The water was nice and cool and pretty clear. We were near a small park that had free parking, and areas to have a cook out. There was limited grass to sit on near the river. I can't believe they allow drinking and tubing as a ton of cans end up everywhere. The water is low in some spots due to the drought. This is a nice place to spend a couple of hours.
The river has many access points that you can easily put in and take out your tubes. The water is clear, clean and a steady 68 degrees year round. Extremely pleasurable to spend time on the San Marcos river.
Floating the river is one of us Texans' main past times! Come along for the ride y'all!! You can relax the whole way or hop out and swim in the gorgeous, clean water! The surroundings are picture perfect and you will hardly ever meet an unfriendly character! We are all friends on the river!
San Marcos City Council has allocated funds for entrance and egress throughout the river's winding trail. They even put in a chute for a wild ride at the end. It can get crowded on the weekends and holidays but the crowd doesn't get rowdy since it only takes a couple of hours to ride and that's not enough time to get drunk. There are park police available to keep the peace in picnic areas. During the summer the city police who normally patrol the campus here are now at the parking areas to deter all scumbags. I live here and feel safe year round.
San Marcos river is very near to downtown and with its two small falls it tubers's paradise.But you can also sunbath on the grass or take a bath in the calm waters.Topless is allowed all over Texas.In the morning it's almost peaceful but obviously, in the afternoon, especially in weekend days, it's a little bit crowded.No free parking problems. It is something special you haven't to miss if you love adventure, fun and water.Kids get crazy for that.
OK. We love toobing or kyiaking down the San Marcos....from the gentle current down to the falls, until...well, THE FALLS...lost my beer, um, sunglasses...hat..and lots of other stuff every time I've gone down. What fun! Come if you want....please make it during the predictable tourist seasons so we'll avoid seeing you block up the river with all the other folks. Thanks!Ps Keep an eye out for the GIANT snapping turtles that do live in the river...no danger, but they scare me every time I see them. hope I didn't scare you off ;)
Well, I could stand to do without the absurd number of drunken tubers polluting the river, but other than that...
Nothing feels better on a hot Texas summer day than jumping into the crystal clear 72 degree San Marcos River...especailly after a night on the town in San Marcos!
Just love this river. Great tube rides. Gentle ride. Swing from a tree rope. Grill picnic people watching. Constant water temp. Take a walk along the river. Beautiful place in San Marcos Texas.
I do not know how Trip Advisor rates things, but this is clearly the pride and gem of the whole San Marcos area. I am not sure how an antique car place comes up rated higher. There are many city parks available to access the river. Depending on how old the kids are, where you go might be a choice. The main park at the waterfalls is very fun for older kids and adults. You can swim, tube or kayak the rapids. Just warning everyone that it gets super busy after work hours and weekends. For little kids, we found that walking down to the bottom of the third rapids by the bridge was very shallow for our 2 year old so she could play too. It is only about 6 inches deep there and lots of fun. Sewell Park is the best swimming, but it is for older kids. It is mostly all college kids, so get your cool on. There are many places to tube, swim or kayak.