Chicago SUP

Best place to sup in Chicago! North avenue beach with the city skyline as your backdrop… Unreal!

Super nice and accommodating. I called an hour before they closed, wanting to just go out for a few minutes on a beautiful, end-​of-​summer Saturday that is mostly wasted staying indoors. They normally stop letting people go out an hour before closing but the guy said he didn’t mind setting me up if I came right over. He ended up letting me stay out while he did his closing routine – half an hour past closing time. And when he saw me struggling to stand up, he paddled over and gave me some quick pointers that helped a lot. Great organization. Can’t recommend strongly enough.

Today was my first time trying SUP and I loved it. Here are the things I loved: the staff was friendly enough, the location is great, and it’s just a really fun experience. Also the online registration process is relatively easy!
The one thing I didnt love: I decided to take the «lesson» but I didn’t really feel like the instructor stayed with us for that long. In fact as soon as everyone was up on their board he left us! I definitely felt like paying for the lesson should warrant the instructor being available for majority of the session. If he had just stayed with us a little longer this would have been a 5 star review.
But if you are new to SUP and have no clue what you are doing. You could seriously watch a «how to» youtube video and just do the equipment rental! lol.

Currently store a board at Chicago Sup but used to rent here when new to the sport. By far the best location and best service for Paddleboarding in Chicago especially for beginners.

This past December I learned to surf in Costa Rica and it was the epitome of bliss. Sunshine, soothing waves, tons of fun, and not a worry in the world – when I rented a paddle board with Chicago SUP, I felt like I was able to experience a little bit of Costa Rica in the big city I call home.
The staff is exceptionally friendly and knowledgeable, and the entire experience had a laid back and carefree feel which was so refreshing. The company will not nickel and dime you if you bring your board back a little late and won’t even make fun of you when your paddle goes floating away from you while you’re busy checking out the neighboring paddle boarders.
Paddle boarding itself is what you make of it – you can have an intense workout and paddle all over if you wish or you can lie on your board and work on your tan while gossiping with friends and enjoying the calming waves and stunning views of the city. Or like me, you can perfect your headstand skills by seeing if you can hold it on an unsteady platform. Either way, I could not have more positive things to say about Chicago SUP and definitely plan to drop by again soon! Also, plan to hit up one of their yoga classes in the near future!

Chicago SUP is awesome! It is so much fun and the view you get of the city is amazing. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves being out on the water! It is such a fun summer activity!

Ian, Will, John and Nick… these guys rock! Took my first lesson last summer and this year I have a season pass! Not only is the instruction top-​notch, but the whole business is run quite well… There is a lot of attention to safety without making things cumbersome and difficult. They have a passion for the sport and it shows. Great location, great boards and super fun… get out there and have some fun before summer is over!!! (Oh, and it’s the best cure for back issues… your core will be in amazing shape in no time!!)

We were excited to try something new and SUP is a little bit of everything. Great workout in the water. Will was a great instructor and was very patient with our beginner status. We will be back for sure!

Chicago SUP is a great place to learn a new sport! I went with a friend to take a paddleboard lesson, and we are both hooked on it now, we immediately went out and bought our own boards after our lesson!
The day started off a bit shaky because the weather wasn’t great, and when we arrived at North Ave Beach, the shop was closed for the day and we had no notification of our lesson being cancelled (granted, we booked our lessons late the night before). After calling them, they apologized up and down for the miscommunication and sent out an instructor (Will) within 20 minutes to give us our lesson. I was extremely satisfied with the way they handled the situation — the owner, Ian, called me back right away and was very helpful!
Once we started the lesson, we had a fantastic time. The weather still wasn’t perfect, and the water was pretty choppy, but I think that actually helped us improve our balance on the boards because it wasn’t completely flat. Will was a great instructor, and he gave us tips throughout the hour rental after the lesson portion had ended.
Overall, we had a great experience with Chicago SUP. While it was a bit of a rocky start in the morning, we ended up having a fantastic time and we now have a new sport to practice! Would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to learn a new and interesting water sport!

Best location in the city right on North Ave. beach with skyline as your backdrop! Ian is a good friend of mine, but he also has a really good business going with good people working with him.
Chicago SUP puts in the effort to make sure their equipment is in good working order and if you are new to the world of SUP, they offer private lessons to help you find your footing.
Great product, great location, friendly and knowledgeable staff!

Best place to rent a SUP, hands down! Ian and his cronies are a good group of peeps that want to get you out on the water for a good time. If you’re new to the sport, Will is a great instructor. If you’re a veteran, they have a wide range of Surftech, Starboards, SUPloves, and Lairds to choose from.
This place single handedly started my obsession with SUP and I ended up buying 2 boards from Ian this offseason. They offer storage at a great rate as well if you end up going in the same direction and buy yourself a board.
Best spot for a good summers day.

This is a class act establishment! I went paddle boarding for the first time over Memorial Day weekend and everyone on staff was incredibly friendly, helpful, and fun! I had a great time and it was a good deal.
The pictures are the best deal! They have a professional camera man out in the water to snap some shots of you and are the most reasonably priced pictures I’ve ever encountered for such things. Only $ 15 for access to ALL of the ones they take. Totally worth it. Also worth it to upgrade from the life vest to belt for $ 5 if you are a good swimmer.
It’s too bad I’m not from Chicago because I would go all the time and will now look for a place where I live.

I had a blast regardless of how chilly it was :) the staff was absolutely great and very informative/​helpful!
We opted out of a lesson (it was both, my husband and I, first times.) I found it to be pretty easy once getting the hang of the waves, wind and cool water. This was definitely a great workout for the whole body.
I will be going back once the open again. I am addicted :)

We finally went stand up paddleboarding and it was an incredible experience!
Will, Pat and Toni were the staff and they were super helpful for first timers. This is one of the best things I’ve done in Chicago.
We’ve already recommended our friends!

I rented a stand up paddleboard on my day off this week spent at the beach. $ 25 for an hour rental. A great way to be active at the beach, where normally I’m sunbathing, drinking & eating, and maybe spending some time in the water splashing around.
Good deal, although I thought the check in process was a little disorganized. They directed us to drop our stuff off in the back room, but then we didn’t get too much direction from there. We picked up on what others (who checked in after us) were doing and got the life jackets and then after watching some more, headed over toward the tent by the beach where the SUPs are actually stored. (WIN: we didn’t have to drag them all the way across the beach!)
Once at the waterfront, we were given an overview of how to actually stand up paddle board (this was my first time) and then were sent on our way! It was fun and definitely not as hard as I imagined it would be! SUP is incredibly peaceful in a crazy part of Chicago, and it was fun to see the North Ave Beach from a completely different perspective.
Dropping off the SUP & paying was much more painless than the check in process, although I do have to say they never actually explained what the one hour time was. I am hoping/​assuming it was based on when we took the board out, but I don’t know how anyone knows how long we were out there. We took about an hour & half from check-​in to check-​out, but I think most of that delay was on the «what do we do» in getting our life jackets & going out to the beach.

Possibly one of the best way to spend a summer day! Really what else can you do that allows you to relax, tan, work out, and be outdoor?
Here are some tips:
— Go early and if you can, go during a weekday. We went at 8:30 on a Tuesday, and it was perfect. The water was calm, not too many people around, and the sun was beautiful!
— Don’t pay for a lesson. It is not difficult. I am terrible with balance, I can’t ski, ice skate, roller skate, or bike for that matter. I was really nervous before coming out to the water, but I was fine!
— Bring a friend — once you get out on the water, it’s nice to have someone to talk to and admire Chicago with — trust me, once you turn around and look back at the city it’s hard to not fall in love!
— Don’t be afraid to fall into the water.
— Bring a watch, an hour goes by fast. Make sure you allow yourself 15 mins to get back into shore.
Staff was very nice. Eli was the one helping us out and he was friendly and knowledgeable. I can not recommend this enough and I’ll be back soon before the summer ends!

I had a great hour+ for $ 27 on a Chicago SUP paddleboard on a fine August morning. The sun was shinin’ and the breeze was ablowin’. What a great way to spend time on the water at North Ave beach. Note to the wary: Paddleboarding is NOT difficult. I am not athletically-​inclined and have paddleboarded in Mexico, a small lake in central Illinois and now Lake Michigan. I have never fallen off. So, try it, you’ll like it.
Malia was very helpful and brought my board to the shore for me. I saw young and old on the boards and even a lady with her little dog. I can’t wait to do this again.

Chicago SUP, formerly GLBC, is probably the coolest thing to experience in Chicago summers!!!
Staff is super friendly and knowledgeable. Always there to provide help and the occasional laugh. You can tell everyone loves what they do there.
I stopped in the retail location last week to see how much a board and storage would cost and the owner Ian told me they are doubling their fleet for the summer so there won’t be a wait time on weekends.
He might have lost a sale on that because that was the main reason I was looking to purchase a board.
I’m probably going to go with the $ 500 unlimited pass this summer and test out all the new styles of boards they get in this year before deciding what I like to ride best.
I’ll be around their hut all summer… can’t wait!!!

I loved paddle boarding. It was so fun and I truly fell in love with the sport. My low rating comes from my bad experience with the girls working the desk. Just rude and not very helpful at all.
Also, a word to the wise: bring a waterproof watch or designate someone to constantly be checking the time. An hour goes by fast when you’re having fun… and 3 goes by even faster it seems and they’ll charge you for all of it without warning you of how long you’ve been out there.

I purchased a google offer for 2-​hours of SUP, and I loved it. Everyone we worked with was very friendly, chill, and informative. My partner and I did yoga on our boards, made a couple of falls into the water unexpectedly (which was actually one of the best parts), and loved taking in the gorgeous view of our city. Great Lakes is in the perfect location on the lake– there’s no better way to admire our skyline than to be on a board feeling the gentle rock of the waves.
2 hours was perfect, we felt like we worked our bodies well, and both felt overjoyed to have spent our afternoon in such a lovely way. We’re going to make this a regular summer routine:)
Thank you again Great Lakes! You’ve got a great thing going on:)