(From Yelp...) This is really a great way to see the city and to work out your arms. I went on a nighttime fireworks tour for the 4th of July. It was definitely well worth it! Even if you have never kayaked before, they give you a quick tutorial and will help those who are little nervous. You go down the river until almost Navy Pier to view the fireworks. It is a great experience if you have never done it before. The only things I didn't like were that there were so many people in the group and we had to stop all time time so people would be running into each other. There were about 50 kayaks on our tour, which is probably more b/c of the holiday, but it was hard to paddle with so many so close to each other. Once you got going, though, it was ok. At one point I felt like I had the whole river to myself! That was nice, just paddling in the moonlight, down the river...
There are probably around 3-4 tour kayaks and they did a good job guiding people along. You go for about 3 hours with some stop points and you get a good workout paddling about 6 miles. Try it!

(From Yelp...) Super great way to spend the afternoon! we rented 4 single kayaks and paddled along the chicago river ,, into downtown. we were all so pleased with our self-guided tour and the new sights of chicago from the river. The man who runs the magnolia location is super chilled out and funny, super helpful and has a sweet dog with him. yes, it is a little costly, but you can get downtown and back in about 2, 2.5hrs at a leisurely pace. well worth it. im def thinking about trying the lake michigan version :)

(From Yelp...) Kayak Chicago is very cool Chicago-y thing to do. I did the sunset tour which is available on Sunday nights from 7-10pm. The long and short of it is that you kayak about 5 miles (approx. from North Ave & 90/94 to downtown Michigan Ave bridge, and then back).

Here are some things I wish I would have known:
-My partner and I were the only kayakers out of 20 who have never done it before. That was quite visible as we had a hard time starting to get rhythm.
- Dont bring anything on to the actual kayak itself, except for maybe a camera and water. I didnt even wind up using the camera or water.
- I wish they gave you more time to stop and take pictures. We literally had just enough time to kayak there and back, and we even went over 3 hours. The only pictures I got were while we were still on land.
- The 3 hour tours are a little long ...
- Tandem kayaks have a steeper learning curve, as an FYI.
- Prepare to get wet
- Once out of the river, you wont get too much guidance from the employees. Sort of trial and error. However, on the same token, there is always an employee near by who wont let you steer to much off course (some of them are hot as well, which makes the tour a little more exciting).

This is a great thing to do once a year to get a unique view of the city. Most tours will run you $54 (with fees), and you get the kayak rental, life jackets, a mini tutorial, and adventure on the river.

A definite recommend!