Front Royal Canoe Co

Rafting is fun no matter what. The equipment here is good– just like other places. The manager/​owner here was at the front desk– he was not welcoming, polite and to put it mildly it was utter chaos. What almost ruined the trip was that I three times saw the manager/​owner yelling at employees. They were clearly new& high school kids. It was extremely off putting. The bus ride was fine. The wait from starting at the line to getting on the bus was about an hour an a half.

it was awesome! They were kind and attentive. The trip was lovely. We rented a raft on a hot August weekday (my wife, my 4 year old, my 8 year old and myself) and basically had the river to ourselves. It was peaceful and fun. There were a couple of «white water» spots, but they were little bumps; we couldn’t have gotten tossed if we tried. There are two little islands you can pull up on, we stopped on one and had lunch out of our cooler. Gentle paddling had us back to the start in 2 hours. My 8-​year old said it was the «funnest vacation day of his life.» Totally going again.

This place is great! Based on it’s proximity from D.C. and the great views of the Shenandoah, I decided to book a 7 mile kayak experience with them. Surprisingly, upon arrival, there were tons of cars in the parking area. It was difficult to park and difficult to get out. The process was very smooth from check in, drop off, pick up, to check out. They offer independent kayaking trips down the South Fork of the Shenandoah River with stunning views! I would have given this place a 5 stars if it weren’t for the throngs of people there and on the river. I like peace and serenity, but I guess it’s not possible with the short drive from Northern Virginia and D.C. Seems like all the Arlington hipsters were here.

Had a great time with the wife kayaking out on the river. We went on a Sunday and it wasn’t overly crouded and had plenty of quiet time to enjoy the outdoors. The trip was great from start to finish. Rapids were fun but nothing to be afraid of.

Great time! Don’t be fooled by the very small Rapids. We rented tubes and brought a cooler and it was wonderful. Be careful because there are a lot of rocks. Very relaxing and nice staff.

Pretty disappointed in this experience — the company quoted us a 3 hour ride down the river, which was an enormous over estimation (it took one hour). Unlike many other outfitters at similar rates, you must pay per each trip down the river. So when I spoke to the manager (not sure if this was his title, but he was in charge) he told us we were given an inaccurate estimation for the day’s water current but we’d have to pay again for another trip if we wanted more time. He offered half off for the second trip and i asked if we could use this offer another day, but he declined. Didn’t seem to care that the business was inaccurately quoting the trip time, but willing to take more of my money ! Cool.
My main issue is that we asked the manager and multiple staff members well in advance (both on the phone the day before and in person that day) if the trip would truly take 3 hours. If they had been honest, we would have just gone somewhere else. But to play the «whoops, I guess we were wrong! But you can pay more if you want what we originally offered!» card is pretty shady. I am unsatisfied with the management resolution and would not recommend this to anyone.
That’s are many other similar outfitters who allow multiple trips for the same rate so why not just go there? Don’t think you are getting a deal here. And don’t think they care.

We were camping at Shenandoah river state park and decided to raft the river. They were very accommodating, giving us a cooler for our beers. For $ 25 each we ragged the river and had a great time.

Came this past Saturday with a few girlfriends and we LOVED IT!!! The staff were very welcoming once we arrived and not to mention the guy outside directing our parking (kudos for him) We did tubing on the 3mile, and our bus driver was super sweet and awesome! Kudos to her again. Until she mentioned snakes in the river, I almost rode back to the camp ground with her. In all we had a great time, no issues with the tubes and I am planning another trip before the end of the summer. Oh and the river was perfect, a few rocks… well alot of rocks but hey its tubing what do you expect. Btw the drive from DC was gorgeous, so many mountains and nature all around! Overall great team and company, will continue supporting. Thanks Guys :)

owner/​manager was deeply unpleasant. fortunately, staff person we met was a good guy and made up for his surly boss. seemed way overpriced if you need just shuttle service (we have our own boats). Would have shopped around for a better deal but zero cell service (Verizon) in that area.

Came here to do the rafting down the river on the shortest trip (3 miles), and had a wonderful time. All of the staff was very professional, and the river and trip was beautiful. We definitely want to come back later this summer to go rafting again.

Had a group of family in to visit and we needed something affordable, outdoors, and fun to do.
After the shock and awe of what vendors charge near Harper’s Ferry for rafting and tubing, I took a chance to call FRC in Front Royal. Was very happy that we could entertain everyone with a raft for $ 80 (4-​people) and tubes for $ 20 each.
So we went down the river with a raft and three tubes and that was excellent because kids could jump in and out from raft-​tube and not worry about kids getting tired. Beautiful summer weather due to Polar Vortex!
Love that they set you up and you go down the river at your own pace and they tell you where you can stop for lunch, etc.
Can’t wait to come back here in the Fall to go down the river and see the foliage.

We went on Saturday. The place is packed and (what I thought at first) unfortunately all they had left was a raft and no tubes. However, our driver (can’t remember his name) loaded us up and as he drove us to the drop off point gave us lots of tips on how to best maximize our fun. The raft ended up being great! There were five of us and there was plenty of room for us to lounge, get out and swim, and keep our cooler and lunch boxes on. The water is beautiful and the atmosphere is young and fun, but responsible. Again, our guide/​driver was super friendly and helpful and really calmed my anxieties about being on the raft. When you get there, it’s packed, but the staff are professional and speedy and things move very quickly despite how chaotic it looks. One plus of the trip is that as long as your back by 6:30 PM, you can stay out as long as you want! This explains the lack of turnover in tubes, but it’s great for the customer! There are two islands you can stop on or you can just find a quiet patch of water to float slowly down. The raft ended up being the same price per person as tubing and is a great idea for people who want to stay together the whole trip. Can’t wait to go again!

This is my second consecutive summer coming to Front Royal Canoe Company. I was introduced to the area by a friend and have continued to come ever since for the views, route and friendly staff. We also like that this place is right off of I-​66.
My only experience with the company is tubing. We pay $ 25 to go tubing down the river and the tube is provided (and they take your debit/​credit cards!!!). I love that we park and pay at the site and then are bused to the port. I like getting out of the tube at the place that we parked, rather than sitting around and waiting for a bus after sitting in the hot sun all day.
The views are amazing. It’s so nice to see the mountains in the background and to be surrounded by such pretty trees all the time. The route is one of my favorites. It’s shallow at first and then is deep enough to swim in at the end of the tubing trip. The rapids are Class 2 rapids, nothing to be scared of but fun to go through!
An example of the friendly staff– Today we brought a styrofoam cooler not knowing that it was against the rules and Front Royal Canoe Co let us borrow one of their large coolers for the day! Amazing customer service and so very much appreciated.
Don’t forget to bring shoes with a heel strap (sandals, flip flops or water shoes)! They conveniently sell water shoes at the little shop there, though, in case you forget! They also sell croakies, snacks, shirts, souvenirs, water bottles, fishing supplies and much, much more!

We had an amazing time!
We came out to Front Royal Canoe and started at 9:00 am on a Sunday morning. This must be one of the best times to come (between 8 and 9) because the sun is not too hot and there aren’t many people out, so you will definitely see a lot of nature. We took the 7 mile trip from landing #37 to landing #44. At first, we were concerned about the rapids, but they were really small. Next time we’re going to the stronger rapids part of the river.
We saw bunch of ducks, blue herons, turtles, and even snakes. Our tour guide, James, was very helpful and a great guide when taking us out to the river and picking us back up. We will definitely be back on the weekends, early in the morning, and before all the drunk college kids get there to go rafting and tubing.

Great place! We rented a canoe for an afternoon and had a great time. The staff were nice and more than helpful. They provided clear directions on where to go on the river and what time they will pick us up. In fact we arrived fifteen minutes early at our destination and they were there waiting to pick us up.
Also the canoe we rented was very sturdy and held up to the few rocks we hit while going through some of the rapids.
Highly recommend and will definitely have to go back for a multi-​day trip!

Used their shuttle service for mysely and a friend. we both have 14 foot Tarpon kayaks and did the #3 11.5 mile trip. $ 35 for both of us with great service and friendliness. will be back this week for the northern branch with the class ²⁄₃ rapid.
highly recommend.

Great kayaking trip.
BF and I were kicking around the idea of kayaking but were not 100% committed to going. I called Front Royal Canoe early on Saturday morning to see if I needed to make a reservation or I could just turn up and get a boat. The lady who answered the phone was friendly and helpful. She said that she expected a slow day, so I could get by with no reservation but sometimes they sell out, so making a reservation is generally a better bet.
We showed up around noon. There a bunch of people/​groups in the parking lot so it was a little confusing about where to go, what to do but they had maybe 8 or 10 staff people around to put me in the right direction. The staff was helpful with providing advice to first time kayakers about getting 1 or 2 kayaks (2 = less fighting), if we should use sit-​on-​top or sit-​inside kayaks (one of each), and which trip to take. FYI — the sit on top kayak was a lot easier to paddle and maneuver but the sit inside kayak was a lot more stable and less likely to tip over.
The weather was perfect, beautiful, warm, sunny day. There was a fair amount of traffic from the drop off point to the front royal canoe (FRC) landing with canoes, tubes, and kayaks. A bus full of tubers showed up at the drop-​off just behind us so there was a bit of a traffic jam getting on the river. it seems like most people hop out at FRC, so the second half of our trip was quiet and private. I saw deer, heron, geese, and a large snake eating a fish, so that was pretty gross (but also pretty cool). They warn people to stay off the private property on the sides of the river but the snake was warning enough for me!
We had requested a pick up for a 4-​hour trip, and when we came around the bend in the river, we could see that the bus was already there doing a pick up so it was nice that we didn’t have to wait. We took pretty much the entire max recommended time. If you are going to paddle quickly the whole time, you;d need less. We did a fair amount of floating and observing the scenery. I’m so happy that we picked the 4 hour trip instead of the 6 hour trip because it was a lot more exhausting than I had expected.
The price was reasonable. The changing rooms weren’t great but at least they had them. The «rapids» were pretty tame and sometimes we got hung up on the rocks, but it wasn’t too bad. They sell ice and have a little shop with stuff like water shoes and sodas. All and all it was a great time and I highly recommend it for beginner kayakers. Experienced kayakers looking for a white water adventure would be bored.
–I forgot to mention that they allow you to bring your dog — I didn’t, but next time I will.

My then 7 yo son and myself took a tubing trip one day down the river and we had a blast. The price wasn’t outrageous, reasonable for what we were doing. I liked that I was able to keep my keys at the office on a hook with my own personal number so I didn’t lose them tubing down the river.
The FRC co. drove us to where we were going to get off and we took our tubes and waded in the water until we got deep enough that we could start floating. I had a blast my first time floating and their time frame of 4 hours was right on spot. I am glad we got a tube with extra rope on it so I was able to tie my son to my tube and we were never lost. We wore our life vests the whole time even though we saw other people take theirs off I was instilling in him safety.
Would definitely do it again!!!
Next time we are going to bring a cooler with drinks!

Precious and I used to go rafting down this section of the river all the time. It’s beautiful. The fishing is decent. It’s quiet. It’s peaceful. You can fish. You can swim. You can sun bathe. The water in this section is very calm. There are no real rapids. Parents can feel comfortable with young children.
Front Royal Canoe Co is located on a hill overlooking the south fork of the beautiful Shenandoah River. They can set you up with a raft, a canoe or a kayak or you can just get a tube and float. They are also fully stocked with anything you’ll need on the river from fishing gear to sunglasses.
In late summer the river is shallow and the flow is slow, and some of the sections of the river are very shallow to the point that you have to get out of your canoe/​kayak/​raft and walk it over some rocks. It’s not a big deal though.
Precious and I used to go with another company. One day when Precious was away visiting her mom, I decided to check out Front Royal Canoe. The only problem I had with Front Royal Canoe Co is that the trip I took did not end at the headquarters. It ended in Front Royal, and I had to depend on someone to pick me up. I stayed there for hours waiting and worrying whether anyone would ever show up. Finally late afternoon someone showed up. I never booked with them again.

Front Royal Canoe rents canoes, kayaks, rafts, and tubes and then carts all that equipment (and its riders) around the Shenandoah River area.
I decided last Friday morning that I wanted to go tubing that weekend. After checking the
site, I found that Saturday was sold out but Sunday was still available.
My friend and I arrived by Zipcar and we had a blast on the river. The nearly 2-​mile trip took 5 hours on the lazy Shenandoah, with many parts deep enough to swim in while others were shallow enough to require us to lift our fannies to get by.
Highly recommended!
Pros: A fully informative web site about what to take and expect
Cons: Be careful, their reservation form asks for CC# and it is not secure — and you must reserve in advance — so call in your CC#.