Rowing Dock Reviews

Will never return. Reservation says we can get on the water at 7pm but the other kayaks don't return until 7. Didn't get on the water until closer to eight. What a shame of this establishments failed management. There were people in line that were refused 1 for 1 swaps with others. Management days it isn't possible, a lie, when we can simply just trade out wristbands and everything is fine. Pathetic. Go to Austin Paddle Sports instead.

really friendly rental place, they take the time to explain your options and they have a good variety of products for rent, from the front desk to the people at the dock, I can't say enough good things about them, the location in accessible and there are cold drinks for purchase.

Nice outfitter with lots of things that float (kyaks, etc.). On nice days expect it to be packed.

Great place to rent kayaks and canoes, right next to Lady Bird Lake and Zilker Park. There is a parking lot in the front. The reception sells/rents water bottles/Gatorade, waterproof/floatable bags if you dont have one. The staff is friendly and the rates are reasonable (esp for a whole day rental).

Good price and location
Friendly service too

have been here twice. prices are quite decent and they have punch cards which give you a lower rate. found nothing amiss with the kayaks or the oars.

The best rental for kayak and other like items for summer

Amazing friendly staff, guided properly as I was visiting with kids and wasn t sure with type of kayak or canoe to take
The place was well organized and I was a bit reluctant in the beginning to try it out but later we loved every bit of the activity and the rowing we did
The equipment was well maintained
Would highly recommend this place, fun activity with kids or yourself.
Make sure to bring sunscreen
Parking was free

Their kayaks are in great shape and the people are very helpful.

Best customer service I ve ever experienced. Ordered gift certificates not realizing that my address associated with PayPal was outdated. When I contacted Rowing Dock they went above and beyond to fix the issue that was 100% my fault. Received the gift cards today and I can t wait to get on the water! Thank you! My partner is EXTREMELY happy with her gifts!

Loved the music playing. Enjoyed the price and the view of the city. Overall though it's your typical canoe renting experience. Nothing more. Nothing less. Row into the wind on your way out. It will make your return trip easier.

Best time ever. $25 an hour for a canoe to hold my husband and I and our border collie. If you row down far enough, there's an off the leash dog park! From the dock, you row to your left to get to it. Excellent staff, helpful and efficient.

Great prices and friendly staff! There are plenty of kayaks, SUPs, and canoes to go around. The dock is very clean and organized. We had a blast!

Do not go here early on a Saturday, you will wait forever even though there are so many employees working. It seems to move at a snails pace, like you just came out of an early meditation and smoked some indica with your boss before clocking in. No sense of urgency and over priced. They will really round up with your time rather than down like most other rental places. The best time to go is early morning, early in the week when there s no one else there except all the privileged terry-town and west lake ladies doing yoga on the corner of the dock. They have the best dock placement west of downtown it s like you are not in the middle of a city but rather in a secluded river valley! It s gorgeous really and makes it worth all the ughhhh-ness... PS just get your own inflatable and DO NOT USE THEIR PORT-A-POTTIES

Really great experience to do this on a weekday. We went out on early May and a little earlier than most (10am) and it was perfectly peaceful, upon return (two hours later) there were a line. Considering the weather, I would suggest going on the earlier side of the day.

A little pricey and I didn't see them wipe down jackets/equipment in between use

We took kayaks out on the water and it was great! Staff is so friendly and equipment is in good shape!

This was a great launch and rental place. Friendly staff, reasonable prices, and amazing views. We rented four kayaks for the day and went out to Redbud, just a mile away. I'd highly recommend this to anyone looking for a fun way to spend a day in Austin.

Trying to adapt to the Austinite life, when I moved to Austin one of the first things I did was find an outdoor hobbie, Rowing Dock gives me the chance to spend time with friends on Townlake, I enjoy the water at a great affordable price. Definitely recommend it to visitors during a sunny day.

Just rented a kayak and two paddle boards, while they were nice and well maintained, they charged us for an hour and a half, when we were only out there for 65 minutes, I even showed them proof on my watch but they made no attempt. It easily took us an extra 15 minutes to get out on the water after they checked us in...which I don't think anybody should be charged for. There are many other kayak and SUP options, pick one of those.

We always come here when we are in town and we have a great time!

Great place to take your kids everyone was friendly and the view is beautiful.

I had a great time at the Rowing Dock! The staff is friendly & helpful, and it's located in a perfect place for kayaking, canoeing, etc. Going west takes you on a more solitary route up the river, whereas going east allows you to join other people on the river and get a great view of the skyline! Highly recommend.

This place takes great care of their staff, their customers, and the community. They offer nice equipment and fair rental rates. They have a parking lot, which most of the other concessions on Lady Bird Lake don't offer, and their location is really clean and pretty. This location is the only rental place west of Mopac so there is much less traffic on their end of the lake. Less than a mile west takes you to Red Bud Island where you can see the dogs playing and jumping into the lake. You can also head east to see the downtown skyline or head all the way to congress to see the bats. The Rowing Dock staff is nice and they offer a quick and easy rental process.

The company I work for allows us to travel to different states my coworker lives in South Carolina as I live in Florida we both got to enjoy lady bird lake because of rowing dock we both got time off but are constantly talking about getting back to rowing dock a piece of Austin that everyone should enjoy

Went on a Monday was very peaceful. Staff was helpful and friendly

I really enjoyed my time here with a Meetup group. Even though it rained at times, it was a great experience.

Things I love:

They have the most wonderful staff, the dock is organized and clean and the general facility is great. The water craft are in great condition as well.

Things that could be better:

Wish they had better bathroom facilities. They have 3 porta potties which do the job. However a better bathroom for changing, cleaning, locker rooms would be pretty awesome.

Good customer service. First timer and I enjoyed myself.

Went for the Bogo event if you bring your dog along! Great sales special! The staff was super helpful, didn't have any issues with the equipment either. Will definitely be back!

Went kayaking for the first time today! They were very kind and gave me great tips before heading out on the water.

Easy to get to, parking can get a bit dicey on weekends, but overall a great way to spend $20 and get a solid hour of beautiful views and exercise on the lake.

After 6 weeks in quarantine, some time on the lake was much needed. Booked myself two one hour slots for this morning and it was amazing. The way the staff has adjusted their system to allow everyone to safely enjoy some time outdoors is awesome and they all were so friendly and helpful! The dock is quite close to the view of the city skyline and you can get there very quickly. Can t wait for my next visit!

Fun and friendly! Had a great time! We rented their paddleboards and kayaks. Awesomeness!

Great Location , Fun place to go to paddleboard, Canoe or Kayack

Had such a blast! The staff was very friendly and helpful!!

Beautiful spot to get a kayak. A deal if you can find a Groupon or Living Social.

Friendly staff, easy check in/out, and we had a blast. Our 6 year old had an amazing time and the staff made him feel safe getting in the canoe. Will definitely be going back!!

Out of the 2 kayak rental places in austin I have tried I prefer this one. The Kayaks were a little nicer, and I think it's a little less known making it less busy.

Arrive before 6PM or 1 hour before sunset to avoid crowds & if you want to rent a kayak.

Always fun! Great way to enjoy a sunny Austin day. Plus they host a lot of cool events like college night and dog nights. Parking can be tricky, but you can always park under the bridge and make the short walk down the hill.

The first kayak I received was out of balance and turned around. The second kayak was good.

I love this place! They are so nice and helpful. They have a large supply of boards, kayaks, and other ways to get in the water on a hot day! They also have the best prices in town for SUP. Try the full moon SUP while the bats fly overhead!

Everything about that place is smazing! Great prices as well

First experiencing canoeing, it s a must do in Austin. Lady bird lake was amazing.

Yappie hour on Tuesday evenings is great to meet members in the community who love kayaking and paddle-boarding, especially with dogs. This is also the dock where Stand Up Paddle-boarding (SUP) yoga departs from with various yoga groups around Austin. This is my favorite place to disembark from weather you're begining or an experienced rower, no fees for load in/out with your own board/kayak/canoe. It's right down the water from a few rope swings and Red Bud Isle dog park.

Great place for Kayaking and SUP. Staff is wonderful. Every time we've been there its been a great experience.

Great experience! Well worth the trip. Was able to paddle down to the city center and back within an hour, but if you're looking for a more leisurely trip you might want to take two hours. Will definitely be coming back!

Great experience at the perfect timing ! Sponsored experience by #uber and #acl2018 !!!! The rowing dock is the PERFECT place to rent canoes, kayaks, and stand up paddle boards in Austin.

After my experience with them I couldn't ask for more !

I thought it was fantastic. I bought a Groupon for $14.00 and I was allowed either a paddle board, kyak, or canoe for two hours. I choose the canoe and took both of my dogs out. Please be cautious of your time and return the boat within the two hours. They keep your time with a timer on their computer if you go over the time allowed you will be charged.

Wasn't greeted when we arrived, staff seemed pretty friendly and the equipment was solid though. Decent experience.

Lots of fun playing on the river while it is so hot here.

This place is amazing
The staff are so nice will definitely be going back
Had such an amazing time

So cool, the ability the launch off into the Colorado river with kayaks, canoes, or paddle board's.

Good temperature and nice view! I want to go again!

It was drizzling when I arrived with a group of 5 teens. No storms were expected. 20 minutes into our rental, there was thunder and lightning. Group turned around and came back to the dock. I inquired about how they handled weather that cut short rentals. I was told that I had been warned it was raining (I hadn t ) and that their systems wouldn t allow our rental to resume later. Not thrilled with their disinterest in helping us have a memorable first-time experience. ll try other companies for future outings. Otherwise the staff were fine, just a bit perfunctory.

Edited to add: I appreciate their reply below and I will email them!
Edited again: I emailed the manager and received a very satisfactory reply today. It's great to feel heard and I am happy to try them again as they have made a real effort to reach out.

Best experience and wonderful supporters of Paddles for Puppies

The Rowing Dock was great! Location is perfect - if you take a right off the dock the city is right in front of you! The staff was extremely friendly and helpful - it was our first time to canoe and they gave great direction and answered our (probably stupid) questions. I will always recommend this place to my friends.

Great price with a small parking lot that is free. Seeing the area on weekends, I definitely recommend a weekday. My visit was on a Monday, and it was really chill and easy! Great kayaks.

This place was fantastic and made kayaking easy and not complicated for us first timers. Great tips on the website, accessible parking with spaces available, helpful staff, lots of options, and really helpful in terms of getting into your boat and on your way, and returning back. We did the single kayaks and highly recommend...considered the double but were pleased with our choice as we could still enjoy each other's company without having to coordinate rowing, ha....

My wife and I went SUPing for the first time and rented from here, service was fast and efficient. The boards were in great shape, and the staff was quick to give us pointers since we were new at it. Their prices seem reasonable, but we had a coupon so we haven't shopped around that much. The location on Lady Bird Lake is great too.

We got there at 7:05 and they wouldn t let us in to go paddle boarding. But they ended up letting the people in front of us in.

Over all this expirence was really fun I really liked the camp. The councilers and the fun activitities we did in the afternoon sesion were amazing. how ever during the morining it got pretty boring but i understand since it helped me to learn the art of rowning so overall it was amazing and i would defently go again.

I have rented kayaks here before - a bit pricey for some of the other locations in the area. However, I do want to come back to try rowing!

This was so much fun! We rented 2 paddle boards for an hour. We would ve gone for more than one hour but we got there late... be sure to get there at least 80 minutes before they close so you can at least get one hour of time in the water. We got lucky and we were the last customers for the day, then they closed the gate. Keep in mind that if the business hours says they close at 8 it really means they close at 7. So don t wait until the last minute! However, we still had a ton of fun... One hour is better than 0 hours!

I have taken my children twice this summer; ages 12, 14 and 16. I love that the staff here are friendly, good prices on rentals, they are conscious about COVID and practice good social distancing and wear masks. This past week, they required masks on until you were on the water. I appreciate that you can do something fun with your family and feel safe. I totally recommend!

Convenient parking, nice facilities, friendly people, great price. In two hours of leisurely paddling in a double kayak we made it to the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge and back (a little over 2 miles total). That was with lots of resting and floating. And mostly me paddling :)