My wife and I took the Fox river Paddlewheel tour in St Charles and enjoyed it. A slow cruise up the river and back again lasting about 45 minutes. Not too much to see except trees and a few houses. We did see an egret, heron, and a hawk off in the distance. Also a dead catfish floated by, not a great endorsement of the water quality I fear. Downtown St Charles was in the distance but we never go that close. It was very peaceful and the weather was perfect. For the price a fun way to spend an afternoon on the water, especially for us older kids. I call it Nawlin's on the cheap.

Some friends and I enjoyed the sunset riverboat cruise a few weeks ago, and it was a relaxing way to end a beautiful summer day! Tickets can be purchased online, but I recommend showing up early for a coveted seat on the upper deck. We arrived late, and all the upper deck seats were taken. We still had a great time from the first level, but the views are not quite the same, and on a pleasant day, the open air is much nicer. The riverboat cruise that we chose was adults only, BYOB. There are also family-friendly cruises with deaprtures during the day.

For $8.50 this river boat ride is worth some time on the water. Easy to get on and off. Narration difficult to hear and quite warm inside the cabin. A few things to eat/drink available. Lots of greenery but not much else to see except some homes. Glad we went but would not do again.

The boat ride is pleasant and the stretch of river it travels is pretty. There is a sound system that tells about the route and also plays music, but it can be difficult to hear depending where you are on the boatWhen you are on top, which is outside, there is no shade at all. When you are inside, there is not much air flow, despite open windows. People who were sitting inside were sweating profusely and looked genuinely miserable I would suggest that they install some fans install and have some shade protection on top— even if it is retractable. They also need an improved sound system as it sounded interesting, but was not well heard.

The Park District has taken over the paddleboat business. It's a pleasant 50 minute ride for $8.50; you can buy water or caramel corn/cotton candy if desired. You can ride on the top in the sun/wind or sit inside the cabin. They do chartered groups, too, and you can buy tickets on-line for no extra fee. There's plenty of green on either side, with the occasional note from the captain about points of interest (this isn't the Seine; keep in mind points of interest are local history - the Eiffel Tower isn't going to pop up). This got us into Potawatomie Park, which we'll probably visit again, and was a pleasant evening. It also got us to stop afterward to visit one of only 4 Civil War camps in Illinois afterwards, which we'd driven by I don't know how many times. So if you like local history, that's a nice bonus. It's not an authentic steamship paddleboat, but then I don't have to worry about the boiler blowing up, so I'm fine with that; it was charming, affordable and I might take family if they're visiting for something pleasant and inexpensive to do.