Guadalupe River State Park

A little biking, tubing and camping with only a few people in the park makes it a great day. It is the middle of drought season and the Guadalupe is trying hard to work its way through to Canyon Lake. There is just enough water to tube. Mind you it is a lazy tube ride and not very long. I headed out from New Braunfels around 11:00 and arrived at GRSP at around 11:45 after stopping in Bulverde at H.E.B to get some jerky and trail mix. Checked in and got a camping spot with a decent view. (24) Although I have been hiking here, this is the first time for mountain biking. Some parts are challenging and some are easy coasting, navigating through the rocks. I plan on biking here again real soon. Of course I would make sure that day that there were not many equine on the trail. Some people love 'em and some people, hate 'em. If I were at Hill Country State Natural Area it would be nice to have them but GRSP is a mountain bikers paradise and I don't need a horse mucking that up. After sweating and coasting, one the reward of the other, I ate some lunch.(a bag of jerky and a "bit of honey") and then headed down to the river with all my gear. Beautiful day with the sun shining and wind blowing. The water was cool enough and did the trick. I was out there for a few hours and floated that stretch about four times, tying off to a rock in the rapids to get more time out of it. It was getting late and I headed up to the campsite to set up my tent. A little trail mix and a cup of coffee was dinner and off to an early bed. That didn't last long. The sun was on its way down but not quite there yet and it was a tad warm at 87 degrees. I waited about an hour and it had dropped to 75 degrees. The wind felt nice. I got back in and had a night filled with coyotes and wild pigs waking me up every few hours. I guess that is the price you pay to be in such a wonderful place. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/guadalupe_river/

Hill Country Digest-Canyon Lake brief overview

Imagine a beautiful blue lake with amazing views of hills with limestone outcroppings and an abundance of wildlife. Hiking, biking, whitewater rapids, tubing, rafting, sailing, kayaking, power boating, water skiing, camping, wind surfing, fishing, and live music just to name a few activities that might capture your attention. I am referring to the area known as Canyon lake, Texas in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. The Guadalupe River whose headwaters start about thirty miles west of Kerrville,Texas is dammed at Canyon City,Texas (part of which is said to be at the bottom of the lake)forming the lake we enjoy today, serving as power for our homes, recreation, flood protection, and water supply. My name is Sam Times and my job is to let you know what I know about the areas that make up the Texas Hill Country. I will give advice on where to eat and what activities are available for all ages. I will let you know in advance, hiking is my passion and there will be quite a bit of commentary on the subject. This is my first of hopefully many post. I will be your guide. Follow me.