Take Me to the River

Sponsored | 29 Jun 2011

*This article has been brought to you by Hill Country Outdoor Guide*

By now, you’ve probably heard how this is one of the nastiest droughts on record for the Texas Hill Country. Given that, there is only one thing to do: get to the rivers, streams and lakes as soon, and as often, as possible!

With temperatures already soaring into triple digits, some of the best ways to survive the heat are to head out to nearby swimming holes, or rent a tube and float down one of the many area rivers. It is best go as soon as you can, because this promises to be a particularly challenging summer, so popular water bodies could start drying up very soon.

Where to go for Swimming Holes

Everyone knows about Hamilton Pool, Krause Springs and Barton Springs in the Austin area, but there are many additional swimming holes available throughout the Hill Country for you to enjoy. For example, the San Marcos River is a beautiful spring-fed stream, and the City of San Marcos has constructed several miles of river front parks along its banks that are available to the public. A favorite of the locals is the Rio Vista Dam access point, which features chutes and a three-tier swimming hole.

The City of New Braunfels has also constructed several river front parks for public use on the gorgeous Comal River. One of the most popular destinations along the Comal River is the Landa Park Pool. These locations in San Marcos and New Braunfels are great for taking a dip in curiously chilly spring-fed streams and they are included in all of the top ten lists for swimming holes.

Moving outside of the major urban areas there are a number of additional swimming holes that should be on everyone’s list of places to explore. Wimberley has long been known for the ridiculously clear and refreshing Blue Hole on Cypress Creek, which is fed by nearby Jacobs Well and is a favorite of locals. Concan is known for Neal’s cabins and the popular swimming hole located on its grounds, which also is spring-fed. Blanco State Park in Blanco has lots of shade trees down by the water, and its impoundments holding back the Blanco River typically contain water even during dry spells.

Many other top swimming holes are located in the Hill Country such as Schumacher Crossing near Hunt, the Devil’s Waterhole at Inks Lake State Park and the swimming area at Guadalupe River State Park.

Where to go for a Tube Trip

The closest tube outfitters to Austin are in San Marcos and New Braunfels. If you want to take a relatively short tube trip down the San Marcos you should contact the Lion’s Club Tube Rentals. They offer a 90-minute float (at current flows) down to the beautiful Rio Vista Dam area. Another option would be to head east of San Marcos towards Luling for a 3 hour float trip organized by Don’s Fish Camp.

New Braunfels has long been known as the tubing capital of Texas and there are many outfitters such as Texas Tubes, Corner Tubes, Landa Falls and Rockin R who can put you in the Comal River for a leisurely float down to the famous City Tube Chute. This is an excellent play area where you can take your tube out of the water at the bottom of the Chute, walk back up to the top of the hill, then ride back down the Chute as many times as you like!

Another option located outside of New Braunfels would be the outfitters along River Road. There are many tube rental services in that area. The length of the tubing trip each of them can offer you depends largely on the flows out of Canyon Lake, which have been pretty low lately. Some of the better-known outfitters include Rockin R, KL Ranch, Lazy L&L, Rio Raft, Mountain Breeze, and River Sports Outfitters.

What You Need to Know

With this drought hovering over Central Texas it is important to remember that you need to contact the owners of swimming holes and tube rental services to check on local conditions before you head out to your favorite spot. For example, there currently are some reaches on the Guadalupe River where you will have to walk your tube a lot because the releases out of Canyon Lake have been very low. There are other places where you can take a three, four or five-hour trip and hardly ever have to get out of the tube.

Also, some of the region’s favorite swimming holes could dry up this summer, but other places could still be fine for swimming. As of last week, Jacobs Well was very low and very murky, while nearby Blue Hole was gorgeous and absolutely fine for swimming. The Comal and San Marcos Rivers were still in good shape last week as well, but Hamilton Pool has not seen decent runoff for its waterfall in quite some time.

Regardless of where you go, it also is very important to make sure you arrive at your destination early. All of the good spots at the swimming holes will get snatched up before noon and if you wait until the afternoon to go floating down the river it can get very, very crowded. Getting an early start might be a challenge, but it is worth the effort to beat the crowds.

For More Information

If you would like additional information regarding the swimming holes and tube outfitters in the Hill Country, please visit the Hill Country Outdoor Guide website. To receive Hill Country Outdoor Guide’s future tips for where to go to enjoy the best swimming holes and tubing locations, be sure to click on the Facebook Like button once you are on the website.