The Best of the Best
Here is our list of the best places to go paddling in the Hill Country.
The folks at
Camp Huaco Springs can give you river flow information and rent you boats for this fun 5 mile trip from the Second Crossing of River Road down to the Gruene Road Crossing. What is important to remember is you do not want to take this trip when there are a lot of tubers on the water so it probably is best to wait until the flows are at least 1,000 cfs given that most of the outfitters will not rent tubes at those flows. Shortly after you put in keep your eyes open for Huaco Rapids and Slumber Falls. This is a very fun stretch of the river if you have some paddling experience, but you should know that people crash all the time at those rapids and falls so be careful. Be sure to talk to the folks at the camp about the best way to approach those two runs based on whatever the flows happen to be during your visit. Resist any urge you might have to do some cliff diving when you get close to Gruene. More than one moron has lost his life jumping into the water at that location. When you get to Gruene, exit on the right side of the river.
The
Castell Crossings offer three alternative routes for paddling the Llano River up around Castell down to Llano. This is a very fun part of the river to run when the water levels are up. It is nothing like the Guadalupe, which means there will be absolutely no shade, the river can get pretty wide in places, and there will be lots and lots of big rocks in the river. All three of these runs to a certain extent have several stair steps, ledges and drops and you are bound to find at least one area where the main channel narrows and takes you right into a huge boulder so keep your eyes open. The distances between crossings range from 5 to 8 miles. Talk to the folks at the
Castell General Store about water conditions, boat rentals and shuttles.
Gruene Road Crossing to
Cypress Bend Park in New Braunfels is a short little 3 mile trip that would be good for kids and newbies because it is very flat at average flows and you should not have to worry about many tubers being on the water. There is a fair amount of shade, but it still can get pretty hot so be prepared to find a place to take a dip if you need to cool off a bit. The good folks at
Rockin R can help you with river flow and shuttle information, and boat rentals.
The
Edge Falls Road run down to Guadalupe River State Park is a 4 mile trip on the Upper Guadalupe. It is a fun little run with a few bumpy spots, but nothing alarming in the least bit during normal flows. This is a very scenic portion of the river all the way down to the park and it would be easy to include this excursion as part of your weekend camping trip. It is best to leave a shuttle vehicle at the park and then drive upstream in another vehicle to the put in point. Contact the
Guadalupe River State Park for river flow conditions and information about boat rentals.
The good folks at
Guadalupe Canoe and Livery will be able to set you up with everything you need for the run from their place down to Rebecca Creek Road. This is the most fun run for experienced paddlers on this part of the river. This 6 mile trip will take you through a S-turn chute on the right, and over Mueller and Rust Falls. Talk to the folks at the outfitter about running the falls, but just remember that there is a chute on the left of each of them in case you would be more comfortable with avoiding the drops. If you don't have a fair amount of experience, a PFD, a skirt and a helmet, forget trying to run the Horseshoe section of Rust about a third of the way in from the left bank. If you are paddling a sit-in you will end up crashing and swamping. If you are paddling a sit-on you will end up crashing. The S-turn rapid just downstream from Rust causes a surprising number of crashes for its size.
The 5 mile run from
Guadalupe River State Park down to Specht's Crossing is relatively flat during regular flows so it should be good for kids and those without much experience on the water. If you are camping at the State Park this is another paddle trip that would be real easy to incorporate into your weekend. Just know that you probably will have to take your own shuttle vehicle down to
Nichol's Landing at Specht's Crossing, and then drive back to the park for the put in. There should be plenty of parking at Nichol's Landing and the park employees can tell you how to get there. You can get information about boat rentals at the park if you don't have your own.
The
Nichol's Landing to
Bigfoot Canoes run is around 6 miles long and it has several minor rapids along the way to keep your interest up. This also is a very nice stretch of the river when the water is flowing and you should feel free to bring the kids or those without a lot of experience because the river is not terribly tricky here at low flows. The good folks at Bigfoot can hook you up with river flow information, boat rentals, and shuttles.
The people at
Spencer's Canoes can give you river flow information and they rent boats for a couple of runs on the San Marcos River. The best run is a 6 mile trip from 101 down to Spencer's. This part of the river will take you through Cottonseed Rapids, which pins a surprising number of people on the rocks on the left side of the channel. Be sure to ask the outfitter how best to run Cottonseed. Also, you will have to portage right to get around the Martindale Dam. Finally, there is a tricky boulder set up in the middle of the low water crossing just down from the dam so be sure to talk to the outfitter about that one as well. All in all, this is a very enjoyable run on the San Marcos, but there are at least a couple of places where you have to worry about crashing.
The folks at
Josh's should be able to help you with a paddle trip on the Frio River. One option would be to put in at Mager's Crossing and take out at 7 Bluff Crossing at about 4.5 miles. If you want to stretch it out to 6 miles you could take out at Frio Country Crossing. When the water is up these are nice places to go paddle out in the western part of the Hill Country, but be sure to get information from the outfitter regarding the falls and other obstructions in this area if you have never been here.
Talk to the people at
Clear Creek Outfitters in Camp Wood for information about paddling on the beautiful Nueces River. It is not a big river, but it is sparkling and gorgeous when it is running. Because it is spring-fed, it is a great place to take a dip on those hot summer days. The outfitter can give you information about several different trips up in this area, they rent boats, and they also provide shuttles if you are in need of one.
Contact the
South Llano River State Park to get information regarding water flows on the South Llano River, which is located in the northwest portion of the Hill Country. This is a pretty little river when it is flowing and if you are spending the weekend camping, you easily could take a short 4 mile paddle trip from the park down to
Flat Rock Crossing. This is a relatively flat portion of the river at normal flows so it should be ok for kids and for newbies. The staff at the park can give you information about boat rentals if you do not have your own.
Potentially Crowded Water Conditions
It is always a good idea to contact the outfitters in the Hill Country to inquire about tube traffic if you are planning a paddling trip and that especially is the case in New Braunfels, San Marcos, all of the Lower Guadalupe River down to Gruene, and along portions of the Frio between Leakey and Concan. There are times during high season when it can be very difficult to get in any good paddling because of tube traffic in those areas. Don't forget that some of the times when the water levels are up, especially when they are just over 1,000 cfs on the Lower Guadalupe River, the outfitters will not be renting tubes and those can be some fabulous opportunities to go paddle that part of the river.
Where to Paddle
We have found it often is a good idea to plan a kayak trip in close proximity to the outfitters because then you can take friends along who do not have their own boat and do not want to haul an in-town rental all the way out to the Hills. Typically, the better plan is to have the outfitter take you upstream to the put in location so you can paddle back down to your vehicles. That way you don't have to worry about how you are going to get to your vehicle when you are finished paddling. However, sometimes the best run of the river will be located downstream from the outfitter. In those cases, you might be able to leave at least one vehicle downstream to get the drivers back up to the other vehicles after the trip. Another option would be to see whether the outfitter offers a shuttle back up to the shop. If you are going to take a shuttle back up to the vehicles, be very careful to remember to get all the pertinent information before getting on the water. You will need to know what specific arrangements need to be made for someone to pick you up, which could entail having to take a cell phone with you.
Be Safe
Here are a few more basic things to think about regarding paddling in case you are going out for the first time. Always talk to area outfitters, park officials or campground owners to obtain information about water conditions. A number of our suggested kayak trails will take you over falls and rapids and if you do not have proper equipment or training there is a chance you could flip out of the boat or be injured. Be sure that your level of experience is sufficient for the course you will be paddling and a good way to determine that is to talk to the locals about the water conditions. In an effort to avoid drowning, be sure to ask whether there are any dangerous hydraulics where you will be going. Also remember that kayaking is not the same as tubing so keep some distance between the boats, especially in fast moving water where there are rock gardens, chutes, or falls. If you end up taking a swim, try to hang on to your boat and drag yourself on top of it to avoid getting boulder rash. Finally, even if you think you are bringing enough water go ahead and grab another bottle during warm weather because some knucklehead in your group probably will forget to bring any.
Other Information Sources
You really should take a look at some of the excellent resources that are available for more specific ideas about hazards and other conditions you should expect to encounter depending on which trip you plan to take. Those resources also are great places to find many suggestions for put in and take out locations, and they include a book primarily designed for use by white water enthusiasts who like to rodeo and surf,
"Texas Whitewater" and a book that will really come in handy for those of you who instead prefer the popular recreation boats titled
"Rivers and Rapids" that has lots of good information. The
Southwest Paddler and the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department also both offer a lot of excellent kayak information. On the TPWD website, forget about the text on the main page and click on to the watercourse of interest to you in the left hand column. That is where the good information is located. Those resources have much more detailed information about specific kayak trips than contained in this website and you should benefit greatly by consulting them before taking your next trip. The
USGS website is invaluable when you need to know river flows for the various Hill Country streams. There is a
river level index available online that gives you information as to what the optimum flows are for paddling various rivers that might be useful to you. Finally, you can go up to the banner at the top of this page and click on to Weather to get the forecast for the area before you head out for a paddle trip.