Anderson's Outdoor Adventures Santa Fe River Park
Anderson's Outdoor Adventures Santa Fe River Park
Anderson's Outdoor Adventures Santa Fe River Park
4
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
About
With on-site canoe,kayak,tube, and paddle board rentals Santa Fe River Park is a prime attraction in High Springs FL. A Gilchrist County park located on the scenic Santa Fe River in the heart of springs country is home to Anderson's Outdoor Adventures who offers full service canoes,kayaks,paddle boards, and tubes 365 days per year covering over 55 miles of river. This is a great place to take a river trip or guided tour!
Duration: More than 3 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
19 reviews
Excellent
13
Very good
1
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
2
Lynae D
Rogers, AR18 contributions
Jan 2022 • Couples
What a wonderful, enjoyable day kayaking the Santa Fe River with friends. Anderson's Outdoor Adventures provided the kayaks and drove us to the drop off point. A little over three hours later we were back at our cars...with memories galore of the various springs along the way. Thank you for a real experience.
Written January 29, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Deanna S
3 contributions
Jun 2021
Excellent, friendly service from AOA on the Santa Fe River. We went on a Thursday so no crowds. Quickly departed on the shuttle to Poe Springs, which I would recommend as a drop in. The tranquility on this part of the island was a favorite. We brought a seat cushion because we use one normally with our own kayaks and the seat is more for back support than comfort. Water was beautiful and refreshing to dip into. The current of the river made paddling effortless. The fact you finish where your car is waiting for you with AOA, no hassle of waiting to be picked up, clean roomy restrooms to change in before leaving, friendly staff to get your kayaks made this all a great experience.
Written June 18, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lisa B
3 contributions
Sep 2020 • Family
The entire trip was awesome! I totally recommend!!! Jay was the best..he explained everything and answered all my stupid questions. We rented 4 kayaks and had a blast visiting all of the springs. AOA made everything go smoothly THANK YOU!!!
Written September 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pasherry
United States1,154 contributions
Jan 2022 • Friends
Very easy to book equipment or shuttle service online. Cost is reasonable. We used the shuttle only and were pleased at the ease and no hassle service. Driver was friendly and answered all questions about the river. Nice restrooms at High Springs. Put in at Poe Springs and leisurely paddled on the Santa Fe River for about 3.5 hrs back to our vehicles.
Written January 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
saguilar68
Tampa, FL33 contributions
Jul 2023 • Couples
I’ve read some of the other reviews and have to agree that this company has some work to do. When I made the reservation online, I had a question and called the number listed. A friendly and seemingly professional man helped me, so I had high expectations for the level of customer service. Let’s just say it went steadily downhill from that call to the end of our trip. We arrived 15 minutes ahead of time as requested. We checked in and I asked the young man if he happened to have a ziplock bag I could use for our car fob (we forgot ours). He offered to sell me a phone case or said I could leave the fob with him. He assured me he was there all day, so nothing to worry about. So I left the key. We finally left out about 30 minutes past our scheduled departure. A different young man drove us to where we would put in. He off loaded the kayaks and put them on the ramp, some facing the wrong way (strangers on the trip helped one another right their vessels). As mentioned in other reviews, there was little to no direction or safety instruction. We were just told what to look for to recognize the end of our paddle and told that someone would be either at the ramp or at the kiosk when we returned. Neither of these things turned out to be true. We arrived just as a storm approached and no one was to be found. We waited a good while under a park shelter for the storm to pass. Still no one around. Another visitor finally called the number (they had his driver’s license) and was assured someone would be right there ( remember they had my car key). We waited another 1/2 hour before calling again. The young lady who answered the phone said, “there’s no need to stay with your boats.” I explained again that neither of us could leave without our key and our ID. She said she’d send someone (again, remember he assured me he’d be there all day). Someone finally showed up with little more than a lackluster apology. What should have been the end to a nice day turned out to be a long, hot, soggy wait for folks who should have been there when we returned. I know it’s hard to find good employees these days, but in this kind of business, customer service and customer safety should be highly valued. I’m not sure that’s currently happening here. Also, we did the 8 springs in 8 miles trip. The only spring we actually saw (clear water/white Sandy bottom) was posted don’t walk in this spring, so don’t expect that you will actually have access to swimming in the springs on this paddle and prepare for huge/ loud crowds when you pass through the Ginnie Springs area.
Written July 17, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
burnboy
Biloxi, MS83 contributions
Jul 2023 • Couples
So I will start with the river trip itself. We did 8 springs in 8 miles. It was mostly fun except for a 2 mile area around Ginny Springs which was overly crowded with tubers drinking and smoking. Outside of that area, is was relaxing, fun, and well worth the money.
As for AOA as a company, it was a disaster in my opinion. We showed up and the first employees arrived at 9:15 AM. We eventually found out one of their trailers had a flat. We were booked for a 9:45 trip that left at 10:30. We almost missed the bus because no one was telling us where to be or when. The bus driver didn't check to see if he had the right people or even number of people on the bus. I had to stand the entire ride because there weren't enough seats for people. In general, I was disappointed with their organization and communication.
As much as I enjoyed the kayaking, I won't be using this company again.
As for AOA as a company, it was a disaster in my opinion. We showed up and the first employees arrived at 9:15 AM. We eventually found out one of their trailers had a flat. We were booked for a 9:45 trip that left at 10:30. We almost missed the bus because no one was telling us where to be or when. The bus driver didn't check to see if he had the right people or even number of people on the bus. I had to stand the entire ride because there weren't enough seats for people. In general, I was disappointed with their organization and communication.
As much as I enjoyed the kayaking, I won't be using this company again.
Written July 13, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CathySalustri
Gulfport, FL73 contributions
Jun 2022
1. Took several phone calls from two of our staff to secure reservation. We spent time on the phone when we did get through to Jay explaining that we had a group of seniors and we wanted an easy kayak for them.
2. When we needed to alter reservations, we received no return phone call.
3. When we arrived and asked for a change to the reservation we were told absolutely not. We pointed out that we called the number given to us to try and do this in advance, but were told that didn't change anything as we left a message when the outfitter wasn't open.
4. When we launched, no one explained safety gear, paddling procedures, that the kayaks had foot pedals, or where we would take out. When we asked for a map or chart, we were told to find one on our phones.
5. When kayaker had medical issue (heat exhaustion, accelerated heartbeat, and leg cramping), which manifested in the 1/4 mile before the spring run at at Gilchrist Springs, Deacon (the bright spot of the entire trip) tried to get someone to pick him up and was told we should switch his kayak and that no one would come get the person.
6. Deacon (again, the bright spot, perhaps put this kid in charge) tried, without success, to fix the broken seat for the kayaker in distress. He also showed him how to use the foot pedals to help keep the seat from sliding. He did offer to switch kayaks, putting the distressed kayaker in a tandem with one of the group leaders. He clearly wanted to do more and had empathy, but anything else was clearly above his pay grade. This brought the total of boats on the water down by one (which will come into play in a moment)
7. No one mentioned the rapids. Fairly mild for seasoned and competent kayakers, but for a group of seniors who stated they were seeking an easy paddle, a mention of this when Jay told us which would work would have been advisable.
8. When we reach the take-out, one of the men working commented that he thought the seat of the kayak in question (distressed kayaker) might have been broken when he set out the boats at the launch that morning. If so, why did no one attempt to remedy this at the time?
9. In response to this, I explained we had switched two kayakers to a tandem at Gilchrist, (at this point, the trip is over) to which he replied, "Oh, so that's why there's one less kayak coming back. I wondered about that." So... he noticed we were short a boat but didn't wonder or question as to what happened to the boat? What if someone had gone missing? Does this outfitter have any sort of safety protocols in place?
10. We called after roughly 30 minutes waiting to get picked up at the end of the run. That appears to be when someone send the van to get us, even though staff assured us when we took out of the river someone was already on the way.
We will not use any AOA services again.
10.
2. When we needed to alter reservations, we received no return phone call.
3. When we arrived and asked for a change to the reservation we were told absolutely not. We pointed out that we called the number given to us to try and do this in advance, but were told that didn't change anything as we left a message when the outfitter wasn't open.
4. When we launched, no one explained safety gear, paddling procedures, that the kayaks had foot pedals, or where we would take out. When we asked for a map or chart, we were told to find one on our phones.
5. When kayaker had medical issue (heat exhaustion, accelerated heartbeat, and leg cramping), which manifested in the 1/4 mile before the spring run at at Gilchrist Springs, Deacon (the bright spot of the entire trip) tried to get someone to pick him up and was told we should switch his kayak and that no one would come get the person.
6. Deacon (again, the bright spot, perhaps put this kid in charge) tried, without success, to fix the broken seat for the kayaker in distress. He also showed him how to use the foot pedals to help keep the seat from sliding. He did offer to switch kayaks, putting the distressed kayaker in a tandem with one of the group leaders. He clearly wanted to do more and had empathy, but anything else was clearly above his pay grade. This brought the total of boats on the water down by one (which will come into play in a moment)
7. No one mentioned the rapids. Fairly mild for seasoned and competent kayakers, but for a group of seniors who stated they were seeking an easy paddle, a mention of this when Jay told us which would work would have been advisable.
8. When we reach the take-out, one of the men working commented that he thought the seat of the kayak in question (distressed kayaker) might have been broken when he set out the boats at the launch that morning. If so, why did no one attempt to remedy this at the time?
9. In response to this, I explained we had switched two kayakers to a tandem at Gilchrist, (at this point, the trip is over) to which he replied, "Oh, so that's why there's one less kayak coming back. I wondered about that." So... he noticed we were short a boat but didn't wonder or question as to what happened to the boat? What if someone had gone missing? Does this outfitter have any sort of safety protocols in place?
10. We called after roughly 30 minutes waiting to get picked up at the end of the run. That appears to be when someone send the van to get us, even though staff assured us when we took out of the river someone was already on the way.
We will not use any AOA services again.
10.
Written June 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sandi N
Panama City, FL36 contributions
Oct 2020 • Solo
Fantastic customer service at a great price. Friendly and knowledgeable. Highly recommend these people for a bucket list trip down the Santa Fe River! A must do experience.
Written October 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Edward G
Clearwater, FL20 contributions
Sep 2018 • Couples
We had a wonderful kayak trip down the beautiful Historic Suwanee River. Booked with AOAs, Charlie picked us up at our campsite at Fanning Springs, dropped us off at Hart Springs and gave us an in depth descriptive talk about the area and wildlife. He then loaded us up with all the safety equipment and instructed us on use and direction we should steer the Kayaks. After paddling all day and a great time we ended up at our campsite. Charlie then picked the kayaks up without any trouble at all. This was a great part of our trip to the Suwanee River and ANDERSON OUTDOOR ADVENTURES helped make it possible....THANKS Charlie.
Did I mention we never had to mess with the kayaks? Charlie did it all.
Did I mention we never had to mess with the kayaks? Charlie did it all.
Written September 19, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Courtney
Cleveland, OH2 contributions
Jan 2024 • Couples
Doing the 8 in 8 kayak experience was such an amazing experience -- absolutely worth the trip! Tim was incredibly helpful and the whole experience was seamless. Being able to kayak 8 miles down the river without having to turn around and kayak against current 8 miles again was priceless. We will definitely be recommending this adventure to everyone we know!
Written January 28, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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