Naperville Kayak - DuPage River Trips

Jeffrey Amacher

They beat up the smallmouth river, drinking and dropping trash, not supervised well

Rhonda Devins-Demers

Our party of 3 got picked up at the parking lot and got dropped off at the start point for the kayaking. We all have kayaked before so we didn't need any instructions. Life jackets are provided. The kayaks were sturdy and the non-tippy kind. We loved our trip down the Dupage River where we saw nature, backyards of gorgeous homes, and also downtown Naperville along the river walk. It was a great mix. The water was mostly shallow with a few areas of rocky, easy to navigate, rapids. It took us about 1 1/2 hours. I would highly recommend!!

Judy Cheske

This was a great experience! I thought it would be part of a group, where you basically "follow a leader", but instead, they drive you and whoever you are with (and others if there's room in the vehicle), and drop you off at the start point. Then they guide you into a kayak on the shore of the river, and off you go! I'm a moderately experienced kayaker and it was challenging enough to keep me on my toes, but definitely children and beginners can handle this easily. Basically you are floating down the river - depending on the water levels, the need to paddle is fairly minimal, although we had to avoid shallow areas and we did get stuck in some shallow areas a few times but it was very easy to push into deeper water. Then at the end, Pioneer park (where we parked our car) you paddle over to the well-marked spot and they help you out. It took us 1.5 hrs; we went very very leisurely. You go through wooded areas (saw lots of geese, ducks and other birds), suburban residential areas (fun to look at the beautiful homes), and the heart of downtown Naperville, very pretty with covered bridges and flowers. There was confusion about the start point; they have 2 locations listed on one of the emails, so double check with them, although hopefully they will correct the error.

Jackie Jensen

Local resident here…first time ever kayaking the DuPage river. My friend and I arrived at Pioneer Park at 2pm today, easily found Naperville Kayaks, quickly signed waivers, we’re given life vests, then driven to the north side of town. We were met by several Naperville kayaks employees who helped us get our kayaks in the river. We paddled for about two hours through quiet water, sometimes low, sometimes level 1 rapids. Very nice day gliding through tree lined river, then through town, then quiet again for about two hours. Highly recommend, lots of fun!