to take the next scheduled shuttle," no mention of a charge. Plus, that section is about upriver outings when we did downriver. The downriver section says "Come directly to our shop to check in. We’ll set up your downriver pickup time before departure, 10 AM (except Saturdays) or 2 PM. We’ll get your boats down to the Boscobel landing and away you go!" Again, no late fee mentioned, nor do they stress that it's crucial you make it to your pickup at the exact time). I asked him if we should just leave the canoe at the site and take an Uber, and he sort of laughed and said there were no Ubers in the area. The driver did eventually come back for us and was super apologetic -- he had the head count for the pickup wrong and never intended to leave us there. They also didn't charge us in the end, but it was a really uncomfortable situation where I felt like the owner was basically telling us we needed to pay up or we (two women) were going to be left stranded in a parking lot in the middle of nowhere with our gear -- all over being nine minutes late on a day when the winds were so high that the driver said the boat trailer at the back of the van was getting blown around from the force of the gusts. If their policy really is that you need to finish by 2pm exactly or you're SOL, I would not book with them again because it's just too stressful a situation when you're out in somewhat unpredictable conditions.
Written 26 September 2022
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.
Patty
1 contribution
Jul 2022
The river was awesome and our trip turned out great, but the service was poor. We arrived a few minutes late (our fault), but the shuttle hadn't left yet because the staff was still getting organized. Instead of letting us get on the shuttle, they still said that we couldn't because we had "missed the cutoff". This threw a wrench in our plan. Further, there was zero direction about which boats to take, where to get paddles, etc. It was as if they had got our payment so we were on our own.
Written 31 July 2022
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.
Laura G
4 contributions
Jul 2022
Camping on a river island is a magical experience. The only sounds around us overnight were the river and the creatures that rely on it. We awoke to an amazing sunrise to the east with huge rays of light coming through the clouds hanging over the horizon. We turned downstream and saw a full rainbow. It's a picture I want to always remember.
Paddling the river is super easy. No experience needed. Do heed the warning about paddling times. The wind from the west can be very strong, overcoming the current that would otherwise be carrying you. Plan to play on an island from noon-5pm and only paddle in the morning or the early evening.
Staff was great, booking was easy. We will be back!
Paddling the river is super easy. No experience needed. Do heed the warning about paddling times. The wind from the west can be very strong, overcoming the current that would otherwise be carrying you. Plan to play on an island from noon-5pm and only paddle in the morning or the early evening.
Staff was great, booking was easy. We will be back!
Written 25 July 2022
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.
Christine C
Arlington Heights, Illinois, United States40 contributions
Sep 2021
Used them to shuttle for a trip from Sauk Prairie to Wyalusing. They were responsive and patient with my many questions in getting this setup. Shuttle was on time and efficient and they gave me VALUABLE info on river and camping conditions. The river was running high so the info was critical to having a safe and fun trip. I highly recommend them and will use their services again in the future.
Written 3 September 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.
Joseph L
2 contributions
Aug 2020
I've used WRO twice before, and we are taking our third trip this weekend. It was a great experience both times.
WRO sent several informative emails leading up to our trip that were very helpful. WRO has videos you can watch explaining how to pack your canoe, what to expect, and sends you a pack list. After reading the emails WRO sent me and watching their videos, I new what to expect and didn't have many surprises.
The first two trips we dropped our gear off up river, I drove to WRO and parked the van at the launch, WRO shuttled me back to the drop in spot. It was nice having my vehicle waiting when we arrived at WRO. Once we finished the trip, we didn't have to deal with anyone, just packed up and left. This year we are starting in Boscobel and ending in Wyalusing state park. This time instead of having my van waiting for me at the end (3 days, two nights), we are getting picked up at 2pm in Wyalusing. I'm a little nervous that I'll be stressing about getting to the pickup stop in time, but to me it's all part of the preparation and planning of the trip, and the planning is something I enjoy.
When we took our second trip from Spring Green to Boscobel, we stopped in Muscoda so I could walk to the gas station to get more drinks. I was on my way back to the canoe and a WRO van pulled up and asked if I wanted a ride. It was Scott the owner whom I recognized right away from all his planning videos I watched. He didn't have to stop and offer a ride and I was thankful he did.
We love our trips on the Wisconsin river and plan to keep using WRO for years to come.
A tip for people taking their first river camping trip is learn how to stake down a tent on a sand bar. Our first trip all I had was the metal pin stakes that came with the tent and they were completely useless. The second trip I had sand stakes with threads that you screw into the sand. These were better than the metal pins but still not great. After doing some research, this year I plan on tying a rope to a piece of wood and burying it under the sand. I wonder how other people stake down their tents on the sandbars and wouldn't mind seeing more videos about it.
WRO sent several informative emails leading up to our trip that were very helpful. WRO has videos you can watch explaining how to pack your canoe, what to expect, and sends you a pack list. After reading the emails WRO sent me and watching their videos, I new what to expect and didn't have many surprises.
The first two trips we dropped our gear off up river, I drove to WRO and parked the van at the launch, WRO shuttled me back to the drop in spot. It was nice having my vehicle waiting when we arrived at WRO. Once we finished the trip, we didn't have to deal with anyone, just packed up and left. This year we are starting in Boscobel and ending in Wyalusing state park. This time instead of having my van waiting for me at the end (3 days, two nights), we are getting picked up at 2pm in Wyalusing. I'm a little nervous that I'll be stressing about getting to the pickup stop in time, but to me it's all part of the preparation and planning of the trip, and the planning is something I enjoy.
When we took our second trip from Spring Green to Boscobel, we stopped in Muscoda so I could walk to the gas station to get more drinks. I was on my way back to the canoe and a WRO van pulled up and asked if I wanted a ride. It was Scott the owner whom I recognized right away from all his planning videos I watched. He didn't have to stop and offer a ride and I was thankful he did.
We love our trips on the Wisconsin river and plan to keep using WRO for years to come.
A tip for people taking their first river camping trip is learn how to stake down a tent on a sand bar. Our first trip all I had was the metal pin stakes that came with the tent and they were completely useless. The second trip I had sand stakes with threads that you screw into the sand. These were better than the metal pins but still not great. After doing some research, this year I plan on tying a rope to a piece of wood and burying it under the sand. I wonder how other people stake down their tents on the sandbars and wouldn't mind seeing more videos about it.
Written 27 July 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.
Bluenoser-Smith
1 contribution
Jul 2021
Without a doubt, the highlight of my experience was my proposal to my girlfriend (now fiancée)! WRO staff offered their best advice to make this possible. Thank you for a trip that we will never forget.
Constructive criticism: we both really like the morning for paddling, and although we selected your earliest time-slot for departure (10am), we unfortunately were not able to hit the water until 12:05pm. We would have enjoyed the first day a lot more if we were able to start earlier.
Constructive criticism: we both really like the morning for paddling, and although we selected your earliest time-slot for departure (10am), we unfortunately were not able to hit the water until 12:05pm. We would have enjoyed the first day a lot more if we were able to start earlier.
Written 20 July 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.
Rikk W
Rochester, MN1 contribution
Aug 2020
I may come back with a better review but they botched it with Covid. Told me to call back 2 weeks before we wanted to schedule our trip, planned around the date only to find out they could not accommodate us. It could have been handled better for sure.
Written 4 August 2020
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.
Daisygrl74
2 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
I have rented from WI River Outings many times and it is a great company, however, I was a little disappointed that it was never mentioned to me at the time of my reservation that there would be no shuttle service and the price was not reduced to reflect that. I know times are rough considering the current pandemic and I appreciate them protecting the safety of their employees. Great company and I will continue to use them!!
Written 14 July 2020
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.
Mike R
3 contributions
Jun 2020
This trip was completed during the pandemic and my expectations of good customer service weren't high. It's with great pleasure that I'm able to post that the folks at WI River Outings were very communicative and responded to my many texts, emails and phone calls quickly and in a very friendly manner. In person, they were very helpful and worked hard to accommodate us before sending us off into the world of river water and sand with a smile and a wave.
At the end of our 3 day paddle they were at the boat landing before we loaded up the car and again were very friendly and asked questions about the trip and laughed through stories of some of our adventures.
Combine all this with they huge amount of helpful prep info they have on their website and it's easy to say they upgraded a great trip to awesome.
At the end of our 3 day paddle they were at the boat landing before we loaded up the car and again were very friendly and asked questions about the trip and laughed through stories of some of our adventures.
Combine all this with they huge amount of helpful prep info they have on their website and it's easy to say they upgraded a great trip to awesome.
Written 22 June 2020
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.
No questions have been asked about this experience