Booking was easy and efficient--you select your day, time of the tour, number of people and type of kayak for each person (single or tandem). You also provide each persons height and weight when you sign them up. I booked 2 single kayak tours for this Saturday at 9:00am. The push off location is located off of Willow Beach, at exit 14 on Henderson. If you're a local and driving yourself to Willow Beach, it's $99 for each person. They also have an option for downtown hotel pickup at either the Aria or Excalibur for $147 per person. After purchasing tickets online, I was sent an email confirming all the details for the Saturday tour. Please use the restroom before pushing off, which are located south of the beach landing area. Follow the sidewalk for about 7 minutes past the gazebos and the waterline to a small building before the marina. Meet time was 8:45 am and we were able to find our guide, Griffin, who gave us life jackets and an assigned kayak. He also provided everyone with a bottle of water and a dry bag for any valuables (I gave him my key fob because I don't pack any bags for the tour). The kayaks do have compartments with a secure lid to put a small bag in for phone, keys, sunscreen, etc...but it's suggested to back light. Hats, sunscreen and sunglasses were recommended as the sun will bake you on the lake. Lifejackets must be worn on the lake; if you don't and are caught it's a HEFTY fine. Griffin gave a safety briefing and laid out how the tour would go. Our group was 9 people plus our guide. Griffin also noted that if it gets too much for some kayakers to keep going, he's always willing to tow them. So don't worry, you'll make it back alive. The first leg of the tour is 2 miles north up the Colorado River and Griffin provided historical information about the area, spotted wildlife and provided information about them, and you eventually end the 1st part of the tour at Emerald Cove. If you don't know about this, look it up on Instagram and Google. The cove does "sparkle" when the sun hits it just right around 1-2 pm, and lasts about 40 minutes. Once you hit the cove, people do line up in their kayaks to get a picture of themselves. BEWARE If you are dying to have the sparkly photo, prepared to wait in the line for hour(s) just to get in there, and you might possibly miss it because of the amount of people wanting that shot. Launching out when we did at 9:00 am, we waited 10 minutes to get in (3 people ahead of us). By the time we left the cove, we saw around 45-50 kayakers heading down the river to this destination. So, do the math in your head. Our group piled into the cove (backwards) and he divulged the history and current pop culture of the cave. When our time was up in the cave, Griffin provided everyone with photo opportunities of their smaller groups. He took photos of every family unit individually for them and said he would send the photos to the phone number of the person that booked the trip. The second leg of the tour begins by heading back (south) in the direction we came. On the way back, we crossed the lake and headed to a beach for a break and snacks. Once out of our kayak, Griffin supplied the entire group with granola bars, chips, and extra water bottles, and we were allowed to swim and relax for about 15-20 minutes. Griffin also brought extra sunscreen for reapplication for the group. The kids were busy finding crawfish in the sand and had a lot of fun on the beach. Some of the adults and kids did get into the water for a "cold plunge" to cool off, as it was starting to get hot at this time. The water in the lake is 52-54 degrees, so it is cold, but I highly recommend just getting in and doing it because it WILL cool you off for the second leg of the 2 mile trip to home base. After snacks, rehydration, and cleaning up trash, we were back in our kayaks and launched off for the remainder of the trip. Griffin again provided historical background of the lake, canyon, and how it connected with the Hoover Dam, which was SUPER interesting. On the way back, our group also spotted 2 bald eagles. They were very hard to find at first but Griffin was extremely patient and helped everyone identify them. By the time we were 3 miles into the trip heading back to home base, the lake was packed with paddles boarders and kayakers. It had to have been around 11-11:30 pm. At around 12:15pm, we finally made it back to the landing beach where we started, pulled our kayaks onto the beach with assistance and handed over our life vests. Griffin thanked everyone for coming and gave out additional water bottles to anyone that wanted them for the car ride home. Griffin was absolutely professional, informative, funny, patient, and took time to answer questions, engage with all of the families and made sure our experience was amazing. Tips are customary and recommended for these tips of excursions, so please be thoughtful. I highly recommend River Dogz and Griffin as your tour guide.
River Dogz
River Dogz
River Dogz
