Kayak Tour on the Verde River
Recommended by 99% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Sedona, USA
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Immerse yourself in Arizona’s beautiful scenery—and enjoy a new way to explore—on this family-friendly kayaking tour along the Verde River. Pick between several departure times, grab your safety gear, and set off in a shuttle to the river with just a small group for company. This beginner-friendly tour includes a relaxing paddle down a 3.1-mile (5-kilometer) stretch of this river, and the chance to take on gentle mini rapids.
- Admire the lush scenery along the Verde River from the water’s edge
- This small-group tour guarantees hands-on guidance and training
- Safety gear, inflatable or hard kayaks, and shuttle transit included
- Get out in nature and enjoy a fun and lively way to explore
What's Included
- Professional safety-certified guides
- Shuttle driver and transport to and from the river
- Kayak, paddles, and PFD (Life vest)
- A smiling good time and memories to share!
- Guide Gratuity not included but always appreciated
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 551 N Main St, Cottonwood, AZ 86326, USA
CHECK IN AT OAC TOURS 45 MINUTES PRIOR TO LAUNCH TIME (10am tour = 915am check in. 2pm tour =115pm check in)551 N Main Street, Cottonwood AZ 86326. This is a group tour. Shuttle departs on the half hour. Late arrivals will need to reschedule. (Headed towards Old Town Cottonwood-ATVs parked roadside)
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Start your river adventure with a convenient check-in at Cottonwood, where you'll pick your kayak, and you can opt for a tandem kayak if you're traveling as a pair.
From there, a shuttle transfer ensures hassle-free transport to the river, sparing you the effort of carrying heavy gear, such as your kayak, paddle, and life jacket to the river. Paddle along a beginner-friendly, 3.1-mile (5-kilometer) stretch of the Verde River, where Arizona's landscape unfolds with gentle mini rapids adding to the excitement.
The tour wraps up where it began, so you can then continue your adventures without having to arrange transport from a new setting.
From there, a shuttle transfer ensures hassle-free transport to the river, sparing you the effort of carrying heavy gear, such as your kayak, paddle, and life jacket to the river. Paddle along a beginner-friendly, 3.1-mile (5-kilometer) stretch of the Verde River, where Arizona's landscape unfolds with gentle mini rapids adding to the excitement.
The tour wraps up where it began, so you can then continue your adventures without having to arrange transport from a new setting.
551 N Main St (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Blaine was our guide and he was amazing. He was fun, informative and made the trip worthwhile. The staff that checked us in and picked us up after the excursion were amazing as well. I would recommend this to anyone visiting the Sedona area.
Reviews
5.0
based on 679 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
We had a great time on the River. Maverick and Lawrence were our guides. They were very personable, had interesting stories to tell and made sure we had fun. We learned a lot about the area’s history, the land and wildlife. Maverick had a wealth of knowledge. We had an amazing time! Thank you guy!
I went in to this experience knowing I’d be pushing myself out of my comfort zone, and ended up wanting to do it again. Very well organized, the 3 guides were so supportive of the newbies, knowledgeable and entertaining, it was the perfect experience for someone who had never kayaked before. Highly recommend!!
This was such a fun experience - great way to see the area and Ken is an amazing guide - and he took lots of great pictures of us so we were all fully present! 10/10 and the rapids were much more fun than scary :)
We had a great morning on the river with Ken! He is a wonderful guide-and being a guide myself that is high praise!
Great experience overall from the communication, information before heading to the river and the knowledge of the fauna and animals we saw along the way. I highly recommend!!
This an awesome trip for anyone that has kids. We took ours ages 9&12 and they it was awesome. They can’t stop talking about it
The company was great and the employees even better. On our way to the river, the van driver and our kayak guide told us interesting things about the history of the area. The kayaking was very enjoyable and I recommend it to beginners and medium users.
I had a wonderful experience. I've gone kayaking before but nothing like this. The verde river has some rapid flow areas that was so fun to paddle thru. Our guide was informative and knowledgeable of how the river flows. Everyone was friendly and professional.
We had the BEST time! The guides were so incredibly kind and we had such a memorable experience. My 13 year old son probably spent more time in the water than in his kayak (lol) and the guides encouraged his exploration. It was calm enough for a nonathletic mama and adventurous enough for a teenaged adventurer. Highly recommend for everyone!!
This was a fun and enjoyable activity to do while in the Sedona area, great for groups, families or couples. We went on a hot day and had a wonderful guide, Nicholas to ourselves. The kayaking was a good mixture of easy paddling and riding some fun rapids which Nicholas expertly guided us through. He is very knowledgeable of the river and tailored the trip to our abilities. Would highly recommend this activity.
Guides were incredibly knowledgeable and fun… tour took about 3 hours, not too physically challenging, bring sunscreen!
Awesome! 25th Anninersary on the River...a little Muddy...water was refreshing, rapids were just enough you felt like you could do it, it was our first time, they made it fun, they took great pictures. Overall great time...we will be back. Thank you!
Guides were great, knowledgeable and very friendly. They also took lots of photos that were available at no cost. It was a fun afternoon.
This is a super fun guided kayaking tour with small whitewater rapids. From start to finish the communication was great. It was easy to find the tour office, we knew what to bring and wear. The guides explained how to paddle and what to do all along the river. In addition they were knowledgeable and spoke of the history, nature and topography of the area. Plus they took pictures of us which they provided for free hours after the tour. Thank you for a great time and a great memory!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you Melinda! Were so happy to hear you enjoyed the experience and photos. We hope youll join us again in the future.
This was an amazing experience. So worth the time and money. Especially on hot days when you want to cool off. The rapids were very fun and not too scary. The staff was amazing. They took many pictures and shared with us at the end. They were also so kind and pointed out other focal points we would not have noticed. Also, they were with us on each rapid to make sure we didn’t get stuck on a rock or need assistance. I could not recommend this experience enough. 10/10
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for the stellar review April! We hope you will join us again in the future.
Lots of fun and wonderful, knowledgeable guides. Highly recommend for families, couples, or anyone else
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you so very much Jocelyn! We hope you'll come back and join us again.
This was a solid 5-star experience. I took my 12-year-old daughter and she loved it. We took a tandem kayak and she was able to keep up just fine. Our guide Ken was super friendly and explained things really well. He was knowledgeable about the area, including the history and the wildlife. The weather was perfect and the water felt great. They have anything you could need in the shop. They even took action shots, which were awesome! The only regret I have is that I didn’t bring my camera/phone to take my own pictures (they have waterproof bags to rent to keep it dry). The pictures they provided were fantastic, but I would like to have some other shots of the surroundings/landscape. That was my decision and OAC is not to blame for that. All in all this was a terrific adventure and I would highly recommend it.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for the wonderful review and insight Joshua! Will definitely take the landscape shots into account going forward. So happy to hear you enjoyed the experience!
Great experience! Guide was knowledgeable in both kayaking as well as the native flora, fauna, history, and anthropology! Did they get folks from all different skill levels, and the guide demonstrated patience and gave good instruction to begin beginners. Highly recommended!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank for the review Will!so happy to hear you enjoyed all the river has to offer!
It was a great time. The guides were fantastic. The rapids were wonderful.. definitely would recommend this to anyone
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you for the kind words Lorenzo!
Organized for my teenage son and his friends, they had a great time! We went last year and really enjoyed it. Guides are great, they are skilled and friendly with lots of local history to share. :)
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you Ronna! So happy to hear they enjoyed the experience.
When I tried kayaking for the second time, it was still very challenging because the first time I ever did it, I flipped over many times. This time, however, the two guides were excellent and made me feel very safe and comfortable, so I was able to enjoy the experience. I had a great time and really enjoyed it. I'll definitely come back and do it again. Thank you!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for wonderful review Takeshi!
Was a great excursion, beautiful location, great guides, very well executed. Only downside was significant delay/slowness due to large number of first timers in our group. Nothing really that can be done about that, other than perhaps trying to split group by skill level and let those with some experience go ahead. They take pictures as well which is great! Again, a great trip and would highly recommend for a relaxing couple of hours on the river with a little bit of excitement from the class 1 and class 2 rapids.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you Daniel! Were so happy you enjoy the experience hope you'll join us again soon.
This was exceptional!! Fun guides, great company!!
Very reasonably priced! They even take picctures!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you Janel!
The river was a great place to be on a hot day. The scenery was lovely and we even got in a swim. The guide was fun and we felt safe the whole time.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for the wonderful review Sandra! The river is definitely a good time and a great place to cool down at!
Our guide Craig was excellent! He took lots of pictures that were shared. He assisted us as needed. I would reconnect this experience for all ages.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you Betty! Craig is awesome and were so happy he made your trip enjoyable!
We had never kayaked before and this group was absolutely fantastic. First, our guide (Maverick) was the best! He was kind, helpful, and knowledgeable. He was kind when he didn't make any of us feel badly about our skills.. There were several of us that got stuck in the rocks a few times. He helped us all by telling us which sides of the river to stay on and by helping me out of the kayak at the end. He was very knowledgeable about local lore (Jerome stories, mining stories, information about the different birds and frees/flowers we saw, etc. The company is great too. We left on-time. The shuttle service was great. The equipment was quality, and everyone was friendly. We 100% recommend!!!!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
So happy you enjoyed the experience and local knowledge from Maverick! Much apperciate the recommendation as well!
My husband, two adult sons, and I enjoyed this trip so much. Our guides were amazing. They kept us safe and made sure we had fun :-) The water squirrels added an unexpected level of excitement.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
So happy you enjoyed the experience! Hope you'll join us again.
The tour guides did a wonderful job of explaining what to expect and how to maneuver through specific areas along the river.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you for the wonderful review Crystal!
Ken and Jai were fabulous!! We had the best time and it was our kids first time kayaking, they loved it!!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
So happy to hear everyone in your party enjoyed the experience! Hope yall will join us again.
Fantastic guides that made the trip fun and educational. The water guns were a huge bonus! Our family with two teens had a blast.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you Jessica! So happy to be a part of your family experience and do hope you'll join us again.
Definitely a must when near SEDONA! What a great time! Our guides were great and definitely made for a memorable day! Thank you!
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for the wonderful words Jan! We are happy to be apart of the memories and hope you'll come back again.
Member Pricing
From
$109.25
per personWas $115.00(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Kayak Tour on the Verde River
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