While roaming through the area we spotted the State Park on a map and decided to check it out. It…read morefeels like it's in the middle of nowhere as you drive in, and as a result when the lake and grounds come into view it has the feel of a real oasis. It's a beautiful drive in and gorgeous setting. The lakes are awesome, and clearly a lot of fun as the place was pretty packed last weekend. Lots of room to boat, paddle, hike, camp, and picnic. As we were just passing through we really only covered the park and surrounding areas via van, but we did stop in some shade to enjoy a picnic lunch. You definitely need to plan ahead and come prepared, as we didn't see any stores or gas in the immediate area. But it does look like a very serene place to spend a few days....especially if you like sun, as there wasn't a big supply of shade to be found. Lots of soaring birds and spectacular mountain views abound from the cliffs above the lakes. Beautiful high dessert oasis. :)

Nice campground well taken care of. Clean restrooms and showers. Tons of deer walking through the…read moresites at all hours. So cool to see these majestic creatures with no fear. No reception or cell service so you really are able to disconnect and relax. Beautiful golden hour sunsets and gorgeous sunrises.

Great experience renting from these guys. Great communication the whole way. Made the process…read moresuper simple and was able to rent last minute. Loaded the canoe up and tied it down for us. Came with life jackets and paddles. Would rent again!

Matt was incredible ! Before getting to him, I spent 6 hours of online research and had spoken to 5…read moredifferent stores, trying to find an electrical pump for my Stand Up Paddle Board which had alligator clips, as the one I had was only for cigarette lighters and had already blown my fuse. Due to the time of the year, there was nothing good left online and I was facing the prospect of having to spend an additional $80 on a new pump and having to wait at least a week, or else drive 2 hours out of my way to get a dubious replacement. Matt simply suggested I buy a $10 Adapter (available at any car parts store) to convert the cigarette lighter to one that works off alligator clips - problem solved !! Super grateful to have someone knowledgable and caring solve my problem - who clearly cared more about the solution then making a sale. I highly recommend Matt and Oregon Outdoor Sports !

CRO and the staff (Luke, Albert, lady on the phone :)) were amazing. We rented 3 tubes and a tandem…read morekayak for the 5 of us, along with the shuttle service. Pickup from Barton County Park, shuttle to McIver, float down 6 hours (the water moved slowly in some spots so it took us longer). CRO answered all my questions around booking, and accommodated a reschedule during the 4th of July weekend. Even on the day of, Luke patiently gave us instructions and options to pick the upper (bigger rapids) or lower (slightly calmer) starting point. Couple of tips - take the earlier 10 am shuttle slot because car parking at Barton for the pickup can get full quickly on popular days. It would be great if we had a paddle for the tubes because in some spots the water was very still. Also, take a phone to text and coordinate towards the end of the float.

DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THEIR PCC CLASS (Flatwater Paddleboarding Tour)…read moreThey changed the location to Milo McIver State Park. The only instructions in the email as to this new location was "lake launch inside Milo McIver State Park". No directions were provided. Thus it would be assumed the actual location would be easy to find. I gave myself a 10 minute buffer to park and find the group. Map directions guide you to south entrance road. Once you pay & drive down, you come to a fork in the road (pics below showing signs). How do I know which boat ramp; there are 2? Since the directions indicated lake launch, I chose the right for Estacada Lake. Cut to 30 minutes later; I have now driven BOTH forks and there is no sign of a group that would indicate Clackamas River Outfitters or a paddleboarding group. I am so frustrated over the wasted time and money. When you are being paid for a service, it is your job to provide clear instructions; not just for the class itself, but how to get there. The best choice would have been for them to send a google/apple map pin to the exact location. If for some reason, that wouldn't work, then you should provide step by step instructions on where the group is to meet (IE, after entering, make a right/left, etc). I would have loved to call someone, but phone service was really shoddy in the park. Don't waste your time or money.

UPDATE -- August 9th: We still cannot use the boat…read more The part needed for the repair was delivered five days ago, yet AWS says they cannot send a technician because all of their technicians are busy. Given that we purchased a brand-new boat that has been completely unusable since the day we picked it up, I would have expected this repair to be treated as a priority. Instead, the current plan is apparently to have a technician assist remotely. Unfortunately, that technician is on vacation and will not be available until Tuesday of next week. If the repair is successful at that point, we will have lost nearly two months of the prime summer boating season waiting for a brand-new boat to be made usable. Problems can happen with any product, and I understand that. What has made this experience so disappointing is the communication and apparent lack of urgency after the problem was discovered. Weeks have gone by, emails have gone unanswered, promised information was not been provided, and even after the necessary part arrived, we are still waiting. At this point, we are extremely unhappy with both this purchase and our overall experience with AWS. What should have been an exciting first summer with our new boat has instead been nearly two months of frustration while the boat has sat unused. I have requested a conversation with the owner of Redmond AWS several times but they have not yet reached out - I must say this is very disappointing customer service.

From the owner: Redmond AWS is a full service wake, ski, and pontoon boat dealership serving Central Oregon…read moreincluding Redmond, Bend, Sister, and the surrounding areas.