Whitewater rafting trip. The staff was great! They were all very friendly and helpful. Zoar Outdoor…read moreis located on route 2 in Western MA directly across the street from the Deerfield River. Very beautiful area. After a brief safety video and briefing, we were given our rafting kit, loaded on buses, and brought up river to the raft slip, this was about a 30 minute trip north west. The raft trip ended across the street from where we started. An easy exit, we got out of the boat, returned our kit, and walked across the road to watch the video, and purchase souvenir photographs. We had an excellent day on the river during our 10 mile trip. My 14 year old son and I did the Zoar Gap trip which took most of the day with an hour break for lunch at a nice riverside picnic ground in the mountains. You can bring your own food( appropriately packaged) if you would like. They store it in a water proof bag and stow it on the raft. If there is even a hint of rain or you just don't want to get completely soaked, bring a three season jacket or rain coat. Also, you will be out on a river dress accordingly. NO open toed shoes! This includes flip- flops. You can rent shoes and wetsuits. If you have any medical issues like allergic reactions etc. I would either bring your own Epi Pen kit and medications with you, and stow it in the water proof bag, or possibly think about finding a less isolated outdoor experience. Be warned, white water rafting can be physically strenuous. The only issue I had was the lunch that was provided. Not that it was bad, it was well packaged and pre-made( not to order). If you have food allergies or don't like mayonnaise bring your own food. Zoar Outdoor is not really able to accommodate food allergies or pickey eaters. Mayonnaise was on every sandwich. I don't know why. They could just have provided packets on the side but they there were none available. My son hates mayonnaise so he only ate the chips, pickle, and cookies provided which got him through the remainder of the trip but not exactly a great lunch. One man we were with had a dairy allergy. I'm pretty sure he was not able to eat any of the food. I'm not sure why he didn't make sure a head of time if he could eat the food.I wish I had known the sandwiches had mayonnaise on them a head of time. Not a huge deal, we got over it. The trip was super fun! I would love to go again and will definitely choose Zoar Outdoor again.

Steve was our guide for white water rafting and he was awesome. Truly an expert on the route and…read moregave perfect instructions. All staff were very friendly. They even accommodated our dietary restrictions. 10/10 recommend!

This is a great shop, very impressive. With EMS gone now we have fewer choices when looking for…read moreoutdoor wear. I really liked what they had for men's and women's outdoor clothing. Interestingly enough, they also carry a decent selection of used gear: backpacks/sleeping bags, etc.. Great experience in this wonderful shop.

Some friends and I went tubing down the river and it was incredible! Our transporter, Lucas, was…read moresuper helpful!

Diane & her team did a great job of accomodating our family on Father's Day! Our father has some…read morephysical impairments, and Diane was friendly, prepared, courteous, and made sure that we had a great (and safe!) time! Her team did everything right to ensure that our paddles, life vests, and canoes were disinfected properly, too! Thanks for a great day! We'll be back!

We LOVE Nashoba Paddler. From camps for our kids, to a leisurely Sunday paddle, or a full-moon…read moretour, we've had only the best experiences here. Great boats, great river, great staff.

The Path of Life Garden and Sculpture Park blew me away…read more.. As the website describes: a 14-acre landscape where you can experience the great circle of life while traveling through 18 unique sculptures and pieces of art. Inspired by several gardens in Europe, the installations symbolize the journey from birth to death and beyond. So cool, don't mis this if you're in the area. (literally next door to the Harpoon Brewery)

My nephews (8 & 10) & I signed up for the tubing trip this morning. When they dropped us off, we…read morewere told that it would be best if we walked out a ways to the second cove in order to get the best current out into the water. We did that, with our cooler raft in tow. However, i ended up pushing my nephews in their tubes for about a half mile (past the second cove) before we were able to get going. This took about an hour and a half. About 3/4 the way through our time on the water, we heard thunder. I realized they hadn't covered what to do in the case of bad weather in the briefing. So thankfully I was able to call the company from my tube & they advised us to get out of the water if we heard thunder & wait 15 min before getting back in. We heard thunder in and off for about 45 min so stayed out of the water on some rocks while we waited. I felt like we were bothering the company when they called & they didn't seem at all concerned, telling me it was a passing shower. After we returned to the water, we saw some lightening so I tried getting us over to shore. The water was getting choppy & we weren't going anywhere so I got out of my tube & pulled all of us to shore. We built a small shelter using our tubes & tried to stay dry but at this point, it was pouring. I called the company again & they said there was nothing they could do & couldn't come pick us up based on our location. I checked my GPS & we were .6 miles away from our stopping location. The company told us to start walking back along the shore. We did that and along the way my nephew slipped on the rocks because it was still pouring. Finally, when we made it back, we had to drag all the gear up the hill (which was mentioned during the briefing but we weren't expecting to do this in the pouring rain. When we got back, I expressed my disappointment that they'd send anyone out with conditions like that expected as I truly felt our lives were in danger. The woman said no one was blaming anyone and I corrected her. Yes, I blame the company for putting our lives in danger. She explained that they had no idea about the weather conditions and that this system just popped up out of nowhere. I can understand that but at no point did anyone offer to come & help us. They could have easily walked from where they were & helped us walk back. I would not recommend this company due to the lack of safety measures & how isolated we felt when conditions got bad.

Convenient place to kayak and close to other favorite paddle destinations. Hamilton Reservoir has…read morea State boat launch, so expect some power boats and fishing vessels. Launching a kayak or canoe can be a little awkward from the edge of the boat ramp given possible boat traffic. Speaking of which, spring time is the best time to throw a line. Yes, even from a kayak. Through the summer months the "fishes" like to hide, at least from my novice hook and line. The Reservoir is bi-sected by a road causeway and essentially no a passage from side-to-side, unless you're willing to portage across the roadway. Despite, we found this to be a fairly relaxing loop to kayak and rubber neck at the cottages and high times along it's shores. Also, if you time your journey correctly, the Tree House Brewery is only the short distance away. If fresh brewed isn't your cup of tea, then I would suggest the Traveler Food & Books Restaurant which is even closer by along I-84.

We were out at Hopkinton State Park for a summer bbq picnic so we had already paid the $5 to park…read morein the park (ha!). To locate Boating in Boston, we drove down the main drag of the park and turned in at Birch Street, then we continued on till we spotted the boats. There's a small lot right by there, another lot before them by the beach, and after that it is quite a walk upwards to the next lot on the opposite side of the dirt road. Tip: don't park on the grass - you might get a ticket when you're not looking. Paying $25 for what otherwise would have been free parking isn't quite worth it. They had a tent set up for registering on one side with a driver's license (though they didn't take ours, they just scanned them), and for paying on the other side. With only one staffer handling things on either side, the lines moved rather slowly. Waivers are required to be completed for each participant, but only one license is needed per group. We came and left at good times when the lines weren't atrocious, but we could see how things might get frustrating at times. Once we passed the divider by the water we were fitted with life jackets, grabbed our two headed paddles (one per person), then headed on to the multiperson (straight ahead) or single person launch (to the right) where we were set in a boat and given a push. Yes, no lesson on how to handle the paddle, no nothing. But fortunately both my cohort (who took the back seat and the lead in directing our ship) and I had been around on one of these things before. But if you haven't, you might want to say something to this affect before you are sent off on your own in a boat with a paddle. We kayaked around the two little forested islands and back again. With no motor boats in the water it was a relatively calm and stress free time out in the water. Though we came with a voucher that would have covered a one-hour single kayak ($15/hour), two-person kayak ($20/hour), canoe ($25/hour for 2-3 people), or stand-up paddleboard ($20/hour) rental, we found that a two-person kayak rental was charged $1.25 in tax while the single kayak was not. Expect to get wet, so if you can, wear clothing that dries fast or consider bringing a change of clothing.

With Groupon & BuyWithMe in hand, I came here on 2 occasions, one to learn how to sail! Two - to go…read morekayaking! This location has plenty of parking, but beware, you may have to pay for parking to enter Hopkinton State Park, which they don't have posted on their website, but it's only $5/car which isn't bad at all for a day of fun! The staff at Outdoor Recreation was nothing but friendly and helpful! They do take your license when renting a kayak, so don't forget to get it back at the end of the day! Kevin, my instructor, was extremely great during our sailing lesson. Going through our safety lecture, some vocabulary, and the overview of the day. We canoed over to our sail boat, learned how to set everything up and went through some of the actions. Each of us took several turns at how to sail the boat, how to tact, how to run, and so forth. It was seriously an amazing day on the water. If I could afford to, I would love to sign up for a 4-week course, but alas this is not my time to do so. But perhaps in the near future. Upon return to Outdoor Recreation a few weeks later, it was nothing but a great time. The staff got us squared away in no time. Got our life vests on and into our kayaks quickly and safely. Spent about 2.5 hours on the water and around the lake, enjoyed the sun and fun! Would definitely love to come back again. Perhaps next time, I'll have saved enough money to have purchased my own gear. But until I have my own kayak and PFD, I'll definitely be using Outdoor Recreation again for whenever I want to hit the water and relax on the lake.

East Brimfield Lake, also known as, Long Pond. It is a nice, lightly developed body of water along…read morethe Quinabaug River Canoe (Kayak) Trail. The Lake/Pond is frequented by fishermen, canoeists, and kayakers. It's easily paddled along the circumference, just watch for a few shallow stones and stumps. The entire body of water covers approximately 420 acres. There are three sections, North, Middle, South. North to Middle requires a short portage across a narrow bridge. Middle to South is passable below a Route 20 over pass. The South section leads further to the South on the River Trail. We usually park on the North side of Route 20 at a public boat launch and cast off into the Middle Section.

I booked a kayak here and travelled to the Kendall Square location. I should have gone the other…read moredirection - the most difficult part was near the Kendal Square location, and I was paddling against the wind and current most of the way. Other than that, it was a great trip! It's a nice mix of peaceful trees and city views. I also paddled through a sailing team practice, which was cool. The boats were in great shape. The life jackets were showing their age, but I guess that's what you get with rentals. They estimated 1.5 - 2 hours for this trip, and it took me about an hour.

It is always a blast kayaking on the Charles River! This was our first time kayaking from the…read moreAllston/Brighton location;in the past, we would go to the Newton one. Fast forward now, PaddleBoston has 7 locations! These locations include: Waltham, Allston/Brighton, Somerville, Medford, Newton, Cambridge, & Stoneham. I highly recommend kayaking from Allston/Brighton! Very clear path, that is not as buggy as kayaking in Newton (from my friend and I's memory). We kayaked from here all the way down to past Harvard Sq. area. Did not take long at all. We were able to kayak back in 17 minutes. Their rates are reasonable, as well. This was our first time doing single kayaks rather than double. We did the up to 90 min single kayaks, $32/each. In my opinion, 90 min is more than enough time but doing the one way to Kenmore Square also seems like great fun that we'll definitely have to give a try next time. Cannot recommend kayaking enough though. It's very peaceful & honestly a nice activity to do with family and friends. Warning: you will get a KILLER arm workout out of this. 10/10

Staff was very nice! Good prices. Took the pedal boat out for an hour and got a good workout! Nice…read moreviews of the mountains when you're in the lake.

From the owner: Rent kayaks, pedal boats, or our canoe and paddle around the scenic Nashawannuck Pond in…read moreEasthampton.