SOAR Inflatables & Russian River Adventures

Got lucky with a last minute reservation for 2 double kayaks and our 2 dogs! We had a blast, and to think, being able to experience this not more than 2 hours from San Francisco! The staff were incredibly helpful, and thanks to their guidance we finished the 11 Mile journey in under 6 hours with little issue. We even took a break for lunch and a few swimming stops. I will definitely be back again!

A lot of the nightmarish day was not SOAR’s fault, but I wish there had been a review to guide me in these difficult inflatable canoes. We went out a few days ago and got knocked off the canoe by a tree and watched my leased $ 750 phone float down the river. My partner jumped in to help me and her $ 750 phone got water logged. It was a nightmare moment that was not SOAR’s fault. However, I did ask the woman if the river was rough at any points or we were likely to flip and she said no. We did not flip. Instead we struggled for 4 hours in a boat with no keel, which meant there was no easy way to go straight. I’ve done SUP/​kayaked different parts of the Russian River my whole life. I’m a fairly competent boater and have never had such a difficult time navigating down the river. Perhaps we were not given adequate instruction since, according to other Unilocal reviews, other folks did not seem to have such a difficult time. These boats are not traditional canoes, they sit on top of the water and take a lot of effort to go straight. The river is high and gorgeous this year… however I think $ 60 a day per person (Burke’s in Guerneville is half that and has traditional aluminum canoes) is too much to pay, and our day out ended up costing us almost two thousand dollars. When we finally got off the river we were told that mine was the fifth phone lost this season already. I WISH someone had said something about that when we were leaving versus telling me it’s simple and then having very little instruction on the river. I would not do this again.

Just got done with out river trip about a half hour ago and couldn’t wait to write this review. What an amazing trip we had! All the staff were friendly and laid back, and the trip was amazing! The river is high right now but you can tell they have done a a lot of work to make sure the river is clearly marked. We enjoyed sitting floating down the river with our dog drinking a beer, and had a great chat with the owner about local restaurants and wineries to visit. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, relaxing day on the river.

We went just this past weekend with family and friends. At first, I was worried about the river because it had an incident about a dog dying due to algae. But during the stops we made along the river, I dove in the water to refresh myself from heat and so far, I am alive and well. There are parts in the river that had more algae, so I suggest swim where there is a little current and its a good sign if the water is cold. As far as the boats, it did take awhile to get used to stirring. We had 3 boats and we were zigzagging all around. What I end up figuring out is the person in the back stirs the boat and the one in front paddles to move. The boat itself were pretty tough, we had a couple of run-​ins with branches coming out of the water and I thought it was gonna poke thru because of my weight but it didn’t. We saw a few wild life along the river so that made the kids a little excited. Lastly, the staff were friendly and accommodating. The guy that picked us up even showed some stone skipping skills to the kids. I think it’s a lot more fun if there are a more people in the group. I was also worried about the water level, thinking it would be lower but I guess it was ok because if it were any higher we wouldn’t have had a chance to stop at the places we stopped and took pictures at. All in all, it was a first good experience. I’ll definitely introduce more of my family and friends here.

We had a great time. It was a very beautiful canoe ride (all 9+ miles of it). The staff were very nice (Emily and Joe). We would definitely do it again. The water was low in some areas, but that is to be expected due to the drought. We bought yummy sandwiches at the A&M Mart and took our ice chest and really enjoyed the day taking in the many natural advantages: blue herons, white egrets, fish, trees, river water, etc.

If I could rate this place less than one star I would. It’s hard to pinpoint what was the worst part about the river trip, so I’ll just go in order:
First of all, they’ll warn you that the SOARs have a hard time going straight, but what they don’t tell you is that you’ll spend a good amount of time spinning and bumping in to things. My partner and I are both experienced in canoes so it wasn’t just us (we later found out ours had a leak in it, so by the time our trip was over it had lost a significant amount of air).
We were with a large group and were told there are shuttles every 15 minutes, when we finished, we were the last of our group, and the guy on the beach who was loading up the canoes into a truck (he was drinking beer so I hope he wasn’t in charge of driving the canoes back) told us to wait because the shuttle would be back to get us soon. We ended up waiting over an hour for shuttle – in the sun – on 100° day – and we had run out of water. When the shuttle did get us, we were told that they thought they had already collected everyone from our group. They had no record of how many people were actually on the river. That’s a terrifying thought.
The real terror, however, was the shuttle ride back, which was stuffed so full of people we were sitting on top of each other and the guy was driving 60 mph through a dirt road going through vineyard. He slowed down a little bit once we got to the main road, but still way over the speed limit and very unsafely. Turns had most of us falling off our seats.
As a side note, the water is disgusting down river (you’ll see many homeless encampments on the river banks), it smells like poop and fish food. This is not their fault, but it doesn’t seem safe to have contact with that water.

water is filled with crap. it took us 5 hours because our raft kept turning all the way left or all the way right. Truckee River rafting was a much better experience and it was 110 $ for four of us. This is way too overcharged with 60 $ per person and I and my family were very disappointed.

Such a fun activity on a hot July afternoon while visiting the wine country.
A couple weeks in advance, made reservations for our kayak trip. Saturday AM checked in with main office, checked our car keys and registered our two mini doxies. After that, got our dry bag, walked over to the beach for a quick training session. Took off for an amazing day of kayaking.
The first third of the trip had the biggest currents as well as the most twists and turns in the river. Half way, we stopped on a beach and ate lunch. Let the dogs roam around. About two thirds of the way down the river we stopped again to sun bathe/​fool around on a ginormous rock. Hiked over to Explore a field of grapevines. Burnt and tired we got back in the canoe. Boooo, no current at this point, so we paddled in the deep parts, got out and pulled in the shallow part until we got to the last bridge. There, we called ahead for our car as instructed.
Once we landed, we checked in, turned all rented stuff over to a staff member, jumped in our car, and headed for the long drive home.
This company made kayaking so easy and so much fun, that we plan on returning again and again!

We had a blast. You do have to paddle from time to time. Can stop on the river banks and play in the water. Conveniently located and they shuttle you back to their headquarters. Super friendly staff. Very reasonable prices. We did the half day trip. We will do this again with Russian River Adventures.

Great day on the river with family and doggy! Perfect way to unplug from work, school, news and screens and reconnect with each other. Besides traffic getting out of the bay area (ugh! zero stars for traffic!) the day was great. Go on a weekday with far fewer people and lots of quiet nature. It’s worth missing a day of work, really! All the staff was professional, friendly, laid back, patient and kind. Thanks! We’ll be back.

Great company. Easy to book, convenient location right off freeway, friendly staff. Blanking on the name of the guy who drive us to and from the river but he was very nice.
Reasonably priced and accommodates dogs. Provides you with as many dry bags as you need. Would recommend to anyone looking to book a river kayak trip.

It was really fun. I’ve been wanted to do this for long time ever since I heard about it in a dog event. It’s very dog friendly. I have two small dogs. They are a little nervous around water but they enjoy calm boat ride. They had fun. It’s very relaxing with some excitement.

This review is a bit over due since I last came here in the summer. I came here for a half-​day trip with my team which proved to be the best way to build camaraderie, test loyalties, and flip over your intern’s boat. We were encouraged to grill and have lunch at the park right next to the river before assembling into our boats for our afternoon cruise.
The river itself is super duper calm and wonderfully refreshing and cool, especially on a hot Healdsburg day. With minimal prior boating experience, our group was able to paddle our way down the river, albeit with a bit of spinning and bumping into the sides. The river is calm and shallow enough that when you fall out, you can walk back to your boat and jump back in.
If easy cruising isn’t your thing, I’d highly encourage bringing your own water guns and water cannons. The water is as warm as a heated swimming pool (except in this one part where a colder stream feeds in. It’s actually pretty trippy when the water changes temperate immediately) and the river is calm and shallow enough that when you fall out, you can walk back to your boat and jump back in.
Customer service was top notch as well! The entire event was coordinated over the phone and they were always quick to respond to my calls with concerns about changing party size and flexible dates. We were even encouraged to bring our own refreshments aboard in future trips (hint: not water), although you can’t drink in the park itself (trust me).

Found this place on line via Unilocal.We have never kayaked in our lives, we didn’t know what to expect. We chose Russian River Adventures because they advertised «Dog Friendly». We were camping nearby and we had our two dogs with us. So I made reservations on line which by the way was extremely easy. We showed up at 9:30 Saturday morning and met Larry the owner. He was greeting everyone and making sure we knew how to check in and get our gear ready. I wish I knew the girl’s name that worked there she was awesome! She answered a lot of my questions on the phone and was very helpful checking us in. They were very organized and we felt completely at ease.
We can’t wait till next summer to do it again! We highly recommend SOAR Inflatables & Russian River Adventures. Our trip down the river was fantastic!!! Thank you to Larry and his team for a memorable adventure!

I have no regrets in doing this tour. That said, there were points when I did not think we would make it.
First, this tour is much less a float and much more a row. That could be due to the drought in California and the low water levels, but the full day was 8.5 miles of paddling.
First, you arrive at the shop and they set you up with a dry bag (very much appreciated. and needed). You can pack your own snacks, drinks, cooler, etc. It’s a short walk down to where you board the canoes– they are all lined up on the shore. They should assign you a canoes when you walk down, as many of us loaded into a 3 person one not realizing they had counted out exactly how many with how many seats they needed, so it made for some chaotic shuffling around.
The instruction session was pretty short, with some key points on landmarks to watch for, warnings about low hanging trees, and a plan for pick up at the end of the river. And, we were off.
Or so we thought. These inflatables are hard to maneuver. There was just enough current to make it near impossible to stay straight, causing us to go back and forth from one side of the river to the next, and doing a lot of 360s. At some points, we were stuck under trees with full branches in our boat. Lots of laughs.
They did warn us that the end of the trip is flat water, and they were not kidding. The water was so flat, and so long, it felt like we may never make it to the bridge with the pick up. But we did — go us!
Along the way there are lots of place to pull over and have a picnic (it took us a few tries to actually land on one of them). It’s quite pleasant on the river, with very little distractions, and a fair number of fish to look at, but no scary wildlife.
I am glad we did it — but I think next time I’d hit the erg for some better training.

This company does a great job of creating a fun river experience!
However, be warned that because of low water levels, you might be prone to Swimmer’s Itch (Cercarial Dermatitis), a mild rash that goes away in a couple weeks. We went July 19^th and a few days later noticed the rash.

Our group had a great time doing the full day trip. We were on the water around 10:30 and made it to the end around 4:30 or 5. For most of the day we were doing a combination of paddling and floating (more paddling at the end once we hit a headwind).
There was quite a bit of swimming as well and we took a long break for lunch. The rope swing was awesome. The river was quite scenic and we saw an assortment of animals along the way (turtles, ducks, etc.).
The staff at Russian River Adventures was friendly and helpful and outfitted us with all the essentials. They were promptly waiting for us at the end of the route and sent us on our way with some recommendations for restaurants in the area.
All in all, a fun day and I will likely be back.

What fun! Fun, tiring, and beautiful is how I would describe our experience. If you’re looking to be one with nature for a full day, this is probably one of the best ways to do so.
I bought a Travelzoo voucher for 2 plus one dog. What’s more fun than a full day floating down the gorgeous Russian River with my man and my pup?! Now, I have to say, the full day is absolutely EXHAUSTING, and we are in pretty decent physical shape (we are very active and go hiking, running, and work out on the regular). The full day trip is 8 miles and it took us 5 hours from start to finish, with about a 20-​minute lunch break and a few «non-​paddling» breaks on the water. But, we paddled pretty continuously the whole time. Yes, it’s relaxing and yes it is beautiful, but be prepared to have very sore arms (and sore butt) later on :) BRING WATER, LOTS.
We had a great experience overall. The staff was friendly and overall, run the show without any glitches. I highly recommend purchasing the lunch they pack for you, it was filling and tasty and we were STARVING by the time we stopped off on the riverbank. It was nice to not have to worry and pack that stuff since we also brought our own towels, jackets, etc.
The water is not that deep, only a few feet in most places, but the deepest part looked like it could have easily been over 10 feet. The current barely whisks you along in a few sections but also feels like a dead standstill at other places, so that’s where you need to put out some exertion. At one spot it was so shallow we were scraping bottom and had to get out and push the raft into deeper water. Our dog fell in and I’m not sure she is a swimmer (!) so I would recommend putting your pup in a life vest if you’re unsure.
Advice: When you start to head into the trees or into the bank, don’t lean away. Your raft will flip. Lean into it (seems counterintuitive, but this is what the staffers told us to do, and it works). Also, we went the last weekend in October and it was cool in the morning (50s) and hot in the afternoon (80s). The trees were turning color and it was just lovely to see.

The trip was wonderful and we got a great workout in, but the service left something to be desired.
I had no intention of smashing one more activity into our schedule at the end of summer, but wouldn’t you know it, travelzoo shot off this email of savings and I couldn’t resist. $ 55 for a two person self-​guided rafting trip. What a deal! The inflatable raft was comfortable and easy to maneuver. We worked hard but had a blast. I think it took about 3 hours to get down, maybe it was closer to 2? But that was using our full muscle strength and taking almost no breaks.
There was no current. An employee warned the group about this and the dam being closed as everyone took off. Sure, parts had a slow-​moving current, but parts had none at all. My husband said that on this stretch of the river its always this slow. He’s rafted this section many times, but did say it made a huge difference having the inflatable rather than the metal rafts he was used to. It was only the two of us in our raft and no cooler. Even still, the river was so shallow we got the raft stuck more than once. That’s not their fault and we didn’t have a problem with it, but their website should say so. I could see this being an issue for less athletic or elderly people. (maybe)
At the near end of the trip you see a large rock in the river and you have to call for a ride home. Lucky for us, a van was waiting with others when we arrived. Glad we didn’t have a big wait time at all! It was really convenient, but I feel like we just got lucky.
Also, when I originally called to schedule the weekend, almost immediately the man answering said «we have that weekend completely open, but you know you can do that online» Uhhhhh, ok. So I said I would. I tried and tried to figure out how to do it with my travelzoo voucher. Finally I wasted enough time and called back, only to hear «ohhhh, you didn’t tell me you had one of those.» «You didn’t ask,» I replied. «We don’t ask.» Then silence.
Drop the attitude, dude, how am I to know your online reservation system can’t handle the promotions youre offering? Thought it would end here but a couple days later received an email saying due to fraud they needed everyone to bring in a hardcopy of their voucher. It seems to me that using your phone to show the deal would discourage fraudulent use more than a sheet of paper. Plus, it’s wasteful to print this out. I use travelzoo’s mobile app because its more convenient and environmentally friendly. But other than that, the trip was great and the river was scenic.
Even for the shallowness and the end of summer, it was cool water, so plan on a warm day if youre going to do this trip and you’ll have fun getting in from time to time.

An entire day of complete meditation and wonderful imbibing, great scenic river, for under $ 30/​person! Leave your car at their office and put your things inside of a dry bag. Bring a cooler with yummies and great drinks for the day… wear tight sunglasses and a tight-​fitting hat, cuz if you flip (as we did) from the strainers in the water, things are gonna go floating!
Inflatable canoes are not the most aerodynamic inanimates — one does have to overpaddle at times to correct direction, and it’s not going to make you go very fast, like a kayak. However, the sights!!!
The river here, named after late 1800’s Petr, sports clear water, wonderful trees and birds, and a very scenic route from Memorial Beach to Wohler Br. 8.5 mi. paddle jaunt.
There is a rope swing along the way for fun. Parking canoe and getting a tan or a nap very viable.
For the most part, one floats… about 20% of the way, there is a current that one needs to seriously navigate so as not to bonk or flip from the jutting tree branches in the water.
A great, beautiful portion of the sunny River to enjoy. The temp was amazing… mid 80’s for a paddle and a swim:) allow 3 – 5 hrs for the water jaunt. Get to the office by 9:30AM to maximize the day.