river ranch resort

We took our family for a weekend float trip at River Ranch. We have been on other floats and figured we would try out River Ranch. So happy we did! They had absolutely everything one could need available. We stayed in a 7 person cabin. It worked great for our family. Kids loved the bunks. The float was a blast! We will definitely return!

We just came back from our third trip to River Ranch. It's just about 2 and half hours from south Kansas City. It's been a cool summer and the river had good water in it, we only had to get out once. We took the 4 mile float with our 6, 4 and 2 year olds. They did amazingly well. At the campground, there is the usual stuff. Playground, volleyball, they used to have a min-golf course, but it was torn out. There are many options for places to stay. They have large cabins, smaller cabins, group camping with covered picnic tables, a late night loop, then a large primitive loop (though some of those are electric). The store is huge, has everything you would need. They have a solid breakfast buffet, a deli and bar-b-que inside. They also deliver pizza on Friday and Saturday nights.If you do have a family, I would suggest a Sunday night or weekday float. We got down Saturday afternoon and floated on Sunday.

This is an annual trip we make every year for our Anniversary. We arrived on Wednesday night just the two of us. Quickest easiest check in EVER. On Friday we had another 14 people come to stay and float with us for the weekend. Every single staff member was so helpful and POLITE!!! Even when we got too loud at our campsite (imagine 16 people sitting around a fire enjoying the evening trying to talk over one another, I'm sure we were a little loud) the security was not rude! They just asked us to quiet down (and we did). Manager Joshua H. is a very helpful guy! Floating the Elk River at Noel, MO is our place and River Ranch has ALWAYS been our outfitter CAUSE they do it RIGHT! They are friendly, fun to talk to, camping and cabin accommodations are so clean and well taken care of IT'S AN AMAZING PLACE! They have beautiful grounds with sand volleyball, a playground and wonderful river access for fishing or swimming. Checkout their website and you'll see River Ranch has it all. Lodging, restaurant, drinks, snacks, canoes, rafts, kayaks, water bugs, supplies, clothing, and ICE! You never even have to leave the resort! I awarded them an OUTSTANDING TRIPADVISOR AWARD!!! They earned every way!

We stayed on a Monday night. We were lucky to pretty much have the place to ourselves. The driver who took us upstream said they had 1800 the weekend before we got there. Beautiful facility. Take nets for the kids to catch minnows at the swim dock. Decent showers. I recommend the Canoe Landing. On the river and perfectly nested between bathrooms and the swim dock. Sand volleyball and playground too. The sign says it takes 4-5 hours to do their 5 mile float. Be advised it takes longer in a raft. Took us 7 hours, but we had fun! Would recommend taking your own kids life jackets. Water was so clear we could see our feet. My husbands Samsung galaxy was in roam the entire time. My Iphone was not in roam. Sweet man drove us upstream and gave us a bag to put our trash in. We would return. Saw lots of turtles. 11 and 7 year old had wonderful time!

The water is clear, campgrounds are clean, no issues with mesquites and staff is amazing. Tips- you do need quarters for the shower, I saw 3 more snakes than I would have preferred while floating and don't single tub this river!

A Summer weekend with Family and Friends enjoying nature!! Just what we all need in our lives!! Floating the Elk River at Noel, MO is our place and River Ranch has ALWAYS been our outfitter CAUSE they do it RIGHT! They are friendly, fun to talk to and ACCOMMODATIONS ARE FANTASTIC! Checkout their website and you'll see River Ranch has it all, for enjoying 'back to nature' Whether you plan weekday or weekend float the atmosphere is wonderful! Lodging, food(great breakfast,sandwiches,pizza), drinks, snacks,canoes, rafts, kayaks, supplies, clothing, etc.

We booked our trip at the last minute on the July 4th holiday weekend. Being our first time here, we asked the staff over the phone to pick a site that would be good for a family with 2 young children. I have to say, they did a great job. We drove the campground during the weekend and determined that we would want to stay in the same vicinity again. We were on Wilderness Island near the North Beach. It was the least crowded and most family oriented area. There is fishing for the kids, access to the river, not much traffic. We floated on the 4th (Friday) and it wasn't crowded, thank goodness. We did a raft and an 8 mile. The 8 mile was about 3 miles too long for us. We will do the 5 mile next time and probably do kayaks. We will also make sure we go on a weekday or Sunday. Saturday is not appropriate for young children. I'm sure it's a great time when your kidless. The security was very impressive. Never felt unsafe. They made their presence known and enforced the rules. The Sheriff drove through numerous times. The resort staff made the rounds as well. Very impressed and thankful. We will definitely be back! Kids have already asked if we can come back in a month. We might. It was great family fun! Thanks River Ranch Resort for making our family camping trip a safe and enjoyable time.

I'd like to start off my review by saying: it's Memorial Day Weekend and I get that. 100% understand that my expectations of this place should be lowered during such a weekend. With that said - let me dive into this.Facility itself - Beautiful! Absolutely great. They have a store and also a resturaunt. I thought that was great. The campgrounds are clean and I saw security guards around a lot during the DAY (I'll get into night time in a bit). Also saw a sheriff drive through so that also made me feel pretty safe at the campsite. Float Trip - It was a little bit hectic and confusing loading up for the float trip. It may have been because the staff member in charge of loading the shuttles mispronounced a lot of people's last names. I wasnt very happy that from the time we checked in to the shuttle station to the time we actually got on the shuttle was about 30 minutes. When we finally got to the launch site via shuttle we were told to just pick a canoe and go. I liked that! No more waiting! The float (we did the 5 mile float) was interesting.. of course like I said it's Memorial Day weekend and so the river was pretty crowded and really loud. I've actually heard that the river is like this through the summer season for the most part. It has a "party reputation". It was still fun to float though! Camping - Probably the WORST place to camp if you are a couple looking for a relaxing weekend getaway to enjoy nature. Of course, you've got to take my bad luck into account. I made the reservation and was assigned to a campground next to the loudest group of campers in the entire campground. I get it... it's Memorial Day weekend.... let loose and have fun! But I feel as though when it's nearing 4am , common sense tells you to be quiet and let the neighboring campers sleep. I didn't see security all night except AFTER 2am when someone finally came over to our neighboring campers and asked them to be quiet. I was dissapointed in the enforcement of the rules printed on their website. It says "quiet time" is from 12am to 7am. I didn't get to sleep until 4:30 am when they finally went to sleep. But they woke up at 6:30 am and proceeded to be loud as heck again. For that reason I will probably never camp at this resort again.

I loved the canoeing on the Elk. They have really come up with a lot of services here for large groups including pictures, cabins, catered meals, buffets, store, and more. I didn't use any of those services. The canoes were great and newer looking. The water was flowing well and I didn't have to drag the canoe. They have a very attractive meeting/dining room overlooking the river.

Do not book this place in advance. There is hail and potentially a tornado today based on the weather forecast and they will not let us delay the trip. Today is 5/31/13 and here is the forecast:Windy with strong thunderstorms likely this afternoon. Damaging winds, large hail, and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 83F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 70%.If you book this place, I would suggest not booking it until the last minute. I am surprised they still expect us to come with hail and a tornado warning. And the surprising part is that I was just asking to delay the trip and not to cancel the trip. You would think they wouldn't care if they get their money this weekend or another weekend.

Nothing fancy, but your camping what do you expect. Security is great and my family always felt safe. Basic accomadations, some cabins needed some work and we lost water while we were ther but the staff was on it. Great fun just hope they comtinue to update the cabins.