River Road along Texas’ favorite playground is open for business again. The recreation district along the Guadalupe River between Canyon Dam and New Braunfels had been closed for nearly seven months after the summer flood of 2002. The river has been scoured, the outfitters have new equipment, and the water is cold.
“This is the cleanest the river has been in years,” says George Cushanick, general manager of the Water Oriented Recreational District of Comal County. “The water’s not green; it’s clear. It is in prime condition.”
New blacktop fills in the gaps where the road vanished under the usually placid Guadalupe River last summer. The stately cypress trees still shade the river, but some of them are still missing their bark and tidbits of debris still cling to the upper branches to mark the high-water level.
After a good Memorial Day 2002 weekend, concessionaires along the river were hoping for a good summer season last year. Then, at the end of June, the rains began. July Fourth weekend was washed out, and by July 6 the New Braunfels area had recorded 33 inches of rainfall.
The devastation included roofs floating through central New Braunfels where tubers usually ventured. More than 400 homes were inundated between the reservoir and town, and seven people died. For the first time in the 40 years since Canyon Dam was built, water breached the spillway. (To see pictures of the water’s power, go to the Comal County engineer’s Web site at www.cceo.org.)
Cushanick estimates that water damage and lost business cost the community more than $20 million. Despite the losses inflicted by the flood, the community rebuilt and was better than ever when the throngs of tubers and campers arrived for the traditional Memorial Day weekend. What flotsam wasn’t washed into the Gulf of Mexico was hauled off to the county dump.
“The river is absolutely in the best shape it has been in many years,” Cushanick says. “And that’s what the old-timers are saying, not me. I guess it’s just nature’s way.”
Much of the lush vegetation that once covered the river banks was either washed away or covered in tons of gravel when the water broke through the spillway, giving the river a less tropical look. Besides the new canyon, which is currently closed to the public, the biggest change in the river was the disappearance of Horseshoe Falls. Some of the most dangerous rapids on the river, the falls are no longer an obstacle to tubing the 3 miles of the river below the dam.
“I noticed on Memorial Day weekend, we had [the tubers] spread out more,” Cushanick says. Instead of using mainly the river below the lower crossings where most of the outfitters are located, floaters were enjoying the entire river from the Rio Raft Co. to Gruene.
By all indications, Cushanick says, the rafting season is off to a good start. On a normal summer weekend, he says that around 50,000 visitors enjoy the river. On a holiday weekend that number can more than double. W.O.R.D. keeps 12 to 15 uniformed and plainclothes patrols on the river and lake most weekends.
In recent years, W.O.R.D. has stepped up enforcement of rules governing public intoxication, trespassing, littering, and other laws in order to curb irresponsible behavior. Alcohol has not been banned, but glass and Styrofoam are outlawed on the river.
The ideal flow of the river for recreation is between 100 and 500 cubic feet per second (on July 5, 2002, the cubic feet per second was at 63,400). “Right now the river is at 220 cfs,” Cushanick says. “If it stays there through September, we’ll have a good year. If it goes up to 300 cfs, then we’ll have a great summer. That would be prime time on the river.”
For current river information call 830/964-3342 or visit the Corps of Engineers’ Web site at swf67.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/canyon/HomePage.htm. There are two dozen outfitters and campgrounds along the 15-mile stretch of River Road between Sattler and Gruene that will sell, rent, or do almost anything for visitors. The New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce has a list of businesses at 800/572-2626 or www.nbcham.org. Another good Web site on river conditions and businesses is at www.river-fun.com.
627th in a series. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of Day Trips 101-200, is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.
This article appears in June 13 • 2003.
