Spring Lake Marina

4 hours for a premium pontoon boat for 8 people with gas cost $ 280 ($ 70 per hour) plus ~$ 40 for the gas we used (~$ 4 per gallon). That’s pretty damn good considering the boats are new, had plenty of space, had Aux/​USB and Bluetooth for our music to blast. (We brought our own AUX cord). I was annoyed that the gas gauge was broken. They gave us the boat with a full tank although the broken gas gauge said it was empty. You literally have to trust their word on that one especially when they are refilling the tank. That’s my main reason for giving them four stars instead of 5.
There are at least five lakes all connected to Fox Lake. We were lucky that we found a boat available last minute on the Saturday before Labor Day 2015. Our time was from 10am to 2pm.
Take them serious and arrive half hour early because they go over a bunch of stuff with you. There are porta potties there too just in case.
Food: you’re allowed to bring food and coolers on the boat although you cannot cook on the boat. There are tons of bars and restaurants where you can park the boat and go eat inside. We only had four hours and brought our own food so we didn’t do this.
We had 8 people on the 24 foot premium pontoon boat. We were very comfortable and had tons of food and still had lots of space to walk around. I think they said it takes up to 12 people.
They also had speed boats as well.
Overall great experience.
In summary:
1. Great reasonable rates
2. Beautiful Fox lake and surrounding neighborhood
3. Only an hour from Chicago
4. Good boats with music capabilities
If it rains, they keep your reservation that you paid for for a year. Also google maps will get you to a restaurant near there called granny’s. Drive behind granny’s on the gravel road till you see the tiki bar sign of spring lake marina. Don’t park at the restaurant or you will get towed.

This place is fabulous! I had previously owned a boat and kept it in a marina on the Chain O Lakes. When I needed to rent a boat for a family outing, the owner of the marina where I’d kept my boat said, «There’s only one place to go! It’s called Spring Lake Marina. I don’t know them, but I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about them. Yeah, there are other boat rental places on the chain, but Spring Lake Marina is the only place that everybody raves about!»
He was right! We had a fabulous time! Everybody there was sooooo nice and just wonderful to work with.
Spring Lake Marina is so great that when I told my adult daughter that I was planning to write a Unilocal review, she said, «Maybe you shouldn’t. This place is too good to share! If everybody learns how fabulous they are, they might be sold out the next time we go back.» :)
Still, I’m writing it anyway and I’ll just have to hope that if you choose this place for a boat rental (and you’d be nuts not too) that you won’t need your boat on the same day that I need mine. :)

We rented a brand new 2015 24′ pontoon boat and skis and a 2 person tube last Sunday afternoon. We had a great time and the staff was very friendly. Originally we wanted to rent a ski boat, but with a 2 year old in the group, Nancy recommended that we switch to a pontoon boat. With 7 people, she said it would be no problem pulling up a skier. She was right and we were very happy we made the switch.
We would definitely rent from these guys again.

Came in here with a very large group, more than 50 people, on a weekday. We rented out 4 deck boats/​pontoons and 3 speedboats. The boats were all about 2 years old. They were in great condition. The couple who own the place were very nice and helpful. We spent about 4 hours on Fox Lake and had the time of our life. Great time. I plan to come back again on a weekday. I enjoy the lake when it’s not so crowded.

If you’re looking to rent boats, Spring Marina is the way to go! It was the best boating experience I’ve ever had! When our original boating plans fell through, Spring Marina accommodated our group of about 50 people with no prior reservation. We rented out 3 speed boats, 2 deck boats and a pontoon. All of the boats were beautiful and ran smoothly! They took the time to show us around each individual boat and gave us a quick but informative tutorial on how to drive it. Our group had a blast and we will definitely be coming back now that we’ve found this gem in Antioch!

Great experience at Spring lake Marina boat rentals. Very friendly and honest people. The boats were great and nearly brand new. They have the best boats in town and best prices you can get anywhere. I would recommend them to anybody looking for a great time on the lakes.

I’ve booked with Spring Lake twice now for pontoon rentals. The office is great and try to accommodate requests, and are very clear about any fees that may come up with your rental. Definitely the most reasonably priced marina in the area.
For pontoon rentals, they have a four hour minimum on the weekends. It’s basically set up where you can go either a morning shift, or a late afternoon shift. They close at 7:00pm, but as long as you call ahead, you can be a few minutes late without any fees. Like I said, they really try to be flexible with their guests, and they’re very laid back when it comes to instructions and rules. They try to be informative, but not overwhelm you; they know you’re on vacation!
I would recommend them to anyone and everyone for a great day on the Chain.

Rented a boat for a «day before school starts» outing with our teenagers. The staff at the marina is great. They are so easy to work with, very accommodating, and make the entire rental process a breeze. We pulled in the parking lot, paperwork done, instructions given and in the boat in 10 minutes. So unlike other Marina’s we’ve rented from. The boat was in great shape, very clean and well maintained. We can’t wait to rent from Spring Lake Marina again next summer.

For my wife’s birthday she wanted nothing more than to go boating. We had heard that you could rent boats at on the Chain of Lakes, and I started searching for Marinas. I had heard some horror stories about renting boats, so I was prepared for the worst. I called to make arrangements and they were very accommodating. I wanted a power or deck boat. They had one for me on the date I wanted so the reservation was made for the Saturday before my wife’s birthday.
On the Thursday before our rental I received a call from Spring Lake Marina. They advised that the boat we reserved had mechanical trouble and they would not be able to get the part to repair it in time for that Saturday. They offered us a rain check or because they canceled, they offered to refund our money. I explained that this was for my wife’s birthday and I couldn’t do it another day or weekend. We had plans on Sunday and we really couldn’t do it another weekend. They then said that they had a brand new mini-​pontoon coming in and that if they could get that running by end of business on Friday would I be interested in that. It wasn’t what I wanted, but it was better than nothing. I said I would be interested. Spring Lake told me they would call me back on Friday to let me know if it would be available on Friday.
On Friday they called me back and said that the mini-​pontoon would be available so I could have that and they would refund me the difference. Again, not what I wanted, but it would work. Saturday morning when we arrived they told us there had been a change. The mechanic didn’t feel comfortable letting the mini-​pontoon out since it hadn’t been sea tested yet, but they had a cancelation on a full size pontoon due to weather (apparently people on boats are scared of getting wet, it was calling for scattered showers). Due to all the hassle, they rented us the full sized pontoon for the price of the mini-​pontoon! We ended up having a great day on the lakes. Mechanical failures happen, it’s not their fault. They did everything in their power to make sure we were satisfied and we were.
Spring Valley Marina will definitely get my business again. When you go there, and you should, keep this in mind. They run this out of their home. So when you get there if you think you are at someone’s house, you are. Knock on the door before entering and wipe your feet. Also you have to drive through the parking lot and go around to the back side in order to find the entrance. It’s not the restaurant that’s there. Once you get there, everything else is a piece of cake.

We rented a boat (Deck Boat) from Spring Lake Marina on Sunday July 1^st for 4 hours. Every bit of the experience was what I had hoped for. The boat was clean and in good operation. It is not the newest or latest and greatest boat available. But it operated flawlessly and was fast and easily handled tubing for the day. We had 7 people on the boat and could have fit a few more. So everyone was very comfortable.
They provided us with a map of all the lakes and their recommendations on where the best spots were for tubing or just swimming. They do make you purchase your own rope for $ 25 if you don’t have one of your own. They don’t want to deal with ropes that are starting to fray which is understandable. The tube they provided (nominal additional cost) was also in very good condition. The parking was easy and right next to the pier so short walk with all of your boating items. The tube was also in excellent shape.
The folks in the office were very nice and the gentleman that took care of us when we left and returned was equally as nice. Their gas, like most places is more than you pay for your car, but not what I would consider exorbitant ($ 4.15 boat vs $ 3.47 car).
In terms of cost, I looked at a few other places and Spring Lake Marina was by far the least costly of all the other locations I checked out. In many places they are charging $ 159/​hour vs the $ 70/​hour we paid. Yes the boats at the other places are newer. But I repeat, the boats at Spring Lake are not old and they clearly well maintained perform fantastic.
I would absolutely return to Spring Lake Marina for another day of fun on the water.

We rented a pontoon boat for the day, as we had a large crowd and wanted to spend the day relaxing on the Chain of Lakes. I have to say that everything about renting from Spring Lake Marina was terrific!
They have a launch available for our jet ski, with the parking for our car and trailer included in the launch fee. The rate for the pontoon time rental was reasonable, and the boat was well maintained, both in appearance and operation. The staff was friendly and most helpful. It was all around an easy and enjoyable experience. Thanks to everyone at Spring Lake Marina!

We rented a pontoon boat for the day and the service was excellent. The main office was very friendly and helpful and the pier worker was very helpful and personable.
The boat worked great and was well maintained. The whole staff was friendly, they really appreciated our business and made the process easy and stress-​free.
We had a great boating experience and will definitely come back.