Great staff! Very informed of the surrounding area and the river. Drove over 3 hours to get there and chose this place because of their website. It’s leaps and bounds ahead of their competitors as well as their prices. Found the place to be exceptional and the staff to be extremely friendly and helpful. Went with small children everything was accommodated. Had a great time on the river. Highly recommend this place if you want to to kayak whatever you need to do get a French Broad River

We used their shuttle service, but from the minute we arrived, they they handled everything, even unloaded our equipment for us. Everyone was friendly and knowledgeable. After the trip we enjoyed a great lunch and a drink at their riverside bar picnic tables watching the river run by. Easy online scheduling and payment. Highly recommended.

We had an amazing experience all the way around with French Broad Outfitters! I called before we rented to check the availability of boats and the type available. The staff was extremely friendly and accommodating. They answered all my questions, and then some! They were patient and pleasant! Rental prices were terrific, and their help loading was perfect! While we were loading, we bought a pair of sunglasses. While on the trip, the coating on the lenses started to peel. When we got back, we mentioned it to the folks inside. They were awesome! The lady behind the counter apologized, said it should never have happened and offered to let us exchange them right away! 100% professional outfit from top to bottom! As a kayaker with over 15 years experience on the river, I recommend French Broad Outfitters for your next trip!

Everyone at French Broad Outfitters was great for our 3 mile river tubing experience!! They were helpful, informative, and friendly. Booking online was easy and straightforward. We rented a tube for our cooler which was a great size to put our medium sized cooler and a dry bag that they provided for our phones. The bus ride over to the starting spot was short and instructions were clear on how to find the exit spot and safely exit. Staff was at the exit spot waiting to help us out of our tubes.

Great all around. The people we spoke to on the phone and in person were super helpful. The tubes themselves were comfy and the cup holders were a nice touch. The cooler tubes also fit 2 small coolers really well.If anyone is going I would recommend the blue tubes instead of the pink. We had some people in our group accidentally grab the pink and it got pretty hot for them.

Awesome! Went on a tubing trip with them on Labor Day. Called that morning to reserve and they squeezed us in. Well run, great location, guide couldnt have been nicer. There were a lot of trees down in the river due to recent storms so they sent a kayaker out to make sure people got through one section safely. Exiting was on a sandy mini-beach. Highly recommended.

Unsafe two days in a row. Injured tubers. No response from owners.We had ten tubers, ages 61 through 83, all in good shape. The safety instructions beforehand were that we HAD to exit at the designated spot or pick up down river would be dangerous. We were also told exactly where to guide the tubes and to stay in the tubes until staff came to get us (“you don’t know where the rocks are and our boys do). According to instructions, we were careful to guide our ten tubes plus another with a large cooler to the exact spot for pickup. NO ONE was there. Three of our ten hopped out into the current and tried to hold the eleven floats in place (had they continued, they could not have exited for miles), one falling and cutting both legs on the sharp rocks below.We were told that the “boys” who failed to do their job of ensuring a safe exit, had also failed to show for another group the day before.We requested that the owners, who were not around, call us to discuss. No call.

This our second tubing adventure. I most definitely enjoyed this one. Olivia who set up my reservation was so helpful and kept I. Contact with us before our trip. Had to cancel 9/4 but she got us a spot 9/5. I like how we have a information huddle prior to a quick 8 mins trillions down the road. Takes you through Asheville river park district so beautiful and to a very easily accessed send off area. The river was wide and smooth and enjoyed the scenery. Down fall traffic noise but not a deal breaker. The get out point was easy exit too which is nice. Will be return customer

Great experience while we were on vacation in Asheville. We are inexperienced kayakers and we did the 12 mile trip. I would recommend the shorter one for not as athletic people like ourselves, Its a lazy river and shallow for most of it althoughsome parts are deep. I would take sunscreen and a change of clothes if I ever go again. My husband fished and caught 3 small mouth bass. We saw some ducks with their babies and geese. It was definitely a fun time. There are parts of the river that have small white water rushing currents to be careful with. We didnt fall out but some people have as per the guide.

Great fun for the whole family!We took a group of 7 and we all had a blast! Cheap rates and fun for all ages! We definitely recommend this to anyone! We we’re running a little late and they were so patient with us. Thank you so much!

This was awesome! The workers were extremely helpful and nice! They got our group in on a busy day too so definitely call ahead to reserve your spot for ease. Highly recommend this tubing place!!! So fun!

Great time, excellent staff. Price point on spot.... Everyone in our party had a great time.

Took a high school group out on the French Broad and was thrilled with how easy this outfitter made it. Nicky in particular was so patient with our constantly changing logstics and they had everything locked and loaded for us. We had a blast and the equipment was good. Put in and take out were a breeze. Will definitely go back to them again!

I use FBO’s shuttle service regularly when I’m by myself or my friends and I just want the convenience. The staff is always professional, on time and helpful…especially with my inflatable SUP.

Incredibly kind and knowledgeable staff. Great little tour of the area on the shuttle ride. Trip exceeded my expectations in every way.

Used the shuttle service to do the 12 mile kayaking trip. It was a lot of fun and would love to do it again. Very easy to book and great communication.

Price was great for a 3 hr trip. The shuttle was short and sweet. The river was fun! Great experience!

We were doing a 3 mile tubing trip down the French Broad River. From the start it was clear that this business had no desire to take care of their customers- there was no parking and no where to store our belongings while on the river. Before we set out on the river, we were instructed not to get out at the tubes because at the end someone would be waiting for us to get us safely back to the dock. After a long (3 hour) trip down the French Broad river, we approached the exit point, lo and behold, no one was there. I had to get out of the tube to stop my group, or else we were going to be swept away down the river. The water is very quick at that point, and I was badly hurt as a result of the negligence shown by the employees at this business. What makes it worse is en route to our exit point, you can see that zen tubing has employees waiting directly in the water and that they have ropes which allow you to hang on. Needless to say, being hurt during my vacation without any follow up from the business owner shows that the carelessness trickles down from the top. If you want a positive, SAFE experience, try zen tubing- they had plenty of parking and attentive staff waiting to receive their customers at the end of their trip.

Four stara - would have liked to have them enforce the mask on the bus rule but our driver gave a little history on the ride to the drop off. The Broad was full and slow, great time, about 3 hours from start to finish.

Experience was amazing ...had a super fun time on the water ..will definitely do it again

Had a great time tubing with this business. Nice, orderly, and a breeze to work with

Loved it! The staff was great! Easy in and out. Highly recommend!

First true lazy river ride Ive been on (plus had a beer cooler) and the experience was great plus the employees were great (: more than 3 miles drifting on the French broad river which was nice and tranquil so dont worry. Honestly we winged it so no waterproof laniard for photos so I suggest you bring one and definitely rent the floater for your cooler.

Super helpful on the phone and even helped me work out a plan to tune with my 50lb dog! Excellent costumer service, Nicky!!!

Had a great time on the river today! French Broad Outfitters made it easy, everything you need for a good float!

So much fun. We will return.

Awesome time on the river. Malachi and Nicholas were awesome. Kayaks were super clean. Highly recommend this place!

Smooth process from online booking to day of arrival. Staff was responsive and on top of ensuring a great experience on the river.

It was a simple outdoor enjoyment. A smooth ride down the river.

The staff was great but the tubing experience really needed something more. It takes you down a very eclectic portion of the river and the launch area and especially the landing area little dangerous and can easily be passed by. Unfortunately, I had not read other reviews before I went. Definitely not an option for me my next time in town. Great store that definitely has other strengths in camping gear and many other rentals. But tubing not one of their strong points although the staff was very friendly and helpful.

Great disc selection and the river trip was fun.

Ive been shuttling with them for 3 years. It is my mini escape here in Asheville. Always pleasant service. I appreciate having them here. Cheers!

Very professional but the other group on the bus took all the minor floats for their adults because they had bottoms. We had 7 kids with us but we dealt with it.

My Girlfriend and I decided to do a multi-night float trip and we used this company to rent the canoe, paddles, pfds and a shuttle service. They did a great job, Marissa who was our driver for the shuttle met us their early and got us put in the water with ease. The equipment was perfect and the advice we got was even better. This is a very fun river to paddle down, though the land adjourning the shores is all privately owned so it wasnt as remote as other river trips Ive been on before. It was however, the perfect trip to take my girlfriend down for her first river trip. We will definitely be back to enjoy the french broad river again and we will be using this outfitters for any of our future needs.Also they have some pretty awesome merchandise that we of course had to buy upon completion of our trip.

We didn’t end up going out, however we had 3 calls over the phone trying to coordinate a trip and their customer service is A++. Cant wait to get back to Asheville and get out for an adventure

Great service and easy to find.

My husband and I rented kayaks here a few days ago. Although the river was nice and we had fun the service was awful! When we arrived I tried to use the restroom before leaving but couldn’t because there was literally feces everywhere. We were the only kayakers booked during our time slot and were told to wait outside for a safety briefing followed by a ride to the drop in. We watched tubers load up and leave only to continue waiting. Eventually we went back inside to find out the driver was supposed to take us as well, so someone else then took us. The driver told us that someone would be sitting on the banks to help us out with our kayaks upon return. The water is swift and you have to paddle into the sand to stop yourself. We see the guy and he sees us so I’m thinking it’s all good, but then he takes off up the stairs never to return!!!! My husband paddled in first and ended up tipping over and scratched up his leg. Thank goodness he was there to help me. All in all, the scenery was great but this place needs some attention to detail and customer service. After the fact I realized they ask you upon payment if you would like to tip your guide, won’t ever do that again!!

Im confident Ill get blasted by the owner for this review but I dont really care at this point. I saw another similar review to this and the owner really went off on the person. So heres my experience with this place... They LITERALLY wasted so much of my time and Im FURIOUS! I started calling this place last Thursday (yes its Labor Day Weekend so thats why I started calling the Thursday prior). We were in town for 8 days and just wanted to book a kayak tour while we were in town. Im not kidding when I tell you I called at least 30 times between Thursday and Tuesday. I left 2 emails and 2 voicemails and nothing. We read through the FAQ on the website and decided to just come on down from about 30 minutes away to see if we could schedule a tour (at our own risk knowing we might not be able to but were hopeful). Of course we get all the way there and theyre booked for the day (I bet if they could have answered their phones last week I wouldnt have had an issue). Im super irritated bc you could have the professionalism to return some sort of communication. Youre lack of professionalism costed me a day of running around for no reason. I would just like to personally thank you for ruining this day. We could have done another outdoor tour hiking or something but really wanted to kayak the river so we took a chance on your company. I would not recommend this place to anyone due to the lack of professionalism. Im super laid back but this is ridiculous... Now go ahead and blast me and tell me all about how this is my fault like you did with other people that didnt leave favorable reviews.

This place was great. We stopped in on the off-chance that they sold disc golf discs and were surprised at the selection they had in stock. Everybody was friendly, and the atmosphere was light and relaxed.

Good service and the kayaks we rented were very comfortable. Unfortunately we did not get a very good view of the Biltmore estate

Read good reviews that the staff was friendly and helpful but was disappointed. We were told that the staff would assist us with getting to the entry location on the river. Once we got off the bus the two young gentlemen did not assist us whatsoever. We were instructed by them to grab our own tube and were shown our location by simply pointing a finger, which we had a hard time finding on our own. We had to walk back to the entry point to ask for more details... When we paid the clerk we were asked if we would like to tip the workers who would be assisting us. We tipped them generously and looking back we don’t know what for. The young man did help us out at the end of the journey, but disappointed in the experience as a whole.

They did a great job. Helpful and too great care of us. They also wore masks like good people should but Im giving one less star because they let some customers get on the bus without wearing a mask.

A couple of friends and I spent the afternoon doing the 12 mile Asheville experience. We had an amazing time! The staff helped you get on your way and were happy to answer any questions. Halfway through we stopped at Hominy Creek for a quick drink (they have alcoholic and nonalcoholic options).The second half does have more tubes on the river, but that didnt detract from the experience at all. Everyone was really respectful of each other and there to have a good time. The staff was there to helped us get out at the end of the trip. Im already planning a return trip with my sisters!

Visited two times this summer. First trip was kayaking river arts district, 6 miles. Today was 12 mile biltmore experience, took 4.5 hours. Had a great time will return here often. Very friendly staff.

Relaxing and fun! We were worried about distancing on the shuttle bus, but they had no problem with us bringing two cars and shuttling ourselves. We left one car at the end point and followed the shuttle bus to the drop off point in our other car.

A great way to spend the afternoon - paddling or floating down the river. Easy river for beginners. Booking online was simple, the staff was friendly, and the trip left on time.

Great local disc golf shop

This was the second time we we out with them. Friendly, knowledgeable staff and excellent experience overall! Will HIGHLY recommend to others!!

Awesome selection of outdoor and river equipment.

Walked in there to get some discs for my kids. The owner keeps several stocked specifically for beginners and kids! Also runs a lost and found for the local course. These guys rock!

A kayak trip on the French Broad River is a perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon after visiting a couple of breweries. The excellent team at French Broad Outfitters was top-notch and provided all the equipment and info I needed for a good time on the river. Sadly, I managed to miss a left turn and went WAY WAY WAY past the takeout point. Many thanks to Lisa and Rob for being concerned and hanging around long after they should have gone home to make sure I got picked up and brought back safely. You guys are awesome - THANKS!

Nice shop friendly and knowledgeable staff.

I read several bad reviews about this business and have to say I was hesitant about booking with them, however I’m glad to say I was pleasantly surprised.STAFFThe staff was very polite, and helpful when checking us in. We had an 11:00 am reservation, and our river briefing began on time. We then traveled to the drop point and were in the water by 11:30. The staff loaded and unloaded all the boats and PFD’s. Staff pulled the boats to the waters edge and held the boat while we boarded and launched. At the end of the trip, staff was there to pull the boats out of the water. John answered all my questions about the trip.FACILITYIt was clean and the store had gear customers might need to purchase to make their trip better. The Porta-John was also very clean.EQUIPMENTThe kayaks and PFD’s were clean and serviceable. All staff members even wore the Covid masks when dealing with customers, per Gov. Coopers unconstitutional executive order. Everyone on the van wore masks as well during the trip to the drop point.SUMMARYI would recommend this business to anyone looking for a good simple trip on the river.

Google location for GPS was a little off and parking takes you slightly by surprise (look for Kayaks and cross the railroad into gravel parking, dont try to park in front of the little building). But the people were friendly and informative, the process was easy and the tubes were in great condition!

Great experience renting kayaks that we shuttled ourselves. They were friendly and helpful from start to finish.

Pretty awful customer service. Called 7 times to see if we could kayak. No one ever answered the phone and their mailbox is full, so you can’t even leave a message. Under 24 hours you can’t do online reservations, you have to call to book. Understandable, but have somebody answer your phones then?Never got to go but at least we know of one less place to try for further vacations

Great service got us right in and were careful with my personal paddle board, had a bad experience with a different company so I appreciated the care they took. Water was nice and cold.

We had planned on going tubing with one of the other places nearby. They turned us away and we landed at French broad outfitters. The staff was extremely nice and courteous. We got a little later start than normal, but they were very helpful with getting us floating down the river. The 2 girls at the front were very helpful and friendly and the other people who were shuttling us were great. I highly recommend using French Broad Outfitters for your tubing or kayaking trips, as we will be without a doubt.Some of us had our own tubes, so they charged $5 to shuttle us and blow our tubes up for us. The others who didnt they recommended buying a tube (which was much cheaper than expected) because we can come back and just pay the shuttle fee.The trip started out fairly crowded, but a few minutes after getting in the water, everyone spread out and it was a great trip down the river. It took us about 5 hours total to get back to the take out spot. It was a wonderful trip thanks to all the helpful staff at French Broad outfitters. Saturday was one of their busiest days of the season, and they were all still A+++. When you reach the take out spot, your car is parked less than 50 feet from where you get out.It was a wonderful trip thanks to all of the great staff and we all highly recommend them and will be using them again in the future! A+++++

Super fun! Make sure to be prepared for anything and bring something for the ducks to eat.

These guys were great. We did a four day, three night canoe trip down the French Broad River, in fact we just got off the river today and it was awesome. They outfited us and they were very helpful and down to earth. I highly recommend using them of you are in the area.

Our 2nd FBO tubing trip with our 9 yr old. Weve already booked another. We have had a blast both times. Theyre taking Covid19 protocols and procedures seriously without interfering with fun.

We were really excited about this trip and traveled almost two hours to tube. We made reservations for 10 am and were the first tubers there at 9:15 am. However, a larger group was allowed to board the ten seat bus before us (yes, there was only one small bus to shuttle tubers on a Saturday morning). There was no more room. Our bus ride to the river did not even begin for 51 minutes after our reservation time (10:51 am) despite being checked in since 9:15 am. No social distancing on the bus was an option, but thankfully we were able to wear masks. No covid related safety items or practices were mentioned, and none were noticably implemented unlike other tubing companies in the area. We were finally able to get out on the river around 11 am when we realized two out of the six tubes had leaks. The tubes are held together by paracord that you tie yourself which causes significant issues when getting out at the fast moving get out spot. The tubes do not have bottoms. The employee working at the get out spot did not even try to stop our tubes, and two members of our group, even with chacos, cut their feet making sure we did not miss our exit spot. There were three changing stalls, but two were completely unusuable. One was filled with cardboard and trash while another was filled with spiders, webs, and egg pouches. The only usable stall had a trash can taking up half of the space and the cracks between the boards were so large the public clearly could see skin through them. All in all, we were very disappointed in our experience, specifically the total disregard for reservation times and safety precautions. We have used other tubing companies before and will do so in the future.

Good place for a river trip. Theyll take you up the river with some boats and you can float down. If you have your own boats, they can take those for you too.

Great tubing company. Tubes were comfortable. Service was friendly. Informative service. Would definitely use again

Cool spot. Nice folks, can grab a beer and chill. Hard takeout for some boats/boaters but a good option.

I love this seasonal venue! I love setting up to provide henna and face painting at the lovely vending events they do spring to fall. The beach is cool!!

Good little shop that rents paddle boards by the day. They even have USA made dry bags at reasonable prices.

I called to reserve a tandem kayak for Saturday and the staff I spoke with was very friendly and recommended I take a kayak and not a canoe as the river has been low. We arrived and were not disappointed! We took the 6 mile River Arts District trip and had a great time! There were a few bumps and rapids along the way which made the trip more fun. Definitely recommend.

Staff appeared lazy and pretty much said... heres the river. Weve been before to one right down the road. Looks like we should have stayed with it.

Great place to pick up discs for the many disc golf courses in the area. Employees are nice and knowledgeable about different discs and the local courses. Definitely worth stopping in!

Rented kayaks for the family and had an awesome experience. Employees were friendly. They transport you to your starting point and had someone waiting to help us when we got back. Had a blast!

Well run outfitter, good helpfull as we demoed a Dagger and plan on buying two of them..

Ive never posted before, but this paddle shop was so cool and the staff too. Well stocked and helpful, great way to experience the FB! Staff was so willing to share their joy of paddle sports and the local rivers.

The service and product quality from French Broad Outfitters was great, thank you!

Great little shop with lots of paddling gear. They also rent pretty much any kind of whitewater kayaking equipment you might need. Great for a last minute pick up of gear if youve forgotten or lost something for a day on the river. Super helpful staff.

OG rivercraft rentals and guidance, and they sell beer.

Easy booking, friendly and helpful staff, easy paddling, and beautiful scenery! We did the Historic Biltmore Kayak trip and loved every minute. We will be back!

What an awesome store! Derek and the staff are all super friendly and experts in their field. They have the best selection of kayaking gear in Asheville, hands down. Their rental prices are very reasonable and make kayaking a more accessible and affordable sport.

Very laid back store. Went in for discs. Had a large selection. Were very helpful. I found what I needed and more. They also have a lost and found section for discs lost at Richmond Hill golf course. Also a frequent buyer card for buying discs. Buy 10 get one free. Ill definitely be going here for all my disc golf needs. They also have tubing rental with transportation up the river. And plenty of other outdoor equipment.

Staff ready and waiting - had a very good experience with a 24 hour rental

Lauren was very helpful. She helped us find a great restaurant after the river. Im pretty sure if we were drowning she would be the one to save us.

Great staff...kind and knowledgeable. The place is well equipped with gear and info

We rented kayaks from here and we had a blast! The staff were friendly and helpful. The kayaks were in great shape and we had a great time floating down the river.

My first time floating the river. We got our tubes here and a few others supplies then headed out for a travel down the river. They were very friendly and took the time needed to explain to us everything we needed to do. We were very pleased with the service.

Love this place. Stopped in and bought two putters for disc golf at Black Mountain course. Great selection and very good prices.

Really great experience with FBO! These guys were able to work with our arrival time in town to rearrange our previously booked kayak tour (12-miler). Very knowledgeable and helpful. Don’t miss the mid river stop to grab a beer!

I went here and the guy at the counter was rude and seemed to be bothered to answer my questions because I had a kayak that I didnt buy there. I wouldnt spend a dime there. I went to Asheville Outdoor Center down on Amboy road and the people there were great, and so helpful. I recommend you save your money and go anywhere else for service without an attitude!

Very knowledgeable run a shuttle service if have your own kayaks also have rentals

Nice people, not the best of locations for getting out of the river during a storm and high rapids though .

Gotta love this place, nice layed back vibe. Enjoyed the float today!

We drove up from Florida and decided to try to raft or tube. FBO was the outfit in town still operating. Everyone else had shut down for the season (90+ degrees out today). Doing business was east and the tubing was great. The only dings would be the approach upon return. You come in hot! We will be back to Asheville and we will most definitely be using FBO!

We had a wonderful experience rafting the 9 miles with Timmy as our guide. He gave us plenty of information about where we were going and what we were doing and how. Fantastic experience!

Great place with friendly people. Conveniently located near Richmond Hill disc golf course and I like to go here to buy discs

We had a great time, staff was friendly and made everything easy.

We had a great time plus this is the only place you can bring your own tube and save allot of money. But you can also rent everything here just as the other places and all the staff were great and helped us out every step of the way.

Awesome experience!! The girl there was very helpful!! The owner was really good. They explain everything very well even there dogs are good n cute!!

Super awesome staff! Very informative about the city also!

We brought our own kayaks and FBO helped shuttle us around. They have great employees that are friendly and helpful. We kayaked the Biltmore stretch of the FB in mid August and the float took just about 3 hours. We had a blast. They run their shuttles very efficiently. Ours was a large van with a big kayak trailer. It took about 15 minutes to get from Hominy Creek to Bent Creek. At the end of the float, the food truck (BrineHaus) was open and we had some great food.

Staff was super cool and friendly ! Great place to go tubing! Highly recommended !!

The people here are simply excellent and genuinely enjoy helping folks. On a whim, my young son and I decided to go tubing and I was very impressed with their simple yet very effective processes. The costs were better than reasonable and there were no ticky-tacky add-ons whatsoever. They even gave me some great fishing tips and I caught a big and excellent smallmouth bass while casting from my tube! Plus, it was my first experience on the French Broad River. On our next visit to Asheville we are definitely dropping in again.