I can't begin to tell you how gorgeous this lake is. What a hidden gem! I'm a native of AZ and only…read morejust recently learned about Blue Ridge Reservoir (also known as C.C. Cragin). I almost didn't want to review it because I want to keep it all to myself. Because it is so narrow, it almost looks like a river. Blue Ridge is 8 miles end-to-end and is stocked with rainbow and brown trout. It is a popular destination for canoers and kayakers because of restrictions to motor boats more than 10 horsepower. I could have floated on this water for hours. The scenery at Blue Ridge reservoir is beautiful. It's located off Highway 87 about 30 miles north of Strawberry on the Mogollon Rim. There is only one convenience store with gas pumps nearby and no cell service. Rock Crossing Campground is the only organized campsite nearby if you want to stay overnight. The great thing is there are no permits needed or fees to enter Blue Ridge Reservoir. But it does get crowded at times and Forest Service workers will only allow one car at a time to enter when the lot is full. Make sure you have a reliable vehicle as the gravel road to the reservoir can get pretty bumpy. There is a bathroom on site at the overflow parking lot. Blue Ridge Reservoir is very peaceful and relaxing. I went over Memorial Weekend and it wasn't too crowed at all. It's definitely worth camping nearby so you can spend a full day here.

Great day here! Much larger than anticipated. Beautiful location within Coconino National Forest…read more Apparently this road is not open year round, nor are some of the local camprounds. Gravel forest road that any car can drive but beware of some deep ruts in areas. Vault toilets in upper parking lot. Nice concrete boat ramp. Jealous of those that were camping via kayaks.

Great service. They brought equipment to our vrbo and picked it up. Even gave us an extra kayak…read more Would definitely use them again. 5 stars

My partner and I had a great experience renting kayaks from Michelle! The kayak rental was…read morestraightforward, smooth, and lots of fun :) The assistance in attaching the kayaks to the car was also very appreciated. What a great way to enjoy the beauty of Payson and Willow Lake Pros: Responsiveness: Michelle was incredibly responsive and helpful over text! She was clear and prompt and great to communicate with. Help with securing kayaks: Michelle and her friend helped my partner and I secure kayaks to the car, and were patient with us as we figured out the best way to get them stacked and loaded. Flexibility: Michelle was flexible to our needs and allowed us to keep the kayaks as long as we wanted, and was there to give us the kayaks and coordinate the drop off as well. Straightforward pricing: Pricing was clear and straightforward and just as stated on the website and in all communication with Michelle. The Kayaks were $45 for a full day of use! Convenient location to Payson and Willow Lake: We were staying in Payson, and the kayak pick-up and drop off point was incredibly convenient. Dog friendly: Our pups enjoyed getting in the kayak, as seen in the pictures! They had a great day as well! Michelle's dogs were also at the kayak pick-up site, and we had so much fun petting them and playing with them. Cons: No cons to speak of! I will happily rent a Kayak from Michelle in the future!

Beautiful Lake Mary, Flagstaff Arizona!! Decided to come…read moreand have a look at Lake Mary unfortunately Lower Lake Mary is a dry land with weeds growing in it but Upper Lake Mary has some remnants of a water or like that used to be full at one time water is dirty but a nice view to see. People here are very active so you see a lot of people walking their dogs on the trail of Lake Mary.

Everyone note: this rental shop is not near the lake. Therefore they have to tie the rented kayak…read more(etc) to you own vehicle. The distance is about five miles on the highway and there is a $9 park charge to launch into the lake. Just a heads up as I don't believe this is clear going into it.

Everything from start to finish went well & exceeded expectations ! Jeff was very responsive from…read morethe beginning! Very easy to connect with via phone or text , answered any questions I threw his way . I was looking for a boat plus kayak rental business for our Memorial Day weekend escape with two teens . This company very reasonable! Jeff met us at the dock with gassed up boat & 2 kayaks . We used the lil Bentley & what a treat for the day on Rainbow Lake . The boat is well cared for , clean , canopy was a plus , easy to operate & bring drink / snacks along . Great day on the water with the ability for everyone to do what they wanted! Jeff is very accommodating with end of day closure, quick call & he's there to trailer it all away ! We definitely will use him again in the future. Super find in Pinetop area!

Everything went well! Jeff is an incredible person to work with and accommodated us very last…read moreminute on a holiday weekend. He has a great supply of non motorized watercraft to rent. I definitely will rent from them again!

Jack and the staff were amazing. Extremely informative on the inflatable kayak trip and what to…read moreexpect on the river. We had an awesome time and highly recommend booking with this company. We ll return as well.

Located in cottonwood about 1 hour south of Sedona. Fun fun fun! I want to go again 10 times!…read more This is usually a self guided kayak excursion. Ben came with us today, a special treat and he is amazing, had knowledge of the river, plants, birds. He made sure everyone was safe and had a good experience. The time on the website and email are slightly off. It says 10:00a to 1:00p. This is more than enough. Meeting time is 8:45a and you need to be at meeting area by 9:00a. Then you get on a shuttle for a 10 minute drive to go up river where you will launch. So you car is at the end point of kayaking. We got a tandem inflatable kayak which cost about $150 for 2 people. There are taxes and don't forget gratuities, in cash. Don't know if they take venmo or Zelle. The adventure...so most of it is easy slow floating. There are a few spots where it flows faster and you may have to steer trees and rocks. We came in last week of August, so low water season. The river is only 3-4 feet deep in the majority of places. The weather was perfect today at around 70sF near 9:00a and around 82F at 10:00a. High is 88F at 2-3p. It rained in the last few days so we got very fast flow and completed our trip from 9:00 to 11:15am ish. We were down changing and in the car by 11:30a. In the 2.5 duration, you may get out on land halfway and take a snack / water break and stretch legs for circulation. We were told that high water season is spring. Something about May being the month where they let water out so water is lower then as well. The Verde river provides water to Phoenix. You can be all levels and come. The guide will give you general instructions in the beginning and provide life vests. All ages kids and toddlers can come. If your kid is smaller than perhaps age 12, you may need to bring your own baby or kid sized life vest for them. Your butt and arms, and bag will be wet. They suggest a zip lock bag to hold your phone and wallet, but bring any backpack. It will get a little muddy from your feet (just clean it at home). Definitely need hat, sunglasses. Suggest to bring 1-2 liters of water and snacks. You have time to eat 1 hour in on the land. Suggest you to wear swim suit or quick dry T shirt, and board shorts (for surfing, boogie boarding) or quick dry hiking shorts and water shoes like Teva. There is a lot of trees on the route but you'll get sun. They do not take more than 11-12 people at a time. I hope this helps. I look forward to coming again.

Had a fun time on the river in tubes. This is a slow relaxing float with some areas where you will…read moreneed to use the ping pong paddles to make it to the next section. Expect 3.5-4 hours on the water.

We booked a kayak rental for eight and enjoyed our time. We followed the white van with the kayaks…read moreand agreed to leave the kayaks by the lounge bear the parking. The trip down the river was spectacular, easy float and so much fun. Be aware: when we arrived back, getting out of the kayak was close to impossible but we did it. We left the kayaks by the water, as requested. Up hill we met with a female driver asking us to bring all the kayaks up hill and load them on her truck, she even insisted that we will not drag the kayaks but lift them from the ground, a two people effort. This was very difficult as we were a group of elderly with hip and kneee issues. We were not informed upon booking that we will have to deal with hard work after 3 hours on the river. Some of us needed some time to get used to walking on the ground, had a little imbalance. Not acceptable. And I cannot recommend this company due to this difficult end of trip experience.

I recommend Adventuring Arizona for kayaking. They are just $39 per kayak and they provide PFD'S as…read morewell as dry boxes if you wish to bring along your camera or phones, or anything you'd want protected from the water! For an extra $10 they'll deliver up to the first three, to your desired location. That's awesome!! Support your local businesses.

Ask for Captain Kelly!…read more I recently did 187 mile raft with a group of geologists to go see many famous sites along the river. Due to Covid, our diverse crew (most older, up to 76 years old), and rapids, I was nervous. The second I met our boatman Kelly all my fear washed away. She is absolutely the most capable navigator I have ever experienced, an excellent leader, and exudes confidence and a positive attitude at every moment. Even though we had a geologist who was guiding our science chat, Kelly added the historical stories, naturalist lectures, and humor. I also noticed she was already aware of the geologic significance of the sites. Our swamper Thad was an energetic and hilarious asset who compliment Kelly really well and also took great care of us. They made us feel so safe and comfortable and are very professional (I noticed a lot of other river guides out there drinking and smoking at night and felt so lucky our guides were responsibly tending to camp or sleeping instead). Every night Kelly got dressed up and cooked us amazing meals, including warm cakes from scratch with a Dutch oven. We didn't go home any thinner. If you get this crew with Hatch, you are lucky! I will ask for them next time.

Hatch is taking advantage of COVID 19 and not providing refunds!!!!!…read more A group of 26 of us booked a trip 1.5 year ago to launch May 2020. Hatch cancelled our reservation due to Covid 19. They will only provide a 50 % refund, resulting in them keeping over $50,000 for this one booking. I feel this is totally unethical, they are benefiting hugely from COVID 19, they cancelled the trip, not us, and many other rafting companies of offering full refunds.

Clarksdale kayak is well managed and provides a great experience. Had a great time on Friday.read more

We went here for a fun outing. It was such a great time! The staff was friendly and did a great job…read moremaking sure everyone knew what to do. Our guide was Jen and she was outstanding! I was a little worried it would be too hot, but they provided everyone with a squirt gun which helped a bunch. Especially when water wars would break out periodically. The scenery on the river is breathtaking in spots. Would definitely do this again!