James, our guide on our rafting trip, was amazing. He is an amazing guide who taught everyone in…read morethe raft how to navigate in the water as a group within the first few minutes. James loves what he does and has many years of experience. He speaks multiple languages fluently and is knowledgeable in everything! James made our rafting trip truly memorable. Not one second of the journey was boring with him as guide!

Bought a new Pyranha Scorch small kayak! Order went well with delivery within a few weeks. Jim…read moreanswered all questions and was very knowledgeable about kayaking was buying! Transaction went smoothly! This was a 2nd kayak after 45 years with same brand!

Stopped in very last minute as they were closing on a slow late summer Tuesday. Was driving…read morethrough and wanted to see some loon's if at all possible. The dog and very competent daughter greeted upon walking in off street. Marty the Owner came out and recommended paddle board and directed to nearby lake. They were spot on! The family of 7-loon's right in area Marty recommended (great long paddle). What an experience! So grateful found these folks... our country needs more like you these days. Thank you Marty, grown daughter and dog!

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.

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)

Has become horrible. Customer service is now awful. We went last year and they arranged a great…read morecanoe/camping trip for us. We canoed for two days and camped for 4 days. Called this year and were advised it has changed ownership. The new owner Jack needed to call us back to discuss the trip. We have now called numerous times and sent multiple emails in addition to reaching out of Facebook. Just this morning, we called again to be advised by a person that "jack" has to call us back. She advised she told reminded Jack numerous times.... Sad, as this was a real gem.

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.

Whenever I travel, I look for opportunities to get on the water, preferably in a kayak. This was…read moremy first time paddling the Charles River. I was staying in East Cambridge so traveled upstream to the Allston location which didn't turn out to be as scenic or straightforward as I had first thought, though once on the water, the trip was beautiful. The website says the easiest way to get to the Allston location is by mass transit (the Harvard stop on the Red Line) then another 1.5 miles on foot. I was using my gps (make sure you start out with lots of battery power for this trip) but even then, I took a wrong turn when trying to cross the bridge and get to the correct side because of road traffic (you have to fund the foot path that goes under the road which I found only because I happened to see a large group of students and followed). Also, the "1-mile stretch of the walk along the river was actually blocked by temporary fencing so you actually had to walk on the opposite side of the street and can't see the river at all. I would recommend using a car service to get here, if you're unfamiliar with the area. The launch area consists of a check in kiosk (remember to fill out your waiver online to save a little time) and a storage shed for the equipment (no restroom, as far as I could see and nothing else anywhere close by. No need to reserve ahead of time, as they had many kayaks (single and double, thankfully NOT the sit-on-tops), paddle boards and canoes. You can borrow a dry bag at no charge, they set you up with your paddle and pfd, then you get in at water level from the floating dock. I did the one way trip to Kendall Square (5 miles, $10 feet), passing under 7 bridges, lots of green space plus a number of beautiful crew boat houses. This section of the river is flat (no current) and the wind wasn't strong at all. So lovely and peaceful with some geese and cormorants along the way. There were a number of other paddlers and a few crew team practicing so you aren't totally alone but I found it perfect. As you get closer to the center of Boston the noise from the road and people using the paths which lines the shores picks up, but there's a screen of vegetation all along the river so it still very scenic. Between the last two bridges, the wind picks up and there were quite a few sailboats on the water, too (looked like there was a public sailboat launch on the Boston shore. There were also a few boat tour boats, but not a lot which was really nice. The end point is located in a small canal leading to Kendall Square. The set up there has a tent over a table for check ins and a little trailer for checking out. Note that when I went, this lower area of the Charles River was still unfortunately plagued by toxic algae, so be careful about getting the water on you and wash off as soon as you can. Staff at both ends were pleasant and efficient. Total cost was very reasonable ($45 + $10 one-way fee). They tell you the trip takes between 2 and 2,5 hours (I did it in less, but you should take it slow and enjoy it, if you have the time!)

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.

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.