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    River View Kayaking

    3.7 (3 reviews)
    Open 8:00 am - 9:30 pm

    River View Kayaking Photos

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    7 years ago

    Best kayak by far near Sturgis friendliest people most informed no waiting. try it today

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    7 years ago

    Fawn River Kayak offers better promotions and very involved with the community! And it's Family oriented!!

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    7 years ago

    met the owners last weekend, both were polite and very helpful. decent river, cool bridges, and put in and take out were nice.

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    Doe-Wah-Jack's Canoe Rental

    Doe-Wah-Jack's Canoe Rental

    3.5(13 reviews)
    44.6 mi

    This is the worst thing I have ever experienced. If I could have given 0 stars I would have. The…read moreconoes were teaming with spiders and everyone was freaking out. Plus they looked like they had not been cleaned out in eons. If this was free it would still cost way too much. If you are thinking about doing this please go and do something sensible with your life.

    Our group of four did the 4 hour 11:00 AM in 2 two-person kayak on a beautiful sunny day. We all…read morehave kayaked many times over the years, but never the Dowajiac River. Contrary to the first review, The guys working there were friendly and offered good advice (even when we asked about some other kayak venues around the state) The business site is rustic but loaded with fine river worthy kayaks (and canoes). We drove our truck out to the 4 hour destination and they happily drove us back (for a reasonable fee). We took a cooler full of drinks and granola bars. and I brought my phone to take photos. The river was moving a day after some heavy rain, but the sun was shining. The river is narrow and somewhat winding and offered plenty of overturned trees and obstacles made the ride fun to navigate, but no rapids or danger. I recommend kayaks, the guys we saw in canoes were struggling to maneuver at times, but it's totally fine either way. This would not be a fun river to go tubing as you'd be stuck in branches, muck, spiderwebs constantly. The trees overhang the river with sun bleeding through to provide a beautiful aesthetic. The ride was shady enough that I didn't require sunscreen. I didn't have any issues with mosquitoes either. The banks were very mucky and almost always too steep to get out and walk, plus I think most of the river was off privately owned farm land.. It made for some advanced impromptu riverbank bathroom breaks due to the beverages, but that's all part of the fun, right? There was a nice grassy spot on the final quarter of the ride near an overpass that we saw people having a picnic. We saw a muskrat, king fisher, large river frogs, and several species of turtles. We passed a few friendly people on our ride (it was Sunday of labor day weekend), but it was mostly desolate and quiet. Our moment of excitement came when we approached a nearly impassable part with a couple of fallen trees. Our kayak was temporarily hung up but our friends didn't have time to avoid us and they tipped/submerged their boat and ours tipped and sunk in the reaction. It was about 3 feet of water, the current was strong but not overpowering. I somehow miraculously kept my phone above water while the rest of my body was dumped in. We also somehow recovered the life jackets/paddles/boats/cooler/car keys. All we lost was a coozie, pair of sunglasses, a t-shirt, and our pride. After our refreshing dip, we tipped the water out of the boats and were back on the river in no time. Our exit location was easy to find by a well marked overpass. We had a great time, a very nice afternoon well spent.

    Photos
    Doe-Wah-Jack's Canoe Rental - Dowagiac River

    Dowagiac River

    Doe-Wah-Jack's Canoe Rental
    Doe-Wah-Jack's Canoe Rental

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    East Race Waterway - Sign

    East Race Waterway

    3.6(11 reviews)
    48.6 mi

    This is a pretty nice rapids course in south bend, Indiana. It's about a half mile long rapids…read morecourse and you can go alone or fit up to 6 per raft. It's not insanely difficult but the rocks on the rapids do make it a bit difficult- hit one of them and you're flipping for sure (I did today). I don't like that you have to walk the half mile back to the start to do it again, but it's a nice course overall, just a pretty short rapids course - you're on the river for about 5-10 minutes. There is no "break" sections in the water - the rapids are non stop just FYI. Fun place though, I would recommend.

    Whitewater rafting in the urban midwest! When you live in the midwest as I do, you learn to dig…read moredeep for new outdoor ideas. Finding this place was the equivalent of striking gold!! East Race Waterway is a man-made whitewater route using the water from the St. Joseph River. The course is about a half mile long and it takes roughly five minutes to navigate. You have three main options to use the race. Non-kayak owners (renters) can choose from the inflatable doubles kayak (seats two..of course) or a large raft (3-6 passengers). Rides in the inflatable kayak or large raft are $5 per person, per ride. If you bring your own kayak it's $15 for the day. The rented boats come with oars, life jackets and a helmet, so you don't need to bring those pieces of equipment. As for the race, you're going to get wet. Let's call it soaked! The race contains category II whitewater rapids and in at least three spots, you're going to get a rush of water thrust upon you. It doesn't take much experience to figure out how to guide your boat and if you go at the rapids head on you won't capsize. We watched many go over though, and that's because they broke the cardinal rule of hitting the rapids with a sideways boat. Even if you capsize it's no big deal. There's a few things you'll need to bring or consider. First, a soled shoe that covers at least the backside of your heal and straps across the top is mandatory. Basically, anything except open-toed flip-flips will work. Hard sole water shoes like Keen's work the best. Remember that you're going to get wet, I mean soaked..so phones, car keys, jewelry and loose sunglasses are all a really bad idea. If you have to bring keys make sure you bring a ziplock bag and have a zipped pocket to store them in. The water isn't nearly as dirty as some claim and there's a hose with clean water at the end of the race to rinse with. All the same I'd still recommend wearing older clothing if you can. This place is a total blast and a unique opportunity for mid-westerners. The race is only open June-early August and only on the weekends, so be sure to plan this one carefully. We'll certainly be back!

    Photos
    East Race Waterway - Gate

    Gate

    East Race Waterway - Info

    Info

    East Race Waterway

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    River View Kayaking - rafting - Updated May 2026

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