I dont know of any boat rentals in the area and as far as it being a good idea I would say yes as long as you have somebody who is familiar with and has experiance on the river. For someone who is new to the river I would not try to navigate it with a canoe. There are all kinds of floating Hazards such as down trees, log chunks, ect. even in a power boat you have to be aware of the currents and sandbars. Check with the bait stores in town they can maybe get you out on the river and show you the do's and don't