Aerial view of the Comal River and historic railroad bridge — New Braunfels, Texas

The Comal River is one of the shortest navigable rivers in the United States at just over two miles long — but it is also one of the most remarkable. Every drop of water in the Comal comes from a series of natural springs in Landa Park in the heart of New Braunfels, emerging from underground aquifers at a constant temperature of 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit regardless of season, weather, drought, or flood. The river has no tributaries and no runoff. What comes out of the ground is what flows to the Guadalupe.

That spring-fed consistency is what makes the Comal River so extraordinary for tubing. While Texas rivers fed by rainfall can run cold in spring, warm in summer, muddy after rain, and dangerously fast after storms, the Comal simply does not change. It flows clear, cool, and consistent every single day of the year. You can see straight to the rocky bottom in most sections. The water has a blue-green tint from the mineral content of the springs. And the current is steady and gentle enough for anyone from a 4-year-old to a grandparent to float comfortably from start to finish.

The river runs entirely through the city of New Braunfels, passing through Landa Park where the springs emerge, under historic bridges, past the famous Tube Chute at Clemens Dam, along the banks of Schlitterbahn, and eventually joining the Guadalupe River at its southern end. The entire float from Landa River Trips to the last public exit is approximately 2.5 hours under normal conditions — a journey through the heart of a city that has been built around this river for nearly 200 years.

The Comal River is the reason New Braunfels exists. The German settlers who founded the city in 1845 chose this location specifically because of the springs and the river. They built mills on it, generated electricity from it, swam in it, and eventually opened it to the world as one of the great Texas summer experiences. Floating the Comal today is floating through history — and most people floating it have no idea.

The rental booth at Landa River Trips — 565 N Market Ave, New Braunfels, Texas

Landa River Trips opened on the banks of the Comal River in 1986 and has been there every summer since. Forty years is a long time in any business. In the outfitter business on a river as competitive as the Comal, it means something specific: we know this river better than anyone, we have seen everything that can happen on it, and we have been doing this long enough to have refined everything about the experience down to what actually works.

Our property sits at the very top of the Comal River float — the uppermost launch point on the river, giving guests the longest possible float and the most scenic stretch of the river from the very first minute. When you launch from Landa River Trips you are entering the water just below where the springs feed the historic waterfall that marks the river’s beginning. You are floating the full Comal from source to finish.

Here is what the Comal River float actually looks like from the moment you enter the water at Landa River Trips to the moment the shuttle brings you back to your car.

The Landa River Trips shuttle bus returns guests from the last public exit back to the property

Aerial view looking downstream at the Comal River Tube Chute — New Braunfels, Texas

The Comal River Tube Chute is the most iconic river feature in Texas. Built over the historic Clemens Dam — a stone structure quarried from the same rock used to build the Comal County Courthouse in 1882 — the Tube Chute is a concrete channel that funnels the Comal River current into a fast, concentrated flow that acts like a natural waterslide. You enter the channel, the current accelerates, and you drop into a whitewater pool below. The whole thing takes about 10 seconds. Most people want to do it again immediately.

Close-up aerial view of the Tube Chute showing the concrete channel, whitewater exit pool, and walk-around path

Entrance to the chute — 1977

Floating through the chute — 1977

Tubers walking around — 1977

Historical photographs courtesy of Landa River Trips archives — Comal River Tube Chute, New Braunfels, Texas, 1977

The historic waterfall on the Comal River — visible from the Landa River Trips property and the river itself

The waterfall visible from the Landa River Trips property is one of the most historically significant spots in New Braunfels — and most of the thousands of people who float past it every summer have no idea what they are looking at. It is not a natural waterfall. It is the remnant of a 140-year-old industrial operation that shaped this entire city.

Because Landa River Trips launches from the uppermost entry point on the river, guests who enter from our first set of stairs float within sight of the waterfall almost immediately. Visitors launching from outfitters further downstream never see this stretch of the river at all. The falls are visible and audible from our property before you even get in the water.

Official City of New Braunfels container ban infographic — what you can and cannot bring on the Comal River

The container ban is the single most misunderstood rule on the Comal River. Every weekend without exception someone shows up at our booth with a cooler full of canned drinks and is genuinely shocked to learn they cannot bring them on the water. The rule is simple, the enforcement is real, and understanding it before you arrive makes the difference between a smooth morning and a frustrating one.

The City of New Braunfels prohibits all single-use disposable containers on the Comal River. This is a possession rule — not a littering rule. The mere presence of a can, plastic bottle, or disposable cup on the river is the violation, regardless of whether you intend to pack it out. It applies to every person on the Comal River regardless of which outfitter they use. Fines of up to $500 can be issued for violations.

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  Water shoes or sandals with straps — flip flops float away. Crocs with the back strap locked, sandals with a heel strap, or water shoes. Whatever you wear must be secured to your foot.
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  Sunscreen — 2.5 hours in open Texas sun with very little overhead shade. Apply before you get in and bring extra to reapply at the end. A burned float is a miserable float.
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  Reusable water bottle — hydration is critical in Texas summer heat. Yeti, Hydro Flask, Stanley, Nalgene. Fill it before you get in the water.
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  Soft-sided cooler (30 qt max per person) — fabric bag-style coolers work best on the river. They float better, fit irregular container shapes, and are easier to manage on a tube than rigid hard coolers.
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  Food in reusable containers — Tupperware, snap-top containers. Remove all food from original packaging before you arrive. This includes snack bags, chip bags, and anything disposable.
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  Waterproof phone case — you will want your phone for photos and music. A simple lanyard-style waterproof case costs a few dollars and is worth every penny.
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  Dry bag for valuables — keys, wallet, anything you want to guarantee stays dry. Or use our free lockers on the property and leave valuables on shore entirely.
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  No cans, no plastic bottles, no disposable containers — pack your cooler at home the night before using only reusable containers. This is the rule that trips people up most often.

Dogs are welcome at Landa River Trips — but read the safety notes before bringing your pet on the Comal River

The Comal River is one of the best family tubing rivers in Texas. Spring-fed 72 degrees means no shocking cold water entry. Crystal clear water means parents always see the bottom. A 2.5 hour float is long enough to feel like an adventure but short enough for younger children. Landa River Trips has a minimum age of 4 years old. Children of all ages must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Children under 4 are welcome on the property and at the river bank but cannot enter the river to tube. Our 8-acre property has shaded picnic tables and river bank access where younger children can splash and enjoy the day while older family members float.

Dogs are welcome at Landa River Trips and many people bring them successfully. That said, we take dog safety on the river seriously and share this information with every pet owner before they get on the water: more dogs are lost on the Comal River each year than people. This is not meant to discourage you from bringing your dog — it is simply important information.

The simple answer is: the earlier the better. Arrive by 9 AM on summer weekends, especially on holiday weekends. Parking fills up by midday on busy Saturdays. The river is cooler, less crowded, and genuinely more enjoyable in the morning hours before the heat of the day peaks.

Weekdays are significantly less crowded than weekends from Memorial Day through Labor Day. If your schedule allows a Tuesday or Wednesday float the experience is noticeably different — more peaceful, more space on the river, no competition for parking or picnic tables.

New Braunfels sits directly on I-35 between San Antonio and Austin — making it one of the most accessible day trip destinations in Texas from three of the state’s largest cities.

New Braunfels is a complete destination. The Comal River float is the anchor but the city has enough around it to fill a full weekend comfortably. Here is what is worth your time.

New Braunfels was founded in 1845 by a group of German immigrants organized by the Adelsverein — a society of German noblemen who financed the settlement of Texas colonists. Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels led the first group of settlers to this location specifically because of the Comal River springs. The consistent, reliable water source was everything a 19th century settlement needed: clean drinking water, power for mills, irrigation, and a natural gathering place for the community.

The settlers named their new city New Braunfels after the Prince’s ancestral home in Germany. They built mills on the Comal, established farms and businesses around it, and created a community that maintained its German character more completely than almost any other immigrant settlement in American history. Walk through downtown New Braunfels today and the German heritage is visible in the architecture, the street names, the food, and the annual Wurstfest celebration that draws 35,000 visitors every November.

The Comal River itself has been central to every chapter of that history. It powered the mills, generated the city’s first electricity, supplied the first waterworks, and eventually became the recreational heart of the city as the industrial era wound down. The Tube Chute opened in 1976 when the City of New Braunfels purchased Prince Solms Park and opened the river to public tubing. Landa River Trips opened a decade later in 1986 and has been the original outfitter on the upper Comal ever since.

The Landa River Trips family on the Comal River in the early 1990s. The dock was built by our grandfather. The family’s connection to this river goes back to the 1960s.

The Landa River Trips story does not start in 1986. It starts in the early 1960s when our grandfather first came to this piece of the Comal River and built an RV park on its banks. He saw what most people see when they find this river for the first time — something rare, something worth staying close to. So he stayed. And this family never left.

The photograph above was taken in the early 1990s on a wooden dock our grandfather built right here on these 8 acres. Those three kids are the current generation of the Landa River Trips family — growing up on the same river our parents turned into a tubing outfitter in 1986. We did not know then that we were growing up on what would become New Braunfels’ original Comal River outfitter. We just knew the river was cold and clear and that summers on it were the best thing in the world.

That feeling — of a river day that stays with you for the rest of your life — is exactly what we are trying to give every single person who walks through our gate.

What we have here is rare and we know it. One of the last largely undeveloped pieces of land on the Comal River. 1,400 feet of natural riverfront that we have deliberately kept as close to its natural state as we can. Free parking directly on the property — always. Three river entry points. Shaded natural banks that look and feel the way this river has always looked and felt.

We are also growing in ways that reflect what this place has always been about. Every tube rental now includes full day access to the 8-acre park — free use of the natural riverfront, picnic tables in the shade, and a place to simply be on the river without a clock running. We are expanding that slowly and deliberately — more tables, more amenities, more of what makes a river day genuinely special. A new large stairway that will allow five groups to enter the river simultaneously is in progress, currently working through state approvals and expected before the season is out. In the meantime our three existing entry points remain open and ready.

We hope you leave with a photo like the one above. One that thirty years from now still reminds you of a summer afternoon on a cold clear river in the Texas Hill Country. Trust us with your river day. We will do everything we can to make it one worth remembering.

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