I really enjoyed our kayak tour! I was unsure on choosing a half day or a full day, but eventually decided to do the half. It was the perfect length and I felt we saw so many beautiful views. The staff at the office and the tour guides on the water were so friendly and helpful. Facilities and equipment was clean and organized. We kayaked with a group of 6 with various skill-levels. It's an great way to spend part of the day for anyone. Side note: When we returned to the office, I realized my car battery was dead. Staff quickly jumped into action and helped jump it! Thank you! read more

Great guides. Fun trip. Would recommend the sunset tour. Rocks LoL different going out and coming back.

Cannot recommend this company enough! We were considering other kayak companies in the area, but after reading some reviews, we chose Northern Waters and are so glad we did. The guides were knowledgeable and experienced, and before you head out you are equipped with everything you need. And I mean everything - life jacket, waterproof bags, ziploc bags for phones, water bottles, hand sanitizer, sea sickness tablets, and even insulated lunch boxes for full day tours! They are clearly experienced and prepared for everything. The kayaks also stand up quite well to the large waves that can roll in on Lake Superior. read more

Northern Waters Adventures - Boating Near Me - Munising, Michigan

Wow, such an awesome experience! The Pictured Rocks by kayak is the only way to do it! We were supposed to do the all day kayak on a Monday, but got a call on Saturday that it was forecasted to have bad weather on Monday, so we could do the Sunday evening trip. That worked out perfectly because Monday the waves were huge!! The company was so easy to work with, guides were great, scenery out of this world! Highly recommend! read more

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Great tour with John and Jesse. Started at headquarters with life jacket fitting. They had sun screen, bug spray, water bottles and wet bags for your phones. Took a 20 min van ride to the beach and launched our kayaks from there. The guides taught everything in case you'd never kayaked. We were in the water for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Beautiful views and we could get up very close to cliffs. Definitely a better view than from land hikes. Would recommend this read more

My daughter and I went and neither of us have really ever kayaked before. The crew were awesome and patient from the beginning to the end! I'd recommend this adventure for sure:) read more

Overall we enjoyed this day trip very much. We are experienced kayakers and considered just renting kayaks, but were unsure of Lake Superior and thought it might be better to go with a guide. A lot of effort was required from the group to unload and load the kayaks since the parking area was quite a distance (and upstairs) from the beach. We had a lot of strong men in our group - not sure what they would have done without guest participation. One negative was that there was a miscount on how many kayaks were needed. That was a huge drag because we all had to sit and wait until one of the guides ran back to the shop and returned with another tandem. A simple thing could have kept customer satisfaction high, instead of making us wait 45 minutes to begin our adventure. As it turned out, it was an unusually calm day and we could have gone by ourselves. But the friendly guides were knowledegable of history and the area so that helped make it worthwhile. And seeing Pictured Rocks from that vantage point - up close - was remarkable. Jim & Colette http://www.roamingtogether.com http://www.facebook.com/followrt read more

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We took the all day trip and it was amazing! Northern Waters provided everything we needed and then some. If you really want to see pictured rocks, we highly recommend the full day. We saw the half day kayakers come back and it seemed really short. Can't imagine it being over that quick. Taken note though, if you have choppy waters like we did, it's a workout for sure. read more

Northern Waters Adventures - Lover's Leap - Boating Near Me - Munising, Michigan

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We have gone kayaking with Northern Waters before. Their quides are great, friendly and informative. They focus on safety. Recently our trip was canceled due to Lake conditions, and even though we couldn't reschedule due to prior plans, I really appreciated the thought for the well being of their customers. I was able to speak to someone whose family members had gone out with a different company that same day, the weather unexpectedly changed and they had to be rescued when their kayaks tipped over earlier in the day. It was a scary experience for them. read more

Highly recommend Northern Waters Adventures if you're looking for a safe and fun day kayaking Pictured Rocks! We had an amazing experience; they are well prepared and do a great job making sure that guests have everything they need (from dry bags to sunscreen to rain jackets). Our guide was very knowledgeable and personable. The full day tour was quite the workout, but well worth the views. read more

We visited Pictured Rocks just this past weekend. A group of 7 of us decided to do the kayak tour. The tour itself was amazingly beautiful and well worth the price / effort. The staff was also very nice. However, everyone in my group later commented on how the company spent an EXCESSIVE amount of time briefing everyone. We arrived at 9 AM and did not get into the water to begin the tour until 11 AM. Excluding the 20 minute drive to the beach, that's about 100 minutes of briefing time. I've done a few kayaking tours in various places and have never spent that much time being briefed before. In fact, just last month we did a kayak tour around Mackinac Island and the guide spent all of five or so minutes explaining how to use the paddles and then we were on our way. It's really not that complicated. My advice to the company: Tighten up your schedule. Your guests don't want to stand around all morning. read more

Excellent afternoon on the water. Well organized and efficient even on a busy holiday weekend. Paul, George and Sabrina were wonderful guides. We knew Lake Superior waters would be more of a challenge than what we've done before ( also we are over 60) but it was still great. Tired the next day, though! read more

Highly recommend this place! I was scared and Nancy reassured me I would be fine. She was amazing. Our tour guides were Joe and Colleen. They were awesome and very professional. We had an odd number people so Caleb came in my kayak and he was great!! We had amazing weather especially for Early June. We were also the only ones signed up for that amazing day when other tours had several people and it was so much better will our small group!! I can't say enough good things about them! We will be back! read more

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Brody and Co. were great tour guides! Unfortunately the office took almost 2 hrs (1 hr 52 mins exactly) to get us checked in and in to the water - seems like it could be done way more efficiently?? Beautiful tour though and great space, but would recommend streamlining the entry process so you don't lose the crowd before the show begins. Thanks for a fun day! read more

This memorial day weekend we are at pictured rocks. We went kayaking yesterday. We went on thr half day kayaking tour. The guides paid a lot of attention to our safety and were very courteous. There were a total of 5 guides on kayaks alongside. They were well equipped with seas sickness tablets in case anyone needed them. They also gave tows to people having trouble paddling. My only disappointment was the fact that they didn't take us to see a shipwreck which was part of the tour . Maybe this was because our group was a bit slow, but I think they should take things into consideration as most ppl taking the tour are amateurs. read more

Based on the trip would of given a 5, but some administrative errors would not allow. 1st off I don't know other guides abilities but Joe was fantastic. His knowledge and ability to involve the group made the trip. We had a small group of 7. All adults who had paddled prior. This was a big plus. Overcast weather brought out the best viewing. We covered lots of water and Pictured Rocks. Did I mention Joe our guide was fantastic? read more

We decided to go to Northern Waters after reading people's reviews and the recommendation of the owner of the cabin we were staying it. We did the sunset kayak trip. It was amazing! The tour guides were all friendly with a great sense of humor. All equipment was provided like dry bags, life jackets and what not. They were very informative about pictured rocks itself and great at explaining kayaking to people who were more at the beginners level. Hopefully will be back again! read more

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So my friend and I booked the sunset kayak guided tour and we were so excited to try it out! However couples things just did not feel right during the experience. The guide was in a rush to get everything done. I mentioned multiple times this is my first kayak experience but he rushes through the instructions and pushes us out in the water. I think since we were the last kayak tour of the day he just wanted the day over with. We kayaked for about 2 hours the breaks were good and long enough however we paid extra to see the sunset and there was no sunset. The guide agreed with us about the whole sunset thing. He explained to us that he tried talking to management about it but they aren't thinking about changing the times. Well if you are charging extra for sunset tour shouldn't the tour experience some kind of sunset? So if you must go to Northern Waters Adventures I advise to take the morning and afternoon times you can save your money. The views were breathtaking it is definitely worth kayaking to see the pictured rocks. All in all, it was a fun experience but was not worth the money for the sunset tour, take the morning tours instead. read more

Wow! We had a perfect day for this adventure, but even if we weren't that lucky, the guides were amazing -- Patti, Miles, and Carolyn. They were also helpful and knowledgeable about the history and the formations. Plus they pointed out the baby seagulls to us :-) I will go again. read more

Had a great time on our day trip along Pictured Rocks with relatively inexperienced group. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and made sure everyone was comfortable, having a good time, and most importantly safe as was a little windy. Would definitely use this company again and highly recommend others to try them out. read more

My siblings and I wanted to do some paddling on Lake Superior and decided pictured rocks would be a great place to go. The previous summer we did the pictured rocks cruise which I recommend as well. We try to do a trip together at least once a year. Since our trip was planned for mid-September I wasn't sure how easy it would be to find an outfitter. Without any of us having any experience paddling on Lake Superior I was hoping to find someone that offered an essential kayaking skills safety course followed by a day tour to pictured rocks. We started out booking a day tour with paddling michigan/uncle ducky outdoors but they didn't have any classes available. When I searched a little more for kayak safety I found Northern Waters Adventures. Carl was very accommodating with our limited availability and put together an awesome 2 days for us. The 4 of us had some experience with sea kayaks, paddling on Lake Tahoe and some on the pacific coast around Fort Bragg,CA but not enough to feel comfortable renting kayaks and taking off by ourselves to see the pictured rocks. Our safety class was very good, Carl and Kenny covered self rescue, buddy rescue, paddling technique along with dealing with adverse conditions on the water and much more. He provided all the gear we needed to stay warm while in the water. Since the water temp was in the 50's we were relieved to have neoprene boots, gloves and wetsuits to practice our rescue technique. The next day we scheduled to do a tour of pictured rocks which they require/provide tandem kayaks for safety. None of us had paddled tandem before only solo so that was a bit different. We had 3 or 4 other couples along so a pretty big group for 2 guides to be responsible for. The tour is advertised as no experience needed and I believe everyone on our tour that day had some experience being in kayaks before but Lake Superior was a bit of a challenge by the end of the day. Starting out the water was fairly calm but after paddling off shore a short ways you could see how it could change real quick. It was a little rough that day so picture taking wasn't a priority but it was a great adventure. I highly recommend Carl and Northern Waters Adventures for anyone wanting to experience pictured rocks up close while staying safe, comfortable and as dry as possible while paddling on Lake Superior. read more

Great people. Helpful with every aspect of our trip, not just the kayak tour. Kayak tour was awesome! Go all day or you will miss some cool stuff. Bring 2 water bottles. Wear a swimsuit or something you can jump off the cliff in at mosquito beach. Stay in close to the cliffs (really really close, like a foot out) for the best experience. Do not be afraid to explore caves, get dripped on by waterfalls/ground water, challenge the wake from tour boats. read more

I was very excited to kayak when I came to Pictured Rocks. I received a text from Carl that our trip was cancelled due to waves. I understood that, not a problem. My problem is they rebooked my group for a tour the next day and called the day after saying there was no room for us anymore. Luckily we were able to find something else last minute. read more

Seeing the Painted Rocks by kayak is the way to go. The tour guides were incredibly knowledgeable about the rocks, the lake, and the nearby town of Munising. They were also super friendly. If my party had included VERY young children, this would have been the perfect experience. I did take off a star because my group consisted of adults only, so the aspects that made this perfect for toddlers and early elementary schoolers did kind of detract from our experience. First, the kayaks were doubles. I could have missed it, but I don't think the tour advertised itself as having only double kayaks. If you have a little one that is too young to kayak alone, doubles are great, but anyone older than eight is too old for a double kayak. They are huge, which means you need a lot more effort to move them forward and you can't easily course correct if you get pointed the wrong way. Second, the tour guides spent a very long time explaining how to kayak. You really don't need this one explained. It's kind of like if you went on a guided nature walk and they tried to instruct everyone on who to put one foot in front of the other. If you are able bodied from the waist up and have half a brain, you can kayak. read more

Booked a sunset tour with my 15 year old as his birthday gift. The guides gave a safety tutorial and then fitted us all with safety gear, dry bags, even Dramamine if needed. After a 15 min drive to the beach, we were assisted into our tandem kayaks, and off we went! Three hours, more or less, on the water. Lots of info and guidance from the leaders regarding the types of rocks, how to navigate coves, and avoid having rocks fall on your head. We also saw shipwreck ruins. The guides were attentive to my teen and stayed with him, too. It was a wonderful tour. I highly recommend!! read more

We had such an amazing experience with Northern Waters Adventures! Our guides (thank you Hayden and Abbey) were fun, informative and very experienced! We did the all day tour and it was totally worth it. It was the highlight of our trip! Can't wait to come back and do it again! read more

My husband and I took our 8 and 10yr old boys on the half day tour. We have some experience, but are definitely novice and we did fine. The equipment, the office personnel and the guides (Caroline and Miles) were great. I highly recommend! read more

Rented cross country skis from Carl. He was very helpful, fitted us at our tent and gave us pointers on how to ski, as well as where to ski. Accommodating on equipment pick up. read more

We had an amazing time, the guides were so nice and helpful. Very professional yet personable. The staff was very helpful with rescheduling after a weather delay. We kayaked with our 8 and 11 year old girls and they loved every minute of it. Next time we are doing a whole day! read more

Friendly and knowledgable staff. Well organized and thorough briefing session beforehand (necessary info for beginners!). Informative, skilled, and friendly guides. Overall a great experience, and would highly recommend! read more

I did the sunset kayak tour with my girlfriend. We ran a bit late but they were more than willing to work with us. Our guide, Carl was super friendly and had a good sense of humor. He obviously knew the lake well and took some nice pictures for us. read more