Home Care In Rio Frio, TX

It’s summer. In Texas it’s the time of year when you worship air conditioning, opt for frozen margaritas, and gently hint to your one friend with a lake house that you want to go on their boat. It’s also the time of year for tubing in Texas. Throughout the Lone Star State wind a variety of meandering lazy rivers, ideal for leisurely floating. Read on to discover the best lazy rivers in the state and where to tube in Texas.

1. Marriot Marquis Texas, Houston

Here in Houston you can find one of the most unique lazy rivers in the state. In fact, it’s a lazy river of the state. Swim over to Downtown’s Marriot Marquis to float along the iconic Texas border. This pool, however, is not ordinarily open to the public. In order to float this Texas lazy river, you need a wristband. For those not staying at the hotel, you can cop a day pass for $50.

2. San Marcos River, San Marcos

Located half-an-hour or so south of Austin, the college-town of San Marcos is home to an abundance of natural beauty. Surrounding green spaces, wooded areas, and swimming holes, make the town an oasis for outdoors types. Added to that, the spring-fed San Marcos River is a go-to for summertime tubing.

A company by the name of Paddle SMTX offers a slightly different way of navigating the river. Using LED lights fixed to the translucent kayaks, patrons can glide through the San Marcos River under the stars and watch as the river comes to life:

3. Frio River, Garner State Park

If you’re looking for where to go tubing in Texas in a lush, scenic setting, consider: Frio River. With some 1,774 acres equipped with 16 miles of breathtaking hill country scenery, Frio River in Garner State Park features persimmon, mesquite, cypress, and oak trees flash makes for a leisurely float as tranquil as it is scenic.

4. Waco Surf, Waco

The summertime destination’s main attraction, debatably, is its lazy river – the longest in the world. Measuring in at precisely 5,280 feet long, the lazy river offers tubers a mile-long glide down pitch blue water.

There are no restrictions for the lazy river other than that children under 52″ must wear a life jacket. Tubes are provided. Visitors can bring coolers with food and drinks, just no glass, charcoal grills, or weapons. Food and drink options are also available on site.

5. Guadalupe River, Canyon Lake

Flowing from Kerrville into Canyon Lake, the Guadalupe River is a local favorite for floating. The cystal-clear river features a variety of different floating routes through Texas Hill Country. Additionally, there a number of different tube providers making the experience all the more accessible.

The most popular route is the Horseshoe Loop. Alcohol and open containers are allowed without any restrictions on cooler size. Glass and styrofoam, however, are not permitted.

6. The Comal River, New Braunfels

At three-miles long and a cool 70-72-degree temperature year-round, the spring-fed Comal River in New Braunfels provides a scenic, three-hour float. Tube gently along crystal clear waters amidst a scenic landscape with occasional strong currents. Easy float for families.

7. Brazos River, New Braunfels

Meandering through canyons, grasslands, and scenic natural areas, the Brazos River in Central Texas offers a relaxing float short of crowds. Adjacent to Possum Kingdom State Park, here visitors can hike, bike, swim, and set up camp in a scenic remote setting.

8. Blanco River, Blanco

Located in South Texas, the Blanco River (accessible inside the Blanco State Park) is something of a hidden gem. Embedded in pristine natural beauty, Blanco is an ideal Texas Hill Country setting in which to tube, fish, swim, hike, and picnic with the whole family.

9. Hurricane Harbor Splashtown, Houston

For many, Splash Town is essentially synonymous when it comes to Houston waterparks. Functional since 1984, the 48-acre waterpark is packed to the gills with towering slides, lazy rivers, adrenaline-inducing rides, and wavy attractions for the whole family to enjoy. One-day tickets start at $29.99.

10. Pedernales River, Johnson City

The Texas Hill Country park is gorgeous territory where visitors can hike, camp, swim, raft, float, fish, and more, with a view. While the river is susceptible to a little turbulence, it’s most times easy breezy. Pedernales Falls is also proximate to Hamilton Pool, if you should desire to make a road trip out of it!

Even when the river’s running low, it’s a trip every Texan should take at least once.

By Kyndall Krist June 29, 2016

The Frio River is a well-loved Texas summer destination for many, but this was my first time making the four-hour drive from Houston to Concan, Texas, about 80 miles west of San Antonio. The spring-fed Frio River snakes through the magnificent Hill Country and staying at Neal’s Lodges for a long weekend helped us to take advantage of every last bit of it.

I was immediately impressed with the crisp, crystal-clear water of the Frio, though it turned out that floating the river was far from our group’s favorite activity. With the recent increase in heavy rains across Texas, we were under the impression that the river would be moving relatively quickly, so we chose a nice, long route for our float trip. We were mistaken, as it turns out.

Instead of a swift-moving current through hilly scenery, we ended up enduring five hours of direct, skin-scorching sun, paddling through low-current dead zones, and bracing ourselves through rapids and waterfalls in our path. In the end we were a little banged up, and enjoying the scenery was a little difficult as such, but hey—at least we brought plenty of beer, crucial for any Texas float trip.

Despite the floating mishaps on our first day, we continued on to much more relaxing and enjoyable parts of our trip. Namely, setting up our canopy and inflatables on the riverside of Neal’s swimming hole where we shifted between lazily sipping our Lone Star beers, rocketing down Neal’s enormous waterslide, and leaping from rocks into pockets of cool, deep water.

Non-river-related activities were offered as well, my personal favorite being the Neal Ranch. During the summer, several horseback trail rides are offered daily, which take riders through the 100-acre ranch, complete with unexpected exotic animals such as zebras and African ibexes.

Outside of the trail ride, we spotted a giraffe named Jax who patiently waited for us to feed him leafy treats. There’s also a petting zoo currently occupied by a baby deer named Linda, chickens, bunnies, hogs, several mischievous goats, and a local dog keeping vigilant watch over the animals from outside the fence.

Joe Jimmy’s provided on-site nightlife during our stay, including a bar for the adults and an arcade for kids (and kids-at-heart). An outdoor dance floor accompanies these attractions with a sizable stage regularly featuring live country music, so it wouldn’t hurt to pack some dancing boots. Finally, if you’ve ever had the desire to see a live diamondback rattlesnake up close, Joe Jimmy’s has that covered as well—but don’t worry, he’s well-contained in an enclosure.

Even when the river isn’t running at its highest, and even if you do get a little sun-scorched, floating the Frio is still an essential Texas summer activity. Staying at Neal’s, with its bounty of boot-scooting and barbecue, horseback riding and pig-petting, only adds to the entire experience. Below, a few other helpful tips for your next Frio trip:

The tiny town of Concan, tucked in the rolling hills of Uvalde County, has been a summertime recreational haven since 1926, when Tom and Vida Neal built a restaurant and cottages along the banks of the Frio River. Nearly a century later, their great-grandson Chase Roosa carries on the family tradition as general manager of Neal’s Dining Room. Every year, from March through Thanksgiving, Roosa greets vacationers who come for a meal after swimming and floating in the Frio’s chilly spring-fed waters or hiking at Garner State Park, located 8 miles north. Long before it was a Hill Country tourist attraction, the Frio provided water for the Lipan Apache and other Texas tribes who frequented the southwestern edge of the Edwards Plateau. In the mid-19th century, Anglo settlers established ranches to raise goats, sheep, and cattle amid the rocky terrain. Today, the area still retains several ranches, but tourism drives the Concan economy.

“My great-grandparents Tom and Vida Neal came out here in the 1920s to be goat ranchers. They soon realized the river could draw people from the bigger cities. Concan was not necessarily on the map as a destination before then. They built the restaurant and most of the original cabins in 1926, and the fifth generation is now working here. It’s the only job I’ve ever had. I’ve lived here my whole life, except during my college days at Texas A&M. I started working here in my teens when my parents pulled me into the business. Not only is it family owned and operated, but it caters to families as well. Friends I made in childhood still come to Concan for their family vacations.”

“The name Concan comes from a card game from earlier times. The Lipan Apache used to camp around here, and the arrowheads on the wall at Neal’s Dining Room were found in this area. My dad and I love to go arrowhead hunting. The arrowheads are 5,000 or 6,000 years old.”

“The biggest draw is floating the Frio. Neal’s Lodges, which we sold to family friends about 10 years ago, rents out about 80 cabins, and they cater to tubers, taking shuttles up and down the river. Andy’s on River Road is another local outfitter. The Frio Valley Ranch golf course is just up the river road. Garner State Park is 8 miles from Concan, and it has everything: overnight camping, cabins, dining, an ice cream shop, a candy shop, mini golf, paddle boating, hiking trails, and nightly dances in the summer. Joe Jimmy’s at Neal’s Lodges has a great lineup of live music every summer.”

“We do a little bit of everything—mostly family recipes that have been handed down for generations. The staples are chicken-fried steak, fried chicken, hot pepper steaks, and hamburgers. We added more seating capacity about 16 or 17 years ago and built a big deck overlooking the river. Many of the tables inside the restaurant were originally built by my great-grandfather. We have hummingbird feeders by the windows, so while you’re eating you can watch hummingbirds doing the same thing.”

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“There are two other places to eat in town. One is Hippie Chic’s River Shack and its sister restaurant next door, Hippies & Hops, which serves delicious pizza. They have a great outdoor atmosphere. The other is House Pasture Cattle Company, which has terrific steaks and shrimp.”

“The Frio Bat Cave is about 5 miles away. In the summer, millions of Mexican free-tailed bats stay there. They fly out every night and fly back in every morning. When I was a child, I used to climb all through the cave, but now you have to stand outside. The Frio Bat Cave Tour leads you onto a ranch and up a hill to watch the bats fly out of the cave.”

“Birdwatching is huge in the spring. People from all over the world come here to see birds like the golden-cheeked warbler. The Texas Hill Country is close to South Texas and the coastal plains, and the spring migration period brings a confluence of so many different varieties at one time. That’s another reason why people flock here.

Population:200

Number of Stoplights:0

Year founded:1840

Nearest City:San Antonio, 85 miles east

Marquee Event:Frio River Music Fest, mid-March

Map it:

Neal’s Dining Room, 20720 State Highway 127

From the May 2022 issue

Dip a toe in the blue-green swirls of the Frio River and brace for the shiver that’s sure to ripple up your leg. The chilly Frio (frío is Spanish for “cold”) snakes through the Hill Country for 200 miles, drawing tubers, paddlers, swimmers, and rope-swingers. It cuts through Garner State Park, where hikers climb the rocky trail up Old Baldy for a view usually reserved for hawks, and past the cabin-lined banks in Concan. As the river unwinds, it curls around the gnarled knees of towering bald cypress trees.

Swimming-hole connoisseurs like Heidi Armstrong, an Austin resident, flock to the Frio for relief when the heat cranks up. Armstrong booked a cabin in Concan this spring, and when she wasn’t swimming, she sat on a boulder midstream and knitted.

“So much more so than other rivers, it’s a huge and strong hug from nature,” Armstrong says. “There are these gigantic bald cypress trees lining it, and I look at them and think, ‘What do they know, what have they been through, what have they seen?’ I feel like I’m swimming in a river lined with wise old souls.”

Those trees lean over the swimming area at the park, watching the families who have come here for generations. Now, under COVID-19 restrictions, face coverings are strongly encouraged. Also, no groups of more than five people are allowed, except for families or people living in the same household, with the 6-foot rule to be applied to people outside of your group. (See TPWD’s website for complete and up-to-date restrictions.)

The Frio is a cold compress that heals the burn of a scalding day. All along the waterway, lime-colored leaves filter the light, boulders warm their shoulders in the sunshine, and the deep green pools beckon. The cold might come as a jolt, but you’ll feel revitalized from the plunge.

—

Frio River at Garner State Park,234 RR 1050, Concan.830-232-6132; tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/garner

This article first appeared on Texas Highways. Click here to view the article in its original format.

Frio River Treetop is one of the coolest places to spend the night in Texas.

If you've ever wanted to spend the night in a treehouse, you are in luck! Frio River Treetop is a treehouse lodge a few hours outside of San Antonio that lets you sleep among the trees and float along the river with all of your friends and family.

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The lodge comes with a treetop cottage and a deck overlooking the river. The massive treehouse and lodge sleep a total of 20 people with plenty of room. At the lodge, you'll find everything you need for a comfortable stay including a laundry room, full-size kitchen, shuffleboard table and hot tub. In the cottage, you'll find a comfortable sleeping area plus a marble wet bar, a jacuzzi and a sauna. The deck of the giant treehouse has a campfire table so you can make s'mores while you watch the sunset.

Of course, if you want to get away but still be able to Instagram all of the fun you're having, the lodge does include wifi. They also provide satellite TV so you don't have to worry about missing any of your favorite shows.

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The river and treehouse are on private property so you'll never have to worry about sharing the views with strangers. Once you rent the place out, the treehouse, lodge, amenities and riverfront are all yours!

Unfortunately, the lodge doesn't allow pets so your furry best friend will have to stay home for this one.

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Rates for the lodge start at $600 per night for up to 18 people during the fall, winter and spring and work their way up from there. Make sure to book reservations well in advance because the treehouse fills up fast.

Even though the place is secluded, there are plenty of activities to do around the lodge including biking, fishing and tubing.

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For more information on Frio River Treetop, check out their website.