Overall, it was a good experience, but it didn’t quite match what was advertised. Communication before the trip was great, and the guides were friendly. We drove directly to the launch instead of taking the shuttle, but our launch was still delayed waiting for the shuttle group, which pushed everything back.
The paddle itself was beautiful, but it would have helped if we had been told that staying closer to shore makes the upstream portion much easier. We watched several people struggle before figuring that out ourselves.
The biggest disappointment was the stop for s’mores and stargazing. The campsite was already occupied by campers, there was no firewood, so we ended up borrowing a fire from the campers, and the setup felt unprepared. The glow sticks also didn’t work on the return trip. While the cloudy skies aren’t anyone’s fault, the overall experience wasn’t what was advertised.
We still enjoyed being on the water, appreciated the bottled water provided.