Dolly Steamboat

A wonderful place and wonderful boat excursion. Beautiful, wild, exotic, rare, and at the same time relaxing. Snacks on the boat, restaurant at the pier. Decent food and good service. An excellent way to spend an hour and a half… or more.

Honestly such a great bargain. For about $ 60 a person, they serve you a full dinner with desert, and take you about 7 miles into the Canyon. It was honestly a cool experience for myself, regardless if it was for me or my girlfriend. Having Dr. Sky on boat was just a plus. We had a great common interest for astrology and astrophotography. My lady had a blast. The summer months would probably be a little too hot to sit on the outside of the boat. I went last week (June 25) and it was a little warm, but felt nice once the sen went down. Staff was amazing, everything about it was really awesome. It would be hard to have a bad experience here. Thanks guys, I’ll definitely be back!
Ps, bring cash if you want to purchase extra goodies, or alcohol etc.

Lots of fun. Got to see wildlife. Enjoy the beautiful Lake and have a fabulous meal. Well worth it and will do it again!

We celebrated both our 2^nd and 5^th Anniversary onboard the Dolly for a twilight dinner cruise. The experience is absolutely magical and Jeff, the Captain, makes every memory so special. All the team members are so polite and you can tell that they love what they do. The food is 5 star, and the drink prices are very reasonable. We will go back again and again.

What an awesome experience. The staff was very courteous and the views spectacular! Only complaint would be that the salmon was dry.

This tour never disappoints when we have guests in town. The departure location is easy to get to and you would be hard pressed to find a more scenic ride in the Phoenix area. The scenery on the lake is breathtaking. We have enjoyed this tour on numerous occasions sitting both inside and outside. There is not a bad view from anywhere in the boat. Highly recommend if you want to experience the the awesomeness our desert has to offer.

If you need a relaxing evening, this was wonderful. The staff were super nice and the captain pointed out two Eagles perched on a rock. The food was amazing. The scenery of the Canyon and a beautiful evening made it specular. A must do!

We are locals to Phoenix area and decided to take the Dolly on the noon tour on Friday since my husband and I both had the day off. The captain did a great job of pointing out all the sites and he even hung around for everyone on the boat to come down to the main deck to see some big horn sheep. We also saw a few bald eagles which was quite a site!
We sat on the main floor outside right as you walk in on the boat. We ended up being at the front of the boat and by the end of the trip, many people had either come down from the top or from inside. We had no problem seeing any of the sites that the captain was pointing out.
I would definitely recommend the noon tour on the Dolly!

Relaxing and informative. Love bringing our out of state friends to this venue. The crew was friendly and helpful.

What an amazing and informative trip for all age groups! Perfect for dry tripping or bringing your out-​of-​town guests to see the gorgeous Arizona landscape! Highly recommend it.

Very wonderful Experience — Family from out of state joined my wife and I for an evening on the Lake and the Crew and the Food made the evening a wonderful experience — All ages can attend but generally it would be appreciated more by children of 8 years or older and make sure to request Main Deck for seating if you have any mobility issues although meets all handicap requirements it is best to share when reserving tickets if you have limitations. OTHERWISE a great experience and we will go again.

Staff and the ride were terrific. Great way to see the terrain and learn about it while enjoying the breeze off the lake.

Had an amazing time with my fiancé. The captains are friendly and the scenic tour is just amazing we got the chance to see a bald eagle up in mountains and bighorn sheep. Bring your binoculars if you want to see the wild animals up close. Overall it was relaxing and just beautiful. And they have a snack/​alcohol bar on board so bring cash with you.

Great day! Best AZ day. The narration throughout was fantastic! Peaceful and beautiful. Hidden gem! Good popcorn too!

The drive to Canyon Lake is very picturesque. A must do! Dolly Steamboat wonderful experience. Great scenes, wildlife, the steamboat is clean, nice staff, and smooth sailing. I would definitely recommend the Dolly to all ages and it is inexpensive. A great experience!

Overall the tour was great. The scenery was beautiful, the landscape breathtaking. I have two areas of improvement which is where the ⁴⁄₅ stars come in. One is the ticketing system/​boarding order. I was quite proactive in ordering my tickets ahead of time, purchasing 3 seats about 2 weeks in advance. The problem is that when given your ticket to board on-​site, they are in the order you appear at the counter. I feel like this is quite unfair, and led to my mother, partner and I to have to sit with an unknown couple. Further, the seat was away from the windrow so much of the tour was difficult to see. Although it ended up fine and the couple was plenty nice, it seems like it would be fair to give the tickets to board in the same order they were originally ordered. Essentially, someone who just randomly showed up could have the best seats on the boat, when I could have ordered a year in advance and received the worst seats.
The next qualm comes with the seating/​views in general. We were seated on the second deck, on the end of a 6 person table. Many of the views appear pretty high up the cliffs, and we simply could not see them without sprawling across the table or asking strangers to move. I would say the majority of the trip was spent not being able see much. Granted, much was due to the aforementioned seating arrangement but still. What is needed is a transparent ceiling or partial ceiling. As it was the ceiling was a white opaque canvas like roof. I understand the need for some shade, but the corners of the roof, the areas in direct viewing of the cliffs above, could definitely been plexiglass or even open. I can look at and be out in nature for hours upon end without being bored, but unfortunately without being able to see much, I would say it became mundane and boring. Overall it was good, but with a couple improvements it really could be great.

Totally loved having our wedding on the Dolly… what a great experience.
Cari Sparks

We’ve gone on the Steamboat three or four times — it’s a great go-​to activity when we have out-​of-​town guests. You can’t beat the scenery, the food on the dinner cruises has been good, and we particularly enjoyed the two astronomy cruises we’ve taken. Special shout out to Dr. Sky, who always delivers a great program.
Two strong suggestions:
1) It needs to state on the website that pets are not allowed on cruises with food. We recently took a dinner cruise, and when ordering tickets, it stated that «well-​behaved pets» are allowed. We questioned whether or not our dog would be allowed on a cruise that served food and looked all over the website for something that stated he would not be. Couldn’t find anything and almost decided to take him. Glad we didn’t, as it stated above the ticket window that pets would not be allowed on food cruises.
2) The ticketing process is really flawed. You would think you would be able to print your tickets online after you order. Not the case. Once you arrive for the cruise, you stand in a ridiculously long line to pick up your ticket. This has delayed the cruise every time we’ve gone. This is a seemingly easy fix, but nothing has been done. Frustrating.
Otherwise, a top-​notch experience.

The drive to Canyon Lake was very picturesque. Your food options are limited once you get to the lake so we brought a picnic lunch to eat before the boat ride. We opted to eat in the car since it was so cold so I don’t know if there are any picnic tables in the area.
This boat ride was a very pleasant surprise. I expected it to be nice but it was even better than expected. It’s a great choice for people of any age. The boat has 2 levels and the seating is mainly inside (tables and chairs) but the windows are very large so your view is very good even if you stay inside. It was a cold day when we went but also sunny so we enjoyed opening the windows for a better view and some fresh air. The boat gets very close to the cliffs so you have a lot to look at. We even saw Big Horn Sheep. It’s a very relaxing 90 minutes and it went by very quickly.

I cannot count the number of times I have been on the Dolly Steamboat and I enjoy it each and every time. This last time, I actually got to see the mountain sheep — finally after 30 years!
Super easy to book/​pay online and then you are guaranteed a spot which is especially important in the winter time when the winter visitors are here.
The twilight cruise is breathtaking with the vibrant colors of the Arizona sunset.
You will not be disappointed and this cruise is good for all ages.

Went here for the second time over the Christmas break. It is a half a day trip from Phoenix area. Good for families specially young kids and parents /​grandparents. The views of canyon lake from the boat are beautiful. Staff is very courteous and knowledgable. Snack choices on board are limited but very well priced. We did not see any wildlife (unless you count small white dots that people claimed were big horn sheep) A good way to spend a lazy afternoon.
Tip– check weather and bring a jacket. There are limited blankets available on the boat as well.

Meant to post this sooner, but I guess I was having too much fun in Arizona. Made the scenic trip from Tempe to Tortilla Flats just for the cruise and we were glad we did. The boat was comfortable and we were lucky enough to have great weather. There were drinks (including alcoholic) in the small bar downstairs. The tour guides were friendly and knowledgeable. They were able to spot an eagle from very far away and took the time to make sure everyone saw it.
I’d definitely recommend this little cruise. It would probably also be good for the dinner cruise.