We will no longer be doing business anymore with Saco Valley Canoe. We wasted 2 hours of our vacation time trying contact them for pick up at the Canal Bridge Landing. We had 2 people from our party walk to the transfer station nearby to ask someone for a ride to our parked cars. Come to find out the owner's friend's pregnant daughter took the business phone off the hook. This is unacceptable. Also if you bring your own cooler tube they will charge you $20 to transport it. read more

Fun day! The staff are super friendly and down to earth. I accidentally left some of my things behind and all the staff were so helpful, including the owner, Bond. Much appreciated! I'll be back, for sure. Great energy, all around. read more

Saco Valley Canoe Kayak Tube Rental was a great experience today. We were quickly set up and delivered to our starting point. We had a group of eight. The equipment was excellent and we were picked up by the manager, Bond and his cool black lab back to our cars. Will repeat again! read more

Saco Valley Canoe - AUGUST 6TH 2019 - GREAT DAY THANKS Saco Valley Canoe Kayak Tube Rental - Boating Near Me - Center Conway, New Hampshire

Worth the extra few minute drive if you're coming from Conway. Easy, friendly workers, nice shuttle and prices were just right. Go here! read more

Saco Valley Canoe - Enjoying the Mountain View - Boating Near Me - Center Conway, New Hampshire

This company was good, however we waited 2 1/2 hours before we went tubing. We kept our calm, got there and unfortunately we had a little accident during an unexpected water rapid. We had to get off due to someone from our party being injured, as soon as we called the company they came right away to pick us up. We were hoping for a full refund, however we did get a voucher for the full amount valid for 1 year. Bond was the person that helped us and he was great for giving us that voucher and we are thankful. read more

Don't be fooled by the term "Reservation". We made a reservation for 10 am got there at 9:45 and waited until 11:30 the first day. Had to leave because we had another obligation later in the day and didn't want to feel rushed getting off the water. When asked about the reservation, we were told by the lovely young lady who couldn't care less, "oh, we open at 9 and try to get everyone on the water by noon." Huh. Ok... No problem. They easily allowed us to reschedule for the next day. Cool. We arrived at 9:30 the next day and waited until noon before we realized we were still a few van loads away from even getting onto the river. No thanks. One star for ease of getting a refund at that point. Observation: There was one young guy busting his butt to get shuttles loaded and out. He did 3 van loads of customers when we were there but then there were TWO guys in one shuttle who I only saw once that entire time. Maybe they other guy was being trained? but still- it didn't seem like the owner was there helping. We will definitely not waste our time sitting in the parking lot again. For me it's about managing expectations. If you're under staffed, say- hey- our wait times are super long...you'll probably be waiting for 3 or so hours before you even get to the water. Don't keep telling the folks WHO MADE RESERVATIONS they'll be on the next shuttle and then say- "oh not that one... the next one" repeatedly. And probably don't leave your stoner summer help to run your logistics. Just sayin'. We never did get on the water which was disappointing, but from the other reviews describing the pick up process, I'm kinda glad! read more

As a returning guest I was def disappointed in how things were handled. Made a reservation for ten of us for 11:45 arrived at 11 and waited for 3 hours!!! 3 hours in the parking lot wasting a beautiful day away, I understand that everyone is short staffed right now but it was crazy! We didn't get on the river until 2pm mind you the start point was shut down so we we brought to another start point that took 6 SIX hours to get back to the pick up spot!!! It was 8pm almost dark out and then the parking lot was packed with more people that were waiting to be picked up! We ended up having to go get our own vehicles so we could go home! Packed enough food for a 3-4 hour trip with children involved needless to say we were HANGRY and annoyed by the end. Purchased a cooler tube which we never got bc "they ran out" meanwhile customers were taking their own tubes and cooler floats so who knows if they all paid! But it was $20 for it and we end up with a tube to put our coolers in? It was a free for all at that point. No explanations, no sincerity, not even a offer of a discounted rate! We spent over $300 and unfortunately hate to say we won't be back which sucks bc our first experience was great! After reading reviews that were made few days/weeks before us it seems like they need some extra hands and maybe not too over book. The only thing I can say is, the bald eagle we saw along the river was a plus!!! read more

I am a cab driver and was called to pick up a family left stranded on the saco river at canal bridge. This family was left for over 3 hours. When i brought the to the lot. Thier car was roped in. The owner came out and was imediatly hostile towards the family. He refused to pay them a refund and was adamantly cursing while the family's children were standing there. In my opinion this guy should not be trusted and you should assume he will not refund you a dime from his beer money. Yes he was Drunk. read more

Super cool company! My family and I had a blast! Dog friendly, positive people, great rental gear, the river is gorgeous! Hats off to Joseph for great tunes in the van, and showing us the rope swing!!! read more

Unfortunately, this place didn't workout for us. We had a reservation set for 11:30AM on a Saturday. We got there and they told us it was going to be an hour+ wait. Not to mention the "parking lot" was filled with people who were drinking beer and not wearing masks. We were very disappointed with the outcome of the trip. We do appreciate our money being given back, but very frustrated about how the time management was handled. read more

Though the name doesn't tell you, this place rents ATVs and Slingshots. What's a Slingshot? Every see a 3 wheeled Batmobile looking vehicle go by? That's it! My son and husband spent 2 hours driving up thru Conway, into Glen and past Mt WAshington to Gorham. They said with the open cockpit the views were amazing!!! Rhe Slingshot was easy to drive (STANDARD trans experience required) and hugged the turns even with a head of steam. Great folks made rental and return easy. Thanks to Jasson who was a great reference. You will love this! read more

BULL SHIT! The morning went fine, we arrived on time, it was busy, but it went well and fast. We got in the river a little late but close to on time. HOWEVER, they stated it would take us 3.5 hours to finish, it took us 8 hours. That's some bull shit. THEN, we get back at 4:45, we call them and they said they had 2 trucks on their way to us. We waited 2 hours, they were not answering our calls or returning our voicemails. Finally, we called the police to figure out what to do. We called a taxi to take 2 of our sober people back to get our cars, the taxi driver said this happens ALL the time, they abandon people and the owner is hostile and rude. The police told us we could leave the canoes so we did. I left them one last message that we spoke with the police and they gave us permission to leave the canoes and we did. It had then been over 3 hours of waiting with no phone call from them. DO NOT RENT HERE!! read more

Let me begin by saying I'm with my fellow reviewer ahead of me. If there was no stars that's what I would've chosen. I can't even begin to tell you how disappointed we were with Saco Valley Canoe Company. Our trip down the river was as good as ever but very short. The unprofessionalism of this company is unbelievable. I could go on and on but what I really want to tell you is "don't do it." read more

We were supposed to be picked up to get on the river around 11 but we waited an hour until we finally got on a van at 12. There were only 2 drivers for a huge amount of people. And at the end we were told to call and we did but the number was not working. And we tried another number on their website and it also did not work. We just waited for like 10 minutes and 2 vans eventually came. The river was very nice and it was just the pickup and getting off the river which was the problem. read more

Don't do it! Even though we had a reservation - We wasted 2 and a half hours of a beautiful day sitting around in their hot parking lot - they kept telling us a half hour wait over and over! They had zero organization. We ended up leaving and asking for our money back. Don't waste your time. read more

Everyone here made our trip memorable ! We had a great experience and enjoyed spending the day on the river for a very low rate. We will be back for sure!!! read more

Had a great day renting 2 individual kayaks for my boyfriend and I. The employees were very helpful and personable. We spent about half a day kayaking a 7 mile stretch down the saco. The river was very shallow for the most part and generally easy to navigate. There were lots of opportunities to stop and take a break along the beach as well. We also saw an eagle and a crane on the trip, but that might not be the norm. Fair warning that there are a lot of campers out along the river during the trip - mostly college aged and inebriated. Didn't bother us at all, but could potentially be obnoxious for families with young kids. read more

Got a bunch of canoes from this place last weekend for our Saco trip. I brought my own tube and they helped me fill it up - which is something they didn't have to do! Big bonus about this place is that they have two cute and friendly dogs. I will definitely be back next year! read more

Four and one half of us (4 men and a boy) rented three canoes and were dropped off without life jackets. Since it's posted at the rivers edge that Maine's law states anyone under ten has to wear a life jacket at all times while on the river we called the office to explain our predicament. A man answered and asked where we were and who dropped us off and stated he'd get someone to come right out. Approximately an hour later I called again and a woman answered and said she would send someone right away. When I asked her who was coming she said she would come herself. About forty minutes later the original driver showed up mumbling how he couldn't understand how he forgot to leave the jackets originally. read more

We have had much better experiences elsewhere. Please do not waste your time nor money. One of the staff members let us know the owner changed in the last season so the previous reviews are from the previous ownership for sure. A lot of customers were very unhappy this past weekend - from things like: carrying our own supplies down far from drop off, unsafe driving (65 in a 40), waiting a long time after our reservation time, lack of communication on why there is a wait, and mostly unprofessional staff. Would not recommend - two stars for the sheer fact that we had an amazing time (only on the river itself). read more

we booked a 10-person trip for a bachelor party, a mix of canoes and kayaks. Everyone I dealt with here was very nice on the phone and they may not have always answered the phone but they always got back to me if I left a message. They also had no trouble switching my dates at the last minute due to weather. One thing to note was that we went the weekend before memorial day and the mosquitoes were HORRIBLE, after we finished the guy said they were not as bad later in the season, so go later in the summer not early when they hatch. read more

We have been going to Saco Valley for MANY years and have always had a great experience. Their staff is friendly and helpful and have remembered us over the years and always greeted us with a smile. The river is great for family trips and party goers. We've always stayed several nights on the river banks and had an amazing time. Be warned though, not everyone abides by the carry in, carry out policy and often times trash is left behind which is a downright shame. However, they do offer clean up campaigns that come with a canoe rental discount on your next trip. Definitely worth it to help give back! read more

I've gone on several great trips down the Saco River with the canoe company, always a fun time. The water is super warm in the summer and great for swimming. Lots of camping along the way if you want to make it a multiple day adventure or you can just go out for the afternoon. Tip: Remember your sunscreen! read more

What typically distinguishes the companies that do this is customer service. After reading the reviews about Sacobound there was no way I was going there. It sounded like the biggest and worst. This had only one review but it was good. So we tried it and weren't disappointed. Great from the initial phone call to the pickup at the river at the end. We had a party of four and I was the last one back (over a half hour late even) and the driver was fine with it. He was friendly and joking with us and everything. Just that deserved a $10 tip. we kayaked from Canal Bridge to Walker Bridge on the Friday of Mardi Gras w/e. To really enjoy the river without feeling like you cant stop all the time I would suggest giving yourself at least 6 hours. In my estimate a healthy paddler paddling and periodically floating would make it in 2 hours. Floating alone would take you forever as the river couldn't be flowing more than 1.5 miles per hour. The beginning is pretty wild with young partiers on sandy beaches in the Fiddlehead Camp Area which apparently fronts 3 miles of the river. The last 60% or so is pretty quiet and desolate with the occassional parties on sandy beaches. Those inhabiting these areas canoed all there stuff in which is a fair amount of work and planning. Hence it wasn't very crowded. So if you're looking for an easy paddle down a beautiful stretch of river with sandy bottom and plenty of sand bars and beaches this is a dream. Throw in a few rope swings along the way makes it a flying dream. I love those. Rick J. Rhode Island read more

Great experience. Pleasant staff. Rented kayaks and canoe for the family. They tossed in squirt guns for the kids to use. Even called us when my daughter accidentally left her water shoes behind. Highly recommend. read more

This company is TERRIBLE. We first rented kayaks from them 2 years ago and the transport was awful. The young kid who drove the van didn't speak to us at all. On the way there, he stopped at a gas station to fill up. Without so much as a word, he left us in the hot van (no AC and limited window ventilation on a 95 degree day) to go inside and buy himself a Gatorade. When we returned, the woman at the register apologized for his lack of care and professionalism and told us if we came back they would give us a 10% discount. We decided to try them again this year. The girl I spoke with on the phone to book our reservation was very nice and honored the 10% discount, BUT when I received my emailed confirmation, it was booked for the wrong day and time. I called back to have it changed that same day and no one picked up. I emailed a question on the reservation help desk, no one responded. The same girl finally picked up the next day. When I explained what happened she said she would update the reservation with the correct day and time. I asked for an email confirmation. Instead of getting one, I received an email with an ADDITIONAL $65 charge. I called to ask why and I must have been on speaker. An EXTREMELY rude man interrupted and said we hadn't been charged enough, so they fixed it and recharged my card. I asked why and said that someone really should have called me to ask before charging my card. He then cut me off and told me they would refund my trip if I didn't like it and to go find another place to rent kayaks. I was so taken aback and explained that I wasn't asking for that and he again cut me off and rudely repeated they would refund my money if I didn't want to pay the extra fee. He wouldn't even listen to me and continued to cut me off so we cancelled. I will never rent from this company again. They are rude, unprofessional, disrespectful and unorganized. There are several other tubing and kayak companies in the area that are much more professional and organized. Do not rent anything from this company! read more

Do not waste your time!!! If there was a zero star option I would use it. We were so excited to book this canoeing trip with our kids, unfortunately this place ruined our last day of vacation. We booked for 11:00 a.m. on a Friday, we arrived 20 minutes early and checked in. We filled out the paperwork and were told we'll notify you when a shuttle is ready, at this point there were several groups of people waiting in the parking lot...hmmm red flag. It was 10:50 when we began our wait in the parking lot, it was 12:30 when we decided to give up on waiting for a shuttle and asked for our money back. During our wait we started looking up reviews for this place (shame on us for not checking before we booked) some reviews stated that people had the same problem when waiting to be picked up and brought back after the trip, being stranded for hours waiting for a shuttle to bring them back to their cars! Of course this became a concern for us, if they had all these people waiting to get to the river and only had 2 shuttles, what was going to happen when it was time to be brought back?!?! My youngest started crying because she thought we may get stranded at the river, which was actually a valid concern, because when my husband asked the girl at the counter if this long wait would happen at the return time she said she couldn't make any promises. So he said forget it, give me a refund, I'm out. So, while they did refund our money, they couldn't refund the time we lost waiting around and it wrecked our entire day because everything else was already booked and parks, beaches and trails were all full and no parking was left at that time. You're better off going to Saco Canoe Rental Company. We were there the day before and everything went off without a hitch and it was a great time. read more

Had a great trip down the Saco with Saco Valley. Very easy to arrange, quick transport to launch and quick pickup, everyone was very nice and drivers were super helpful. They are the best in the area. read more

Saco Valley Canoe - Boating Near Me - Center Conway, New Hampshire

We rented tubes for our family to float down the river. The actual floating down the river piece was great. It was the front and back end that were awful. We had a reservation at 11:30 and didn't actually leave the shop until 1pm! I understand people before us waited over 2 hours to leave for the river. The pick up was just as bad. Per our instructions, I called to be picked up at the end of our tubing. I actually called at the beach before our landing spot in order to allow time for the van to get there (about 5 minutes before arrival). When I got to the landing spot a very large party was also arriving. I walked up the embankment and there was a van there. He said he was full, but another would be right along (I was the only one there at that time). 25 minutes later another van arrives. I hand the driver our tubes and as I am doing this, others who arrived after us just hope in the van without even handing the driver their equipment or pointing out which is there's - they just leave it. He allows them to stay in the van. Meanwhile, the large party is complaining they should be in that van. He tells them they can get in the next one and sure enough the next van comes and he tells the van driver to take the large party. He tells me he is just the driver so he doesn't know who called first. I call the office back and explain the situation and that they need to be more organized. They say another van will be there soon. After more than an hour from my original call, we finally get in a van. The driver was nice enough, but he drove as fast as possible without seat belts and his side kick in the passenger seat was drinking a beer! Also, no face coverings on any of the staff during this pandemic and none were required in the van. Next time, we will use a different company. If you don't want to be waiting around for hours, you may want to too. read more

I had a great time boating down the Saco with an 8 person group this past 4th of July weekend. We booked a mix of kayaks and canoes for 7 mile / 5 hour day trip. It was the perfect amount of time for some paddling and lazy BYOB floating (but please keep the river clean - empty cans stay in boats!). Definitely recommend sunning and swimming from the many sandy beaches, but don't venture into the woods unless you want to face a mosquito swarm. Friendly and prompt drop-off/pick-up service, good quality boats, and extremely good prices (city native here)! I would definitely recommend Saco Valley to anyone looking for an awesome river experience! read more

Had a great trip down the Saco this past weekend. It's a bit buggy when you pull off to the beaches for a lunch break so bring the bug spray. The staff at Saco Valley is friendly and prompt. The owner Big A let us borrow some noodles for the trip. Will be coming again. read more

This was my first time canoeing and my first time down the Saco River. What a pleasant experience! The staff was friendly and the equipment was in good order. I went in May and was hoping to come back in August once the water was warmer. The water is so clear and beautiful. If you want a relaxing time outdoors in Maine, this is for you! read more

I spent memorial weekend out on the Saco River thanks to the help of Saco Valley Canoe! I rented two kayaks and a canoe for my trip and they dropped us off and picked us up right into the river! Customer service was excellent and they helped us to plan our trip to match our group. We were traveling with two young children and the woman over the phone helped us to plan a route that was more family friendly and avoided some of the inebriated college-age kids you sometimes encounter on the Saco. The very reasonable prices and weekend sale rates made it a perfect trip for myself and the whole family! read more

We were excited to canoe as a family, we arrived there and it looked decent. Immediately was greeted by an amazingly friendly black lab with zero restraint. As a vet tech I was excited to meet him, however my dogs are not the friendliest when on leash with other dogs so I take the proper precautions to make sure all are safe. I simply asked to have the dog put on a leash or somewhere so I could get mine out of the car and onto the shuttle. The kind man who i didnt get his name came and brought the dog into the office for us. Right after a man named Bond let the dog back out and the dog immediately ran over to my dogs that were leashed and under control. My dogs were taken off guard by a big friendly lab running at them and growled in response of shock and fear. The man named Bond threw my 11 year old arthritic dog in the air and to the ground. The 11 year old dog who just had knee surgery and was on vacation after just being diagnosed with liver cancer. Had the nerve to tell me to get my dogs under control who were already leashed. After that he continued to let his dog come over and antagonize mine. He was extremely unprofessional and just there for the money giving constant attitude and disrespectful comments. I recommend going elsewhere to rent anything. Aside from the whole dog issues they also lost our paper work and made us wait for so long until they realized they made an error with the papers but still never apologized. I will never return and hope anyone will decide to rent from elsewhere! read more

Absolutely horrible experience! They have a loose dog that roams the ground posing a huge safety issue not only for the dog itself but for others and their dogs. We experienced an issue with said dog. He wouldn't leave our dogs alone and in the spur of the moment the owner of the dog ( a worker there) kicked our dog down while he was defending himself. The wait to rent was ridiculous and very unorganized as well as the whole experience. They lost our paper work causing a huge delay, and their lack of communication within the employees didn't help the situation. We waited almost 2 hours just to get on the shuttle to the river and the entire time we had to endure sarcastic remarks made from the crew. They also drove extremely erratically flying down streets and on their phones the entire time! When it came to getting off the river and getting back it was a free for all and had no organization whatsoever. We didn't end up getting back until well after 5 (the time the last shuttle is supposed to be) the entire time they were not apologetic and extremely condescending. They never took in consideration that we had young children and two dogs with us. There was a specific crew member that went by the name "bond" and by no means was he as slick as James Bond. He was constantly being rude to customers and had not regard for safety by saying "we have to pack this car if anyone wants to get to the river" making us fit way more people in the truck then legally allowed. We have gone down the river before with another company and we had a 10/10 experience with them and was hoping for another fabulous experience, but was absolutely let down. Please don't waste your money here! They may be cheaper then some of the places in the area, but you definitely get what you pay for here which is absolute trash. If you care about your self and your family DO NOT GO HERE read more

Went out on the Saco yesterday. Sunny and in the 70s. Rented kayaks from Saco Valley Canoe. They shuttled our friends and their kayaks as well. The tops of our legs are bright RED, I wish we had remembered the sunscreen. Great service from Saco Valley Canoe staff. Had no problem adjusting our pick up time. Will come back again soon. read more

Our drop off was at a location where the water was extremely swampy and shallow. The employee took our 6 tubes and 2 cooler tubes down to the waters edge and left VERY quickly, he tossed the rope we requested on the ground ( way too much rope that we were stuck holding on to all day). Upon entering the 2 inches of water that our tubes obviously couldn't float in we realized our tubes were only half way inflated. 2 adults were left to blow up 6 tubes until fully inflated (about 20 min of our time). We had to manually drag all 6 tubes and 2 cooler tubes (very heavy) through the shallow water and over a long sandbar until we were in water deep enough to float (another 10 minutes of our time), thought drop off at WATER was part of this deal. The tubes were very flimsy, no head rest no cup holder, a larger person would not float confortable down the 3 hour river. Overall we made the best of what he had to work with but next year trying a different company. Would NOT use this place again for tubes. read more