A couple of years ago our friends the Sheens invited us to tube the Comal River with them. This honestly is something we had been dying to do for years, but didn’t know where to park, where to obtain tubes and where to get out. In a nutshell, every logistic was foreign to us.
First, the Sheens recommended we purchase tubes at our local HEB or Academy. Normally these tubes run around $12, but because it was the end of the season, we found ours half price at HEB. I recommend you go this route as well for two reasons. First, tube rentals run about $20 a person. Even if you pay full price, you can deflate your tubes, store them in a storage tote and use them again and again. Secondly, these tubes have a spot for drinks, ropes to attach your tubes AND a mesh bottom. As someone who has a an issue with fish coming anywhere near me, the mesh bottom on the tube provides me with some peace of mind.
We left early in the morning on Labor day. We arrived at Landa Park around 9. I do recommend this as the crowd levels grow as the day progresses. We parked near the volleyball courts and thus avoided paying any parking fees. The additional walk to the river was only a block or so. We blew up our tubes in the parking lot, packed up our non-disposable water bottles in a cinch sack, applied sunscreen and headed down the path towards the river.
We arrived at a trailer of sorts and got in line to purchase wristbands. Each wristband cost $2. This is the holiday price. On normal days, there is no cost unless you go through a company to tube the river. We walked down the path to the bank of the Comal from there and jumped in.
During your approximately 90 minute tour down the Comal you come to three chutes. The first one, in my opinion, is the most dramatic and resembles a good old-fashioned water slide. The other two are more like big bursts of force in the river. They are fun and relatively mild. You do have the option to get out and move around the first chute. I have had no problems on it, but my husband was knocked off it and lost his prescription sunglasses and all of our awesome water bottles (boo). You will not be able to take the chute with any tubes tied together.
Most of the time you are mildly tubing along and enjoying the lush scenery while chatting with family members and friends. Sometimes you end up completely alone. For an (introvert/extrovert combo), this isn’t terrible either.
You pass Schlitterbahn on the left nearer the end of your tour.
Wondering how you know to get out? Well, you come to a very obvious end point, complete with stairs and lifeguards who will assist you out if needed.
From this point we climb the stairs and opt to walk back to the car. This takes 30-40 minutes. This is where one of those tubing companies honestly would come in handy. We are sturdy though and we generally don’t mind the trip back. One useful tip is to deflate the tube before heading back to the car. My friend Stephanie did that one time and I thought that was genius.
After returning to the car, you could easily break out a picnic and eat at the park. We tend to opt for a fun eatery along the ride home like Hays BBQ (thanks Denny for the recommendation) or Hat Creek Burger. With a stop to eat, we are usually home by 2 or 3.
As a family who has kids ranging from 11-21, we love this day trip because everyone enjoys it, especially if they have friends to hang out with on the river. If I’m being perfectly honest, a 10- year age-gap and an even mix of girls and boys has made finding activities everyone likes challenging. It meets my husband’s need to get in nature AND relax. It meets my need to get out of the house and see something different. And after the initial tube investment (in our case, $36), this trip is pretty darn cheap. For 6 of us, entry to the river on a holiday is a total of $12. We won’t discuss the cost of eating on the way home (hello, 2 teenage boys) but as we rarely go out as an entire family, I feel ok about that one-off cost. You could easily pack a picnic and blanket and enjoy a feast in the park for much less.
All in all, our family gives tubing the Comal River in New Braunfels, Texas 6 big thumbs-up!
Want more information? Go to https://www.nbtexas.org/2578/River-Recreation