Wowza, what an experience. From waiting about an hour in the scorching hot sun and dodging other patrons ignoring social distancing rules to floating down the river with friends, strangers, good music, and drinks in hand. This experience was all over the place.
For starters, you cannot reserve or do anything in advance at Mohican Adventures. While this would help with the large crowds, long lines and wait times, they've decided not to go that route. Trust me, I called and chatted with them and was told I just need to show up and hope that I can get a canoe/kayak and on the river by noon. Coming from over an hour away, this was a little nerve racking but my friends and I decided to risk it. We arrived around 10 in the morning to find the largest crowd I've seen since before March. Pro tip - Drop someone off to wait in line and have them wait while you park the car and unload. There was one person in front of my group holding the line for 30 (at least) young girls there with their entire volleyball team. Needless to say when 30 people joined the one person waiting, people in line got a little upset.
Anyhoo, my group of four people were the only ones in the entire place wearing masks. Staff, nope. Other patrons, nope. It was wild and I'm so glad I was being safe. When we finally got up to the counter in the office we paid quickly, were handed a slip of paper, and told to find our line to get on the bus. My group went with the 15 mile route. This took roughly 5-6 hours and was not the busiest choice, which was nice. Instead of waiting in another long line, we were able to get on a bus right away. We were told that social distancing would not be applied due to how busy they were (facepalm), again I'm so glad I brought my mask.
After grabbing our life jackets and rows, getting instructions on how to tell how far we've gone, etc., we finally got on the water around 11:30. Our canoes were in good condition, the water was low but not too low, and the weather was perfect thanks to the trees that shaded us most of the way.
Overall, I really wish there were more COVID precautions. I went to another place in Hocking Hills in June and they had no problem enforcing social distancing, requiring masks, allowing reservations for staggering visitors, etc. After knowing what a safe experience is like and comparing it to this one, I plan to stick with my previous water adventures business. read more