Can You Go Tubing in New Braunfels in Fall or Winter?

Yes. The Comal River is open for floating all year, and the City of New Braunfels closes public access for a while when heavy rain raises the flow. After Labor Day the City Tube Chute stops renting tubes, lifeguards are off duty and the $2 River Activity Wristband is not required, so bring your own tube or book an outfitter that is running on your date.

The springs that feed the river stay in the low to mid 70s all year. The City posts no winter temperature for the river you float, so plan the day around the air temperature, the wind and the walk back to the car.

Is the Comal River open for tubing in fall and winter?

Yes. The City’s Comal River page says the river is always open for recreation and closes during times of high water or for public safety. The City Tube Chute page puts it more plainly: the chute is open for floating year round. A November weekday float is allowed. What changes is the set of services around the river.

Heavy rain can close the river for a while. The City’s Comal River page says a rise in flow after heavy rain can cause a temporary closure of public access, and the City announces those closures in news releases when they happen. Check the City’s river page on the morning you plan to float, even when the sky over town is clear.

The City Tube Chute is at Prince Solms Park, 100 Liebscher Drive. The float ends at the Last Tubers Exit, and from there tubers walk back to Prince Solms Park. That walk is part of the trip. Know where the exit is before you get in, and agree with your group on one meeting point.

Pack by the same City rules you would follow in July. Disposable containers stay off the river, coolers have a size limit and tubes on the Comal have a size limit. The New Braunfels tubing rules guide has the full list.

What changes at the City Tube Chute after Labor Day?

Tube rentals and lifeguards stop. The City rents tubes at the Tube Chute facility in Prince Solms Park on Saturdays and Sundays in May, every day from Memorial Day to mid-August, and on weekends again from mid-August through Labor Day. No rental hours are listed after that. The City’s Comal River page also says lifeguards are not present after Labor Day.

That leaves two ways to float in fall or winter. Bring your own tube, 5 feet across or smaller, or book a private outfitter that is renting on your date. The City Tube Chute does not run a shuttle, so a do-it-yourself float always ends with the walk from the Last Tubers Exit back to Prince Solms Park. Leave dry shoes, a towel and a layer in the car, or carry them in a dry bag.

For a do-it-yourself float, inflate the tube before you carry it to the water and check that it measures 5 feet or less across. Bring a pump or a patch kit only if you are willing to carry it on the walk back. Note where you parked, so a cold, tired group can head straight to the car from the Last Tubers Exit.

The $2 River Activity Wristband is a summer rule. The City charges it on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, and weekdays outside holidays need no wristband even in summer. A float between Labor Day and Memorial Day weekend needs no wristband at all. Residents who hold a Resident River Pass use that pass during the summer window, and it is not needed off season either.

The missing lifeguards matter more than the missing rentals. Float with at least one other person, put anyone who is not a strong swimmer in a life jacket, and keep young children within reach the whole way. If someone in the group is nervous in moving water, choose a short dip near the access point on a warm afternoon over the full float.

Can you rent tubes from an outfitter in the off season?

Call and ask. The City’s How to Go Tubing page lists private river outfitters with their phone numbers and tells visitors to contact an outfitter directly for pricing and the services it offers. The City’s parking pages give the same advice. None of those pages lists off-season hours for outfitters, so a phone call is the only reliable way to know whether one is renting on your date.

An outfitter trip bundles the parts that are hardest to arrange on your own. The City says outfitter prices often include parking and a shuttle to and from the river, and its parking pages say outfitters typically have on-site parking at no charge along with a shuttle service. If the outfitter you call is running a shuttle on your date, it saves the walk back in cool, wet clothes.

When you call, ask:

• Are you renting tubes on our date, and at what times?
• Where do we park, and is parking included?
• Where does the shuttle pick up, and when does the last one run?
• Which river and which put-in are you using that day?
• What happens to our booking if the City closes the river for high water?

Write down the answers and the name of the person you spoke with. Then check the City’s river page again on the morning of the float, because a closure can come after the booking.

If no outfitter is renting on your date, the float is still open to anyone with their own tube. Put in at the City Tube Chute, take the float to the Last Tubers Exit and walk back to Prince Solms Park, using the do-it-yourself plan in the section above.

The City’s river rules and pages cover the Comal and only the part of the Guadalupe inside city limits. For a Guadalupe float, ask the outfitter which stretch you will float and whose rules apply there. The Comal vs Guadalupe guide explains how the two river days differ in access and logistics.

How cold is the Comal River in winter?

The springs that feed it stay in the low to mid 70s Fahrenheit all year. The Comal begins at Comal Springs, which flow from the Edwards Aquifer into Landa Lake in Landa Park. Both the Edwards Aquifer Authority and the City describe that spring water as holding a nearly constant temperature through the year.

That describes the spring water. The City’s river pages post no winter temperature for the river you float, so do not count on the whole float feeling that warm on a cold day. The air is the part to plan around. Before you go, check the National Weather Service forecast for New Braunfels, or the New Braunfels weather page, for the air temperature, the wind and the chance of rain on your date and time.

Plan for being wet in cool air. Pack a towel and a dry layer you can reach as soon as you leave the river, and wear water shoes that also work for the walk from the Last Tubers Exit. Keep phones and car keys in a waterproof pouch so nobody has to dig through a wet bag in the wind.

A cool-weather kit for each person:

• A towel and a dry top in a dry bag or in the car
• Dry socks and a second pair of shoes for the drive home
• A reusable bottle of water, since the container ban still applies
• A hat or a layer for sitting on the bank between dips

The what to bring tubing guide covers the rest of the gear list.

Start early. Finish the float and the walk back well before dark, and give yourself time to warm up in the car afterward. A shorter day on the water is a reasonable choice when the air is cool, and nobody in the group has to float the whole route to enjoy the river.

Where do you park for a fall or winter float?

The City lists its river lot fees for May 1 through Labor Day, from 8am to 7pm, and the Prince Solms Park fee is $20 per vehicle in that window. The City pages do not list off-season rates. Read the sign at the lot before you leave the car, and use the City’s parking map if a lot looks closed or confusing.

River lots are pay-to-park, and the City’s parking contractor, Interstate Parking, runs them. Parking along most residential streets near the river is prohibited, so do not count on a free curb near the put-in. If you booked an outfitter, use its parking and shuttle and skip the City lots altogether.

Keep the car plan simple. On a do-it-yourself float, park at the Prince Solms Park lot, float to the Last Tubers Exit and walk back to the same car, so the dry clothes are waiting where the walk ends. With an outfitter, park where the outfitter tells you and ask where the shuttle drops you off. Either way, put the keys in a waterproof pouch with one person who stays with the group, and set a time to be back at the car before dark.

If the river plan falls through, the downtown parking guide covers paid and free parking for a downtown stop, and the indoor things to do guide has backup plans for a cold or rainy afternoon. For choosing the whole trip date, the best time to visit guide compares the seasons.

More off-season tubing questions

What hours are the New Braunfels river parks open?

The City lists its river access parks as open daily from 6am to midnight. A closure for high water or public safety still overrides those hours.

Can New Braunfels residents park free at the river parks?

City residents can apply online for a free Resident River Parking Permit. The City’s resident information page lists the lots it covers.

Can you tube the Guadalupe after heavy rain?

Not when the flow is high. Inside New Braunfels city limits, tubing is not allowed on the Guadalupe once the flow rises above 1,000 cubic feet per second. Check the City’s Guadalupe River page before you go.

Where can you check the Comal River flow?

The City’s river pages link to real-time flow readings for the Comal and Guadalupe from the Comal County Engineer’s Office. Check them on the morning of your float, along with the City’s river page for any closure.