White Crane Canoe Rentals & Guide Service

Kelly O'Brien

Cache Bayou Outfitters (formally White Crane Canoe rentals) is a non-profit canoe rental and offers guided tours of the Cache River. I would highly recommend a guided tour from Mark for anyone who finds themselves in the area. We came from Chicago to the Murphysboro IL area to visit Scratch Brewing and Big Muddy Brewing for the weekend. We also wanted to get some hikes in. I found Cache Bayou through a google search, and being ~45 minutes from Murphysboro, I wondered if it would be worth the drive there and back. Based on the good reviews I could find on trip advisor (under the white crane name - this is their first year operating as Cache Bayou)- I booked the tour, and I'm so glad I did! First - customer service wise - Mark was really accommodating. We were expecting heavy rain on Sunday morning, so I asked if we could switch our Sunday reservation to Saturday. No problem. We also added on two people last minute and Mark was great about it. When we arrived, there was another Cache Bayou employee (sorry! I forgot her name! it was unique) and she was very friendly while we were waiting to start up. Second - the actual tour - while I know you have the option to just rent kayaks and canoes, I'd highly recommend having Mark guide you on the water. He definitely leaves you on your own to enjoy and stops along the way to give you a better idea of the history of the area, the animals you'll find, plants, etc. It's a great balance and it's not too overwhelming where you'll feel like you're on a field trip with constant information coming at you. He has a great sense of humor and we really enjoyed learning from him. There weren't as many birds when we came (Early April) but we still enjoyed it. I'd recommend bug spray later in the season! We had a carp jump right into our canoe too which made for a lot of laughs. There is a toilet on site, but no running water, sawdust toilet - FYI!

Joe Krehbiel

Super beautiful area to kayak/canoe!! This is the most unique place that I have paddled in the entire Midwest. The area is not too large and can be explored in a few hours. Make sure to do this if you are ever in this part of the state. The rental service was super affordable and low-key.

Helen Krieger

We had such a great time- the guide/owner was super accommodating, was very informative not only about the fauna & flora, but about the world importance of the cypress grove & wetlands surrounding them. It was an easy trip, some of us in canoe & others of us in kayaks.... slow, but fun adventuring and sights. We encountered no big problem with bugs when we were there, but sprayed up just in case.

kim mladinic

I was so happy to have found a quiet, quint and not crowded place to see the Eclipse down in southern Illinois. Mark Denzer who was the owner of the place and guide for the eclipse gave us the freedom to do what we wanted and observe what we wanted during the eclipse. He was very knowledgeable and kept a watchful eye on us while touring us around the Cache River. We saw white Herons, Egrets, and the largest tree in Illinois. The River was easy to canoe but was filled with brushes and Cypress trees that were like a fun maze that we had to puzzle through. It was like we were canoeing thru a forest! White Crane had a knowledgeable and professional staff that created a welcoming environment and encouraged our group to mingle with one another. I met some great people that day and was happy to watch the eclipse with such a great group. When we came back from the Eclipse, we were all hungry and happy to find out that lunch was ready, water was cold, and we were all happy to speak about our experiences of the Cache River and the Eclipse. White Crane Is a like secret magical place that you almost don't want to get too popular bc you want it all to yourself. And at the same time, you want to introduce all your family and friends to see their reaction of the place because it's quite possibly the prettiest place in Southern Illinois!