our guadalupe float over memorial day weekend ( ) lasted 5.5 hours. no thank you. but i'm going to one of the coolest places in texas next weekend and am freakin' psyched.... little arkansas, baby! haven't been there in almost 2 years.
Wow, Batman, we did the same thing, stayed in cabins at Camp Warnake and then did the chute and that mini dam floating back to the camp....all day long. I think Warnake is closed.....and the Landa Resort (another place to stay) has been assimilated into Schlitterbahn now. Also, there was a great Bavarian restaraunt where you could get a 6 foot sandwhich.....man, we had some good times back then. DD
Google this lakehouse "Ski McQueeney" Its a really nice lakehouse and if you can get 10 of your friends/family, its a really fun place to stay over the weekend, and fish, chill, drink, play, or just float
Thanks for all the tips, everyone. I guess I should have mentioned that my gf and I are vegan, so dining out's really not going to work for us in a town like NB. We're planning on bringing all of our food. Got kind of jazzed about Schlitterbahn (Thanks, TheGM), but then I checked their accomodations (including Camp Warnecke, which they've absorbed) and they don't have any availability. Also, the stories about the crowds and long lines pretty much ensure we won't be going to the park. We really just want to relax, drink some slow beers and roll down the river. That's the main point of the trip. There are so many accomodation options it's kind of dizzying. I love the idea of a cabin, but the ones available are so expensive considering it's just the two of us. It seems tough to find anything at less than $200/night that's anywhere near the river. We'd be willing to pay that though for the right spot. We also don't want to be totally overrun by small kids, which is maybe impossible to avoid. My dream trip would be a cabin, easy access to the river and relative peace and quiet, but I guess that's a total fantasy. It seems like as soon as it's warm enough outside to enjoy the river, it's going to be pretty crowded with families. We're open to going somewhere other than New Braunfels too if anyone knows of a place that could provide something like what I described above. This was very helpful, Behad. Thanks. So if the flow is around 200, that means it's mostly moving but just not exciting, right? Because that would be okay with us. But if we're travelling with a floating cooler on its own tube, I don't think we'll want to haul it out of the river and walk more than once or twice. Keep the tips coming, please. They're all very helpful.
Good times, right? I've had to adjust my expectations considerably after learning that Warnecke was pretty much gone. Dubious is right; you can't go home again and I'll be much happier on this vacation if I don't go expecting the same sort of fun I had as a kid. DD: Did your family ever go to 7A Ranch Resort in Wimberly? That was our other regular vacation spot.
The Frio river and Concan is a nice float type of place with cabins.......it is sort of like how New Branfels was in the 80s etc... Nice link to Concan chamber of commerce to find lodging etc I take my family there because it is very much like I remembered as a kid that New Braunfels was... DD
200 means it's mostly not moving...actually, not flowing is a better way to put it. In the slow, deeper spots, you will be doing a lot of paddling to keep moving forward. In the shallower spots, your ass will be hitting the bottom so much that you will be better off to get up and walk instead of trying to float thru it. (But you won't have to get out of the river) 200 is not horrible. 50 or below is horrible. But be prepared to spend a long long time on the water. Side note...anyone ever done the river when the dam was flowing above 1200? I did once. Only in a raft (tubes are banned at that rate). You would think it was a hell of a ride?? Guess again. With that much water, all the rapids are flooded and smoothed over. It was fast, but not very exciting. For those of you who know where slumber falls is, the river at a flow rate of 1200 cfs completely covers slumber falls. It was a flat straight float right over it.
So I went to check the flow at the Frio River and it looks like around 20-30 cfs. That means it's at a dead standstill, right? Or am I reading this wrong? http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=08195000
http://www.spencerguestcottages.com/ Spencer Guest Cottages in Wimberley is exactly what you are looking for. I have stayed there most years for about 20 ... It's about a half mile upstream from 7A, on the opposite side of the river. You can float from the Spencers down to the low water bridge by 7A in 30 minutes or more, depending on the river flow. Since there are only two of you, you walk or swim back after the beer runs out. The Blanco is private so kids are no issue. It's an easy and pretty drive over to Greune so you can enjoy the dancehall if you are in to that sort of thing. Find the Purgatory Road shortcut. Edited to add: As you probably remember, the Blanco flows slowly. But it flows and is deep between the Spencers and the bridge, so just go slow and enjoy.
It's flow is never as high as the Guadalupe, but it is more of a lazy float.....it is just like the Guadalupe used to be.....and more out in the country. DD
i can vouch for the severe awesomeness of the frio and concan... my favorite float in texas, by far. more laid back and nicer scenery imo. i would highly recommend a cabin on the frio.
I stayed at that place once. It was a great location and the cabins were cool. This was back in 1999, or so.
