I've canoed or tubed on a lot of the popular Michigan rivers for these activities and have never…read moreseen an operation like this. Entering the check-in area is like walking into the lobby of a luxury resort. There are several booths with clerks ready to register you, and of course a wide selection of merchandise you might want to check out if you forgot some essential for your trip, like sun block or a waterproof phone case. Once registered, we were assigned a bus boarding area and got ready to ride to the put-in site. The trip was short and we were soon turned loose on the river. We took the 4-6 hour trip and finished in just about 5, with only a short lunch stop. The river was very pleasant, slow with occasional riffle areas where we picked up some speed, and not to many rocks or logjams to navigate around. Quiet and solitude? Well, no. If you're making this trip on a hot summer Saturday, expect to be in the company of several other parties during the length of your trip. One offered us a jello shot, which we passed on, though thirty years ago that would have been tempting. Not much chance of missing your take out, which is back at the campground, which takes up a large stretch of the riverback before you hit the actual landing. Once there, you just hand your tube/boat to an attendant and walk back to your car. I probably wouldn't choose to camp here--the campground is large and not shaded in many parts. Lot of potential for it to get loud. But for canoeing or tubing, a top-notch rental operation.

Have an annual camping weekend for 3 years and always enjoy this campground. They have water and…read moreelectrical at the campsite for a reasonable price and there is plumbed restrooms and showers that are walking distance. They maintain the facilities and always clean. It's really nice to have a campsite along the river and really nice they shuttle you to the starting point and provide usually good quality tubes and also offer tubes for your cooler if you pay per cooler tube.

My friends and I had so much fun at White's a few weekend's ago, I had to Yelp about it…read more Of the White's locations, this is my personal favorite. This campground is not too far of I-75, in Michigan's mid-lower peninsula, and is completely surrounded by the Rifle River. It 'feels' like you are up north. Leave your cell phones in the car, you won't need it and you can't get a signal anyway. {Which some see as a con; I see as a pro.} The camp is set up in group campsites that range in size, each with a view of the river, a fire pit, and some electrical hook-ups. The rifle river is a nice easy river for beginners, and White's rents tubes, rafts, kayaks, and canoes. White's also offers a number of trips, from a 2 hour tube float, to a several day canoe trips. Another great feature, White's drops you off up stream, and you paddle back to your campsite. {No getting in the car all wet and sandy.} On the weekends the river, and this campground can get a little busy and loud, and may not be the best environment for small children. On the weekdays, things quiet down considerably. I took a kayak trip on a Tuesday, and the wildlife on the river was amazing - I saw wood ducks, teal ducks, a deer, a young bald eagle, and a blue heron. For those non-campers, a couple of cautions - this location does not have showers or flush toilets. The outhouses are clean and well kept, and coin operated showers are available at the main campground (about 20 minutes away). Of course there is the river, but please, if you choose this option use earth-friendly soaps and shampoos, those that do not contain phosphates (Not Ivory because it floats).

My familys favorite place to camp, anytime of year!. I've been coming to this campground since I…read morewas barley an adult. The pristine beauty is astounding, the long time Family who runs the camp, take special care to leave it natural, yet stocked with all modern day conveniences, they make your stay feel like you are part of the family. The wilderness experiences with nature and camping out of doors, that your children or adults leave with, are cherished memories, like no other on this river. It's roomy & spacious with 2 river bends running through the camp, with many different water levels for kids or adults. The camp has views you will not get ANYWHERE on the rifle. The camp store is stocked with anything you may need or can think of, the bathroom & shower areas are super clean, there's many to choose from, although modern facilties such as laundry, (2) playground areas for kids, sandpit, volleyball & horseshoe pit, plus forested hiking, it feels like your camping the old fashioned way, like your parents did. The wildlife that visit the camp are amazing, from bald eagles to deer crossing the river in the early morning, I'm amazed every year. There's also a little cold stream brook that feeds into the river that runs through the camp. It's filled with a sand bottom and is crystal clear, the happy go lucky kids at this camp, go crazy for it. I've never seen a campground so lovely. My canoe & tubing trips have always went smoothly, the busses leave at many different times, and accomdiations have been way above and beyond, year after year. If you are going to experiance the rifle river for whatever reason, family time, fishing hiking canoeing or just camping, this by far is the place to do it. Dont go anywhere else, try this one first, and you will never go anywhere else. 5 big stars for the rifle river campground, havent had a single issue in 30 years ever, and cannot wait to go back again next year.

Alright guys this is a smaller owned campground with a group of regular workers. They deal with…read moredrunk people all day so they are allowed a mistake here and there. I have been coming for 7 years and it's my favorite place to go as it truly has the rustic vibe. Calling and scheduling is old school which I love. The ladies aren't crabby at the counter either they are all Very nice. Getting through can be hard but I just kept calling as I knew they were probably busy. I will be back this year as it's always a blast!

The owner charged 4 16 year old boys adult prices while they were staying on a group site with…read moremultiple adults. They should've been charged $5 a night not the $25. When we called to ask them to correct this issue and refund each minor the difference, they argued with us. Saying they "didn't know they were 16!" So, you never checked ID'S, Said because they drove there the must be adults. So basically you can rent a site without being 18 as long as you drive. Tom was very unprofessional to my husband and another parent that called to ask why they are ripping 4 kids off. $240 is owed to this boys. Very unprofessional! They don't deserve anyone's business. Please take your business to the best campground on the river, Rifle river campground. They have always been great to do business with.

My family and I have been coming here for 8-9 years now camping/tubing... This year will be my last…read morecoming back here, the unorganized mess I had to deal with between checking in, paying and lack of training in their employees was beyond me. The prices have went up absurdly we paid hundreds and HUNDREDS ($350+ before tubes) just to camp at the Riverbend!! They haven't upgraded anything here the showers are still ran down now with black mold on the walls, tubes weren't holding air, missing the plugs, one tube had THREE patches, the high current areas in the river are NOT cleaned up and have huge trees so be prepared to get tangled up while trying to unhook from your group in the high current spots, the tubes even have black mold on the bottom I noticed when one of ours was flipped. When we asked if our family could come down and see us at our campsites they were told "yeah for $25 a person" (so another $150 after they just paid to tube here $220 and we had three sites booked staying), we were also charged ADULT pricing for a FIVE YEAR OLD. Buzz is the ONLY employee that listened to our concerns, Mr Button up collar shirt in the office avoided my bf when he seen how annoyed we were with how everything has been going. They also put in speed bumps so high up going 5mph we still bottomed out our vehicle on them and thankfully it didn't ruin our car (that we know of). If you really want to tube here you're better off renting an Airbnb and parking at the front for bus pick up because it's the same pricing for rentals on a walk in that it is for paying and staying customers. Everytime we turned around it felt like someone was asking us to swipe our card!! I'm surprised it's not $5 per entry and exit of the campground

We've been coming to Russell's for an annual summer camping/tubing trip for over 5 years now and…read morehave never been disappointed. The staff are wonderful-super nice and always willing to work with their customers. Camp sites are clean and well maintained, tubing trips are well organized and they're super flexible when needed. We'll continue coming back for years to come!

While we had a great weekend with our friends at our 5th annual kayak/tubing trip. Russell's Canoe…read moreand Livery in Omer Michigan will never see us again!! We can put up with the disorganized office, the fact they pack as many campers/tents in basically a parking lot called a campground, the equipment you pay top dollar for is old and falling apart. The last straw is when you have packed up and trying to dump your camper to leave and Russell's have busses parked in front of the clean out area. As a PAYING CUSTOMER just wanting to use a service YOU PAID FOR....you ask them to move the busses forward and the employee says..."nope we have a business to run." Then you go to the office only to be laughed at and treated so rudely because you just want to empty your camper and go home! We always try to support family owned businesses but not businesses who treat you this poorly. NEVER AGAIN!!

My wife and I have stayed at Rainbow resort twice now. The owner Barb is very friendly and…read morehelpful. The smaller cabins near the back are nice and feature a nice wooded view to enjoy while you kick back and relax. The ones closer to the front are all pretty close and don't have quite as nice of a view. Went canoeing and kayaking and both times our driver was nice and finishing up back at the resort was very convenient If you are looking for a relaxing time and chilling around the fire at night this is a great place...if you're looking to get super drunk and be noisy then this place is not for you. I really enjoy the Mio area The location is far enough away tucked back into the woods to be quiet and relaxing yet close enough to 33 to get to other places. Will definitely be back again.

Horrific Customer Service, Stolen Funds, and Aggressive Management - Avoid at All Costs…read moreBetter options in Mio! Our family booked a 15-canoe memorial trip for 30 people three months in advance to honor our late uncle. A month before the trip, we pre-paid in full. We were explicitly told by staff that we could adjust our reservation up to 24 hours in advance. The day before the trip, we emailed to scale down to 9 canoes (19 people).Upon arrival, the woman claiming to be the owner flatly refused a refund for the 6 unused canoes. Her justification was hostile and absurd: she stated we "should not have prepaid" and that refunds are only avoided if you pay the day of. This policy was never disclosed to us verbally or in writing.The customer service deteriorated rapidly from there: Hostility at Departure: The owner stood on the deck screaming at both her staff and our family, demanding everyone wear life jackets inside the transport vans--saying no one left without one on-falsely claiming it was a transport fine--rather than explaining it calmly as a high-water safety precaution. Labor: Despite paying full price (plus the 6-canoe overcharge), the resort provided only one staff member per van. Our group was made to help manually unload the canoes at the launch, and drag them up a steep hill and reload the trailers upon return. No trash bins were provided at the landing. Just a bag one of the drivers found in the van Verbal Abuse & Shushing: When two family members calmly went into the office to discuss the refund, the owner became instantly belligerent. When a female family member asked why she was being so rude, the owner told her to "zip it" and repeatedly shushed her like a child. When challenged on the overcharge, the owner claimed she "felt unsafe" and "threatened" from 10 feet away. Physical Altercation & False Accusations: The situation turned completely unhinged when we had to turn our vehicle around to look for a missing key fob. The owner's husband marched out "ready to fight," chest puffed out, screaming at customers. Looking for the guy who "threatened his wife" the situation escalated and The female owner then physically shoved her way into our group at the back of our vehicle, intentionally bumping into a smaller female customer. When the customer pushed back to create space, the owner began screaming like an actor that she had been "assaulted," before videotaping us and threatening to call the police. Honestly we thought at that point we were being punked. The river and weather were beautiful, but Rainbow Resorts completely tarnished a memorial trip for a grieving family. They stole money for services not rendered, treated paying customers like physical threats, and exhibited erratic, hostile behavior. Do not go here. They are completely unprofessional and running a financial scam on pre-payments.

Fun time! We had a great day with our kids tubing! I did take a star off because they need to…read moreautomate their system instead of pen and paper... but everything else was great!

Easy to book and had a really fun time. We went in August and the weather was perfect!read more

My family and I had a blast! I'm coming back soon. You guys will have fun too. It's the right price…read moreand so much fun.

We had an amazing experience canoeing with this company. I called the day of to see if they had…read moreavailability and they did. We did the 2.5 hr paddle. It's with the current so it's very easy to do. There are a few stopping points that have portable toilets. They picked us up at the end and shuttled us back. We paid $36 for one canoe. They provided seat cushions. The staff did an excellent job previewing the route with us. It was easy to navigate. They also have mountain bikes and kayaks to rent.

My wife & I thought we'd avoid the weekend crowds and wait until Monday morning (Labor Day 2011) to…read moreset out on the AuSable river. The afternoon before, we walked to each of the three liveries on State Street to see what they were about. The young gentleman working the counter in the Carlisle office that afternoon was very helpful and answered our questions. However, the thing that stuck out and sold us was when we were walking out of the office towards the street. The pick-up van had just dropped off a bunch of folks who were retrieved after their trip. As the driver (who we thought was "just" a driver) was parking the van, he made a point of waving to us and wishing us a good afternoon with a genuine smile on his face. We returned the next morning at 9:45am (a chilly 45°F) to find out that the driver from the previous afternoon was in fact the owner Terry....a really personable fellow even in the morning after a super busy weekend. Kudos to Terry and his staff for making us feel welcome. We agreed that he'd meet us at Stephan's Bridge at 1pm. Although the trip is typically billed as a 4-hr journey, we completed the trip in just over 2.5-hrs (no stops). So we waited for 30-mins at Stephan's Bridge, but true to his word Terry's cousin picked us up at 1pm on the dot. Overall...it was a great experience and we'd certainly recommend Carlisle's to anyone. Here's a news article about Carlisle's: http://www.crawfordcountyavalanche.com/articles/2010/05/17/news/doc4beae2469022f014804941.txt

Got to the river pickup and they did not give us a ride back had to call an uber to get ourselves…read moreback. Shit company.

Friendly service. Ok tubes. The river was so shallow, you should go to another river. One of our…read moreriders were less than 130 pounds and she had to get out of her tube multiple times due to how shallow it was.

My husband and I were looking for something "vacationy" to do since a long weekend stay at my…read moreparent's cottage was the most we were getting out of our summer vacation. I came across this company searching for local tubing opportunities, and while reviews were scarce, we were not disappointed. The Cedar River is clean and crystal clear. Our pick up was on time and the owner was incredibly friendly in the way mid-Michiganders always are. We were the only group on the river (it was a Sunday morning) and had such a great time tuning out and unwinding. I highly recommend for families, couples or groups of weekend fun-seekers.