I love this place. The best time to go is when it's extremely hot. It's so relaxing, kid-friendly and safe. You can take your time and enjoy nature. We typically canoe over rafting. This will not disappoint. read more

First of all this place offers tubing, kayaking and Canoe (probably would not suggest it, unless it is big wide open lake like Marsh Creek). Normally we would go to Marsh Creek Watersports, since they have great staff and wide areas for most water sports. We came here on a Saturday for Kayaking, which was probably a mistake. Should have came here on a weekday, when it is less crowded. The staffs here are friendly, there's just not enough of them (Will explain later). When you first walk towards the check in desk, you will have to wait in line to sign in even if you already purchased the ticket online (The wait for us was approximately 20 minutes outside). After you checked in you go get your life jacket, there is another wait for the bus that will take you to your destination, depending if you picked Kayak/Canoe or Tubing, and if you picked 1 or 2 hours. Our wait for the bus was approximately 30-40 minutes, which is fine we expected it from reading some of the reviews. They will give you a number card to tell you which bus you will be boarding via the intercom. The buses have seen better days, but it gets the jobs done that's all it matters. The bus ride for us was 10-15 minutes tops. After you arrive at your destination, you pretty much on your own, apart from the quick safety tip briefing at the beginning. We carried our kayaks to the dock and just went on our way. Beware, depending date/time at times some parts of the river will have very shallow water, I saw a few people getting stuck, we had little to no trouble getting out. But we saw some people struggling to get their kayak out of the water, because it is way too heavy from all the water that got into the kayak. This is where the experience can be sour for some people. There's almost no staff stationed at certain part of the river to assist the customers, apart from one where they tell you to GO RIGHT at the flag (where most people tipped over). There is also way too much tubing traffic for anyone with Kayak or canoe to enjoy the water, as some people will bunch up in groups and you had to maneuver around them on high flowing water so you don't run into them. For inexperience kayakers it might be a little tricky, as there's very little room at certain parts. When you finished your journey there is a little tiny dock that some people have apparently missed and gone all the way down Delaware river and staff members needed to pick them up, as there's no flags or sign to tell you this is the end. At the same time, the water in front of the dock is so deep, you are almost guaranteed to get wet. I was lucky enough to get a staff member to help carry me up so I don't get my phone wet. In conclusion, If you go on a weekday or days when it is less crowded, you will have a much better experience. Also if you don't want to get your phone wet or submerged in water, do not bring your phone at all or bring a waterproof casing if you want some pictures, as the scenery is quite nice. Overall it was pretty good experience for me, but there's better options elsewhere if you want just enjoy kayaking experience for the price you pay. read more

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River is nice, but takes forever to get checked in and on your way. Many staff sitting around on their phones rather than helping out. Didn't get into the water until over an hour past our reserved time. Time to find another company. read more

If you're looking for a perfect evening activity, look no more! This place is it. My fiancé and I wanted to celebrate our anniversary with something different and we decided on the canoe & fine twilight dinner trip last evening. It was $60 per person but that includes EVERYTHING! Which for what you get, is a super fair price. It included 1.5 hours of canoeing down the Brandywine, then a fabulous dinner, bon fire, live music, and desserts. We signed in at 5:30pm, and they took our wine for safe keeping (it's a BYO experience which is great). They transported us and the canoes (which they provide) a few miles away. They walked us to the water way and gave a quick how-to on canoeing (which is great for those who've never canoed before). We took our time canoeing and it was BEAUTIFUL. Photos don't do it justice. When we arrived back, we quickly changed and were treated to absolutely delicious food. We had salad, potatoes, corn on the Cobb, green beans, and choice of protein (ribs, salmon or tofu). I highly recommend the salmon - sooooo good. They made it easy to get our drinks and even offered a wide variety of mixers complimentary. After we dined on dinner, we moved over to the the bon fore which had s'mores fixings (they also offered ice cream, etc). The live music was so lovely and fit the scene perfectly. From start to finish ( we left around 9:30pm), their customer service and hospitality was top notch. We felt like we were in Disney. You can tell they love their guests and business, taking great pride in what they do. We will DEFINITELY be back. read more

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An amazing nature spot close to the city where you can go tubing and kayaking. Very calm water on this part of the Brandywine (and seems non toxic!). It is an escape laying in the tube staring up at the sky with the trees hanging over you while you take in the sounds of birds chirping and the bugs buzzing. This float is satisfactory for the city folk and offers enough to have a relaxing and enjoyable morning or afternoon. Pros: Northbrook is convenient in that they have free parking, offer rentals for tubes, offer life jackets, and even have a shuttle bus to take you to your destination! They have a food and drink shack, bathrooms, picnic tables, and a changing room. They seem to offer quite a bit more but we were only there for a 3 hour tube ride. All in all it's a fair deal, convenient, and all the people I spoke to were nice. Cons: While all the staff were nice and helpful when I asked them numerous questions, they seemed exhausted and a little unorganized. It was a very hot and busy day and we had to wait about an hour after we checked in for our reservation. The Brandywine is a wimpy stream. I'm from Oregon originally and I am used to much bigger streams (rivers), with more depth and more turns, more space to navigate between floaters, with more nature and more scenes. I'm used to a faster stream (rapids) with some thrill of danger, but the slow pace may be better for some. read more

This a great way to do something different, get some fresh air, and relax. Whether you're taking your kids, a date, or just need sometime alone, you'll enjoy this experience. They offer three different options - canoe, kayak, or tubing. The kayaks are solo and the canoes have 2 seats but smaller kids can sit on the floor. They take you in a vintage school bus through the windy back roads of Chesco (fun in itself) and drop you off a various locations on the stream and then you boat back to their location. Theres varying distances depending on how much time and money you want to spend. For the canoes I'd recommend the 1.5 hour trip if its your first time. Not the commitment of the 2 hour trip, and the 1 hour will go by in a blink of an eye. Easy preparations will make your trip more enjoyable. Wear sunscreen, hat, and sunglasses as you will get a lot of sun exposure. Bring plenty of water and some small snacks. Wear sandals or old shoes that you don't care about as there's a decent chance you will hit a low point in the river and have to get out and pull your canoe free. Keep your cell phone in a ziplock bag and only get it out when you need it. Relax and enjoy the trip down stream but remember to always look about 15-20 yards down stream. There will be some rocks and branches and low tide points. If you see them in advance its much easier pick the best path before you get too close. Military discount makes the reasonable prices even better. read more

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The hubs and I went kayaking for the first time ever this Saturday and boy were we a fail! We both managed to get dumped within minutes of getting into the river, we lost one of the kayaks, managed to pull off to a bank and one of the drivers saw us from the road and immediately sent Steve and Owen out to rescue us. These peeps know the river like the back of their hand, are super helpful and didn't make us feel like the old, fat, uncoordinated fails that we are. :) read more

Updated review: Disappointing. We went canoeing for the first time since COVID-19. They have done a good job protecting the staff, with all sorts of distancing, barriers and plexiglass, but a poor job protecting the customers, with nonexistent cleaning in between customers cycling in and out of the office. The worst part was how they crammed everyone into a school bus with zero social distancing. Unacceptable. There is no point in enforcing mask use outdoors with lots of social distancing if you are going to tightly pack everyone inside of a school bus. Again, no cleaning observed there either. Before the virus this was a 4 star review for friendly staff, but one of the vehicles they used to transport us lacked any restraints. The river is too shallow in some areas,but otherwise enjoyable. Unfortunately we won't be coming back until either they drastically improve their cleanliness and customer protections or the virus is no longer a threat. read more

I can't fault them for the low water levels in the Brandywine Creek, so I can only speak highly of this wonderful outdoor adventure company. My girlfriend and I experienced the sheer calm and peace of the creek in a unique way ... by canoe. The ease of reserving a canoe was great, as were the stuff, and our guide, Dustin (?) who drove us to the launch point and gave us a quick tutorial. I had such a pleasant experience that I literally cannot wait to come back to the area and do a much longer canoe trip! read more

Northbrook Canoe Co - Boating Near Me - West Chester, Pennsylvania

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Booked a 2-hour tube adventure at the last minute this week since we took a "staycation" and wanted to make sure the weather would hold. For 2 people at the end of summer on a Wednesday, no issue getting the time we wanted. A few other people had the same idea because when we showed up there was about 14 total on our bus. The check in process was relatively straight forward -- serve yourself signing a waiver outside, then take it to the door of the office and wait for someone to call you in (one person per party go inside, it's small). There was a cash deposit for the equipment to pay and had to show ID. There aren't any lockers or anything on site so if you don't have a waterproof bag to bring with you, just show up early (like it says in the email anyway!) and bring your wallet up then run it back to the car before you go. After you're checked in, you grab a life jacket and wait for your number to be called to get on the bus where they explain some things and take you to the drop off point. Then you kind of get yourself in the river and do your thing! Our reservation was for 2 hours and we didn't try hard to swim or anything, just kind of drifted with the currents, and it took 4 hours to get to the end! It was a relaxing trip. The water was clear and since it was lower we saw so many kinds of fish, some turtles, frogs, birds, and even a snake at the end (allegedly named Henry). The changing rooms were interesting and I'm surprised by everyone saying "real bathrooms not porta potties" because what I saw in the women's side was a curtain in front of a portapotty seat for a bathroom stall and I decided to hold it for civilization. Overall a nice experience but changing rooms/restrooms could use some finesse. A rinse off station would be nice, even if just for your feet. read more

I had the best darn time here. The main guy was so helpful he helped me down the stairs and checked on me after. I'm a little disabled I had back surgery last year I wanted to be in the water and be active this was perfect my wife and I are older but I haven't been this physically active in a while. read more

We took our daughter and her friend this past weekend to go tubing. They crammed everyone on the bus with no social distancing. The river was so shallow in so many areas that you had to get out of your tube to move through. I'm assuming the shallow water was due to lack of rain, so maybe this isn't the norm. However, I would think that the levels should be monitored as this was not the relaxing experience we hoped for. Disappointing. read more

A friend and I had a delightful kayaking experience here last weekend. Love that they're open in the fall (upon reservation)--you can really enjoy everything in the mild weather, complete with changing fall leaves. And 0 crowds. The area really is beautiful. We came across some interesting wildlife like a crane and unexpected fish. The only slight annoyance [not on the company's fault] were shallow/rocky areas that would "shipwreck" us once in a while. Try to bring some type of boat shoe or sandal for this! You can easily get out of your boat and push it off that way. We felt the 1.5 hour trip was the perfect amount of time for us. It was enough to take it all in and just begin to physically tire. The staff is very relaxed and friendly. Including their pet cats. ;) read more

Northbrook Canoe Co - Boating Near Me - West Chester, Pennsylvania

First time using Northbrook Canoe Company as recommended by a friend. We kayaked on a cloudy day - even debated going as it monsooned later on. It was quiet but it looks like they run a nice family-run biz here and they said their normal Saturdays are hectic. We left a bit late but it wasn't an issue as they were thorough in giving us all the info and stuff we needed. They held our car key for us as well as a deposit of $20. $92 for 2 kayaks on their 2.5 hour trek upstream. Not bad. There were even little eateries and snack shops for food, supplies, water shoes, etc. Thinking I would hit that after. There was parking, cross the tracks and there's changing area and indoor bathrooms in what looked like an old rail station. It had a campy, old mining town feel. Andy, our driver, was glad to tell us about local sites and what the West Chester/Brandywine Valley had to offer. He was a longtime local & gave us some quick tips and some local history - he was friendly and informative and has been with the company since he was 16. Wow! He helped us throw our crafts in the river so we gave him a small tip. Thanks, Andy. It was overcast but cool and I enjoyed the scenery of this area - plush greenery with rolling hills of grass and farmland. Saw a white heron at one point. No otters. We were able to get on land before the dam, which I could hear in the distance. We were told about it beforehand but the signage overall was not plentiful so it came up quick and there was a little confusion. It was a quick in and out - not a big deal but mucky around the small dock. About a half hour after the dam, it started to storm, lightening and thunder. Then it started to rain - hard! So much so that we got out at Corcoran's Bridge and hung out for like an hour underneath the bridge. We were already soaked to the bone. It was a different kind of fun at that point. I was wondering where we were and if it didn't stop, would they pick us up? Not sure and I didn't know where the hell I was. The scene from 'The Notebook' comes to mind but a little less romantic. Fortunately, the rain slowed enough to make it back but a lot of the trip was hard to see in the rain and I was just trying to get back to the Canoe Co. before it closed. I was surprised at how low & rocky some areas were and that I had to get out and carry the kayak to a deeper area. It was more often than I thought as other river experiences, I cruised through. The canoers likely had double the battle. Most of it was smooth sailing, though and overall it was a good experience - despite said rain. Should have opted for the 1.5 hour trip. Was a ghost town when we got back although 2 workers aided getting docked and out. Whew! Was 6 pm. I will definitely be back for another go on preferably a bright and sunny day! Maybe try another route, too. The website was handy for reservations and gave different options for routes and also tubing and canoeing reasonably. read more

Northbrook Canoe Co - Fun before the rain - Boating Near Me - West Chester, Pennsylvania

OK, this isn't fancy. It isn't meant to be and never well be, but for a casual good time with family and friends this little spot can't be beat! I was just as intrigued by the old physical facility(repurposed railroad freight and coal?) as I was pleased by the canoe trip and dining. There is history here, and I felt like I wanted to know more... We(4) signed up as two couples for the Canoe & Dine event. We were part of maybe 12-14, total, all couples, married and dating. The operation couldn't be organized, more relaxing, and is a throwback to simpler times for sure. We remarked how NCC had plenty of staff on-site, even given this small group. A group bus ride to the put-in point, then a ride down the creek back to the office with a few mini-rapids to keep your interest. Quiet ride at dusk, train tracks just above you on the bank as you paddle along. The salad and dining(3 protein choices) was more than adequate for a picnic; friendly, courteous staff at all points. As the sun was setting, they started a sizeable bonfire and had chairs organized around the fire pit for meeting people, and listening to the solo guitarist/singer. Dress down, float the creek, roast some marshmellows, make some s'mores, take a trip back in time and get off of life's treadmill for a few hours with your sweetie. BYOB which is quite appropriate. NCC seems to take care of everything else. OK, what would I change? Not much. My only suggestion would be to let guest do their own grilling of chicken, salmon, or ribs over a communal charcoal grate. This gets people interacting and involved, and you can't complain if you meat isn't right! That would enhance the 'picnic' feel. read more

Northbrook Canoe has been family-owned by the same family for decades. The staff are wonderful, as was floating down the river on a hot day. We arrived at 1:00 pm for a tubing trip, but did not get on the bus until 2:07. We will be using Northbrook again, but would ask them to please give approximate bus time waits. We had plans that night and probably wouldn't have done the trip had we known about the wait time. It didn't matter in the end though, since paddling got us to the finish in less than 1.5 hours. Nevertheless, tubing down the brandywine is a fun, relaxing summer activity ($20 per tube plus $20 refundable deposit)-- just make sure you're not in too much of a rush. :) read more

We kayaked this past weekend. We only needed transportation and provided our own boats. We usually jockey ourselves, but this time wanted the easy convenience of northbrook driving us up river. Staff was fine, but price was to much. We paid $40 per kayak to be dropped a few miles up the river. I thought the price was excessive, 80$ to transport 2 kayaks. I would be ok with $50 It was a nice day on the river though followed by he Whip for lunch read more

Wow. A gem hidden off the busy streets. GPS found this place no problem. Just my and 20 yr old daughter. Neat drive on way in and out. Roads barely wide enough for two cars, with lots of horses and farms to see. Staff was amazing nice and informative. Bonus #1 was booking before Mem Day and getting a Tuesday discount. Taxied just the two of us to the 2+ hr starting bridge. As expected, finished the trip in 2hrs flat with no stops but with no serious paddling either. Instructions given by staff for portage around small dam were spot on. Creek is fairly wide and very shallow; Could step out and walk at almost anytime . Beginner to low-intermediate challenge. Weekday so we had the entire trip to ourselves. Geese, ducks, birds a plenty to see here in May. Bonus #2 was ending back at the place; no waiting around. Bonus #3 were the spacious changing rooms back at the place. Great time. read more

What an amazing time! We just loved it! Everyone who works here is so helpful and kind. It's such a scenic trip down the Brandywine and we enjoyed every minute of it. If you're looking for a wonderful outdoor adventure, this is it. Highly recommend! read more

They seem to think they own everything. All I can say is, keep pissing off the locals and see how that works for your business. You do not own the public areas. And the employees are extremely disrespectful and confrontational as they know they are in the wrong. read more

We rented kayaks for a 3 hour tour down the Brandywine. Everybody sing along! "A three hour tour...." This place is run like a well-oiled machine. On a busy saturday, we were quickly checked in and outfitted with lifejackets before hopping in a jeep that took us north to our drop-in point. We had a really great time cruising down the Brandywine, ending up right where we started from. Workers are on hand to help you up and out of the water very quickly. If it hasn't rained recently the water is usually pretty calm with just a couple of areas where the water was moving a little faster. You couldn't call them "rapids," but that didn't prevent me from bellowing out "RAPIDS!" every time we came to one of those areas. Prepare to get wet no matter how calm it is. read more

Visited Northbrook on a really nice, early September Saturday morning. Northbrook is located right outside of West Chester. From South Philly, it took a little under an hour to get there. Make sure you have your GPS out--- this place was impossible to find! We had an early reservation- 10 am. When we arrived, we were literally one of two groups there. I guess it slows down once school starts? I can imagine on a Saturday in July they are swamped. Check in was easy and we were on the van, heading up river, in no time at all. The man who drove us to the drop off site gave us a brief explanation on what to do on the water and where our trip ended. My husband and I are experienced kayakers, so we didn't need much explanation but if you've never canoed/kayaked before, you may want to let your driver know, so they can give you a bit more instruction. We opted for the 1.5 hour kayak trip, but they have a variety of trip lengths available, as well as tubing and canoe rentals. They have a snack stand onsite, but you are welcome to bring your own food/drinks (non alcoholic only, folks) on the boats. I would note that there weren't too many "beaches" to stop at on the trip we took. Just something to keep in mind. Northbrook does a good job with organizing these trips- it was enjoyable and I felt the price was just right for the experience. Next time, I'd like to book a longer trip, grab a group of friends, maybe get a canoe, pack a picnic, and make an entire day of it. I'd also like to check out the 2-for-1 deals they offer on summer weekdays. read more

My boyfriend and I rented a canoe on Saturday. We called in the morning and made a 1pm reservation. It was approximately $50 to rent a canoe for 2.5 hours. It was a beautiful day and I was expecting it to be very busy. It wasn't dead but now I know why they have reservations on the hour. They space it out so that people aren't waiting a long time to get a ride in the van up to where they drop you off and so that the river isn't completely over crowded in any one spot. The people were all very nice and friendly from the person taking our reservation to the person who checked us in and especially the young man who dropped us off and gave us the basics on canoeing and what we needed to know about the Brandywine. The river was nice and wide and it was easy to navigate. There is one section where there is a dam where you will have to get out and walk around with your canoe, kayak or tube, but it is no big deal. They have runs going anywhere from 1 hour to 6.5 hours. We picked the 2.5 hour run which went from Harvey's Bridge to Northbrook. The water was flowing nicely as we had recent rainstorms so we made it down in under 2 hours. They also rent single person kayaks and tubes. This is a nice place for couples, families and groups. Feel free to bring a small cooler and snacks. I also saw some dogs sitting in their owners canoes or taking a swim by a canoe alongside the river. They also were selling used canoes for $150 or "best offer". And if you own your own canoe, they will be happy to take you upstream for a fee. I've only canoed one other time in my life and I can say that this was definitely a better experience than my first time. I plan in coming back this summer for a longer excursion. read more

A well organized, well executed group trip (all 30 of us in canoes - no tubers nor kayaks this trip) for the 2.5 hour trip (Left in the AM at 9:30 AM (Actually got into the water at 10:05). Dave, our bus driver, was friendly and helpful. A wonderful and SAFE experience for all including our 10 year old and a friends' 4 year old. We'll be back! read more

Great excursion for a morning. My wife and I live right around the corner and decided to finally stop in. The buildings are wonderful and quirky. We were trip # 1 and had a grand old time. We ran aground a few times, hit a couple rocks, and saw only 2 canoes from the local KOA. The brandywine is a treasure. If there is a threat of thunderstorms or rain they recommend you to start north and end at their dock. Our 5.5 hr tour turned into a 3 hr canoe trip. The staff was great! They know exactly what's going on and were very happy to see us get there before the rush. If you're hungry for more than hot dogs and burgers there is the Northbrook market just up the hill on unionville-wawaset (mmm cider donuts) and there is the Three dog tavern in Marshallton (mmm everything). read more

I rented a canoe with a friend and it was a blast. For around $45 we got an hour and a half to paddle down the Brandywine, but really, we could take as much time as we wanted getting down to where we started. It's about an hour outside of the city, and makes for a really nice summer weekend activity for a couple, group or a family. As soon as you get there, they check you in, give you a place to change if necessary and they'll watch your stuff while you're out on the boat. The staff drives you in a bus up to the destination, and then you can take your time paddling down the river. When you're finished, a staff-person is there to help you get out. You can also rent kayaks and go tubing as well...I'd like to go back after a rainstorm so the river flows a bit more and you can get some more speed in that thing! :) read more

Nice spot for summer tubing, canoe or kayaking. We opted for the 3 hour tube. Be ready to hop out to avoid some trees but for the most part it's smooth sailing. We brought an extra cooler raft for beverages and a speaker. Very relaxing day! They bus you out to a drop off point in the river and you exit at a dock at the location where you park. Note: they don't provide rope for you to tie tubes together so you may want to bring your own if you have a group. You can bring your own floats (they will put air in them too). No one really bothers you along the way. We've gone back two summers now and it doesn't disappoint! read more

We really enjoyed our trip on the river. The people running the office were very nice and our bus driver was great! That's not something you'd expect at a relatively small river outfitter. The river itself was pretty and so calming. It was an easy paddle and the surroundings were nice. The water was pretty low, so we bottomed out a few times and there were no rapids, but it made for a very relaxing trip. We shared a canoe for $50 (after the $5 off coupon from their site). I felt that was a bit high, hence the dropped star, but it wasn't too bad. read more

The trip itself is fine but the process to get checked in is AWFUL!!! When it is crowded (like it was today), we arrived 30 minutes before our scheduled departure time. We waited in line for 45 minutes to pay, and still had another 30-45 minutes until we would get to the front of the line! With 3 kids, I could not wait any longer. In addition, the office you must wait in is hot with no A/C or fans. They need to streamline the process of checking people in, or here is any idea - have more people checking you in!!! Having only 2 people do that work on what is expected to be a very busy weekend (all weekends in the summer are busy!!!) is poor management. Many people in line were not happy and many were going to miss their scheduled departure time. read more

This is our second year kayaking with this outfitter. We had a great trip, no delays and everyone we encountered was helpful and friendly. Beautiful day out on the water. If you want to avoid the crowds of tubers get there at 9am and do the 2.5-3 hr trip up River. Didn't come across too many people until about 1.5 hrs in. We will be back next year! read more

Northbrook Canoe Co - Boating Near Me - West Chester, Pennsylvania

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Made a 1pm reservation for 4 people to tube on Labor Day and to say this place was crowded is an understatement (guess we should have known since it was a holiday). We got there just before 1pm and then had to wait about 30 mins inside a small hot cabin room to pay our fee and deposit. Then, we waited another hour before we were actually taken in a van to our drop off point. We paid for a 3 hour tube ride, which lasted only about 2 hours. The tube ride itself was relaxing and was worth the wait, but the staff seemed overwhelmed and really weren't helpful to tell us when we were going to be picked up to be taken to our starting point. I think we were told we were "next" at least 3 times. I chalk it up to the holiday, but not sure I would go back. read more

My friend and I had the best time renting kayaks down the 1 1/2 hour route that we turned into 3 1/2 hours by finding so many places to stop and just enjoy the view. We went on a Thursday with their buy one, get one discount which was amazing. The scenery was beautiful, we were basically the only ones out on the river and everything was so easy with this company. I would definitely come back to them! The kayak and BBQ event they do sounds like it would be a lot of fun so maybe I will try that one next! read more

We got here at 11:30am for a 11:45am tubing reservation and waited an hour and a half for our bus to leave at 1:15pm. The process of paying and registering is ridiculously inefficient. First they make you sign a waiver and ask you where you want to go/rent--easy peasy. Next, you head to the office to pay. We brought our own tubes and met up with friends who rented them. They charge $10 per tube so with four people and two coolers we paid $60. If you rent a tube it costs $20-25 pending your drop off. Not a bad deal. We thought the cost may be worth the hassle of driving two cars to different spots, but we were wrong. We then waited almost 2 hours for a 10-minute bus ride to go 3.3 miles to Corcoran's Bridge. Not the best value or time savings. This place really needs to streamline their entire process. Nonetheless, the people who work here are all very friendly and tubing down the Brandywine is awesome on a hot day. I recommend buying some $14 intex tubes on amazon and planning a trip like this on your own. There are quite a few different parks in PA and Delaware that you can park at and do it this on your own. Two stars for friendliness and letting us bring pets at no charge! read more

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We had a wonderful time! Northbrook Canoe is an absolute gem... you feel like you've stepped back in time to the 1950's. As my teenager said, "It's like we're in Stand by Me. But in a canoe." (And of course, no dead body on the train tracks.) Prices are very reasonable. There is a snack bar with picnic tables, and also changing rooms, so there's no need to rush. Come early, get situated, and enjoy your time! They offer 1, 1.5 and 2 hour trips. But note that these are not fixed, guided tours. How long it actually takes depends on you, and also the current. Today, the river was high and the current fast, and we were both paddling. So it took us about an hour to get from the origination point back to the dock. But if you are drifting and not paddling, if you have small kids with you, if you stop along the way downstream, etc. it could take longer. They also offer a lot of specials and discounts, so keep an eye out for that. read more

Had a wonderful evening this past Saturday evening for the Canoe and Dine with ten friends for a birthday party. The weather couldn't have been better. The Northbrook Canoe Company personnel bent over backwards to make sure we had a wonderful evening. They could not have been more accommodating. The food was wonderful, again staffed by very helpful staff. The evening then moved around the campfire and the Adirondack chairs for a bonfire, s'mores, and wonderful music. We will be back again. read more

Northbrook is perfectly quaint AND adventurous! My boyfriend and I rented a canoe and took the 2 1/2 hour deal for $55. The route was super pretty and scenic with just enough fun twist and turns! There were some other canoers and kayakers out and about but the path was not at all crowded. I'm a beginner at canoeing and found this trip safe and relaxing. I highly recommend this establishment for a romantic outdoor day date and/ or fun excursion with friends. The staff was knowledgable and friendly and I loved the ambiance of the old school rental house, picnic tables, snack bar and even changing rooms! This lil gem is just an hour from Philly and makes for a great day in nature, away from the city. Next time I will take the 5hr ride and grab some icecream down the road on my way out. read more

First time tubing today. It was an amazing time!! The water was cold but there is nothing you can do about that. There was a couple of shallow spots that you had to go over but no complaints. You get on a bus they drive you to the spot and drop you right off. We did the three hour tubing which was a lot of fun. read more

The tubing was awesome! Absolutely 5 star experience. Water was perfect, scenery was beautiful, company was on point. The service, however was subpar. This review is getting three stars because I loved the tubing so much and had an overall wonderful day but would give the actual interaction with the facility a two. While my group did show up late (12:15 for a 12 reservation) we weren't able to be sent off on the bus to begin tubing until after 1:30. The employees were very rude in explaining their logic, many groups were shuttled off before us, annnnnd the late comers for the 1pm trip were included on our bus. The man in the tube barn was smoking cigarettes and uttering very rude side comments. Completely distasteful. Unloading from the river was easy enough, except as a customer we were told to walk our own tubes into the barn... Walking them past 6-7 employees standing at the rivers edge doing nothing. Would I tube the river again- yes. Would I buy my own tube and never use this outfit again- absolutely. read more

Great place to take your family for a day of nature and to unplug from electronics. We find this to be the best way to spend some quality time with my children. They have no other choice but to float down the creek and interact with the family. We are all unplugged from technology and can spend the needed time together. A shout out to my man Preston, who was our instructor, this guy puts you at the top of his list from the moment he meets you, he is a bright light in the world that we live in. Craig and Family read more

This review is for the tubing experience. I went with a group of friends. It was $18 and my friend made a group reservation without deposit. There are some detours which makes it difficult to get to. Once you get there, the place looks a bit antiquated with signs on rundown train stations. The changing rooms had train seats instead of regular benches. Everything looked pretty weird to me. Once our number was called, we took a twinkie bus to the drop-off point. There a truck was waiting to give us tubes. Once we got it, the tubing experience was okay. The Brandywine is nothing to get too excited about. I think the fact that we all found things to talk about- made the experience better. Sure, we complained about how long it took to get downstream. Instead of 2 hours, it was more like 3 hours. Leaving at 2PM from bus and then arriving at 5:30PM at the same spot. Overall, try canoeing over tubing for more exercise. Even though we lounged around for 3 hours, we felt sluggish having been stuck in tubes all day. read more