Paddle board Austin skyline tour? Sign me up! Did this tour over the summer and had a blast. You can choose from guided or self-guided and we opted for self-guided. We've done a few tours on Ladybird Lake with different companies and never tire of it. Austin Paddle Shack is definitely one of the better outfits around. Safety is extremely important to them. The staff want to ensure you're having a good time without any issues. My coordination is often lacking so that wasn't really anything they could help me with. Other than that, definitely recommend. read more

Our Lone Star kayaking tour was great! We did the sunset bat trip, had beautiful weather and views, the bats were impressive. Us and our two teen boys had lots of fun. read more

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Had a beautiful time at the lake today. It was great to see the bats come out from underneath the bridge and fly over head. It was so nice to have guides that knew a lot a lot about the bats & the history of Austin. What you can expect is to drive up and get in a kayak (you can lock your things up on shore). They will push you in (which is super nice) while you're sitting on the shore in your kayak. You kayak to a bridge that's a good distance away and wait there for the bats and enjoy the sunset. You paddle back and one of the guides pulled us out our kayak out of the water and we are all good there (don't forget to bring tip $)! read more

Austin Paddle Shack - Bats - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Awesome time! I strongly recommend it. Tour guide sam provided a lot of interesting history of the lake and fun facts on the bats. I give it 10/10 for sure!! It was beautiful to be on the water at sunset too. Great way to see Austin! Payton was great too. read more

Bottom Line: A very leisurely guided tour to the bridge to see bats is accommodating for some but a bit slow paced for others. My friends and I decided to book a kayaking tour to go to the Congress Avenue Bridge to see the Austin bats come out at night. As experienced paddlers who were not drunk or high we found the excursion to be very slow paced. We arrived at 6:45am as requested for our 7pm reservation but it wasn't until 7:30pm when we were finally on our way down river. Once en route we also had to "raft up" for the guide to tell stories about Austin. All of this is fine and well for those people who need extra time to catch up or time to take a break which I think novice paddlers or paddlers who are otherwise compromised would appreciate. Seriously, plenty of people booked on our excursion were drunk and someone was definitely smoking pot on the way back. Anyway, the guide's commentary was mostly interesting and I am glad that the guides made sure everyone was wearing a life vest for safety and no one was left behind. Anyway, for those of us who had all of our faculties in tact it seemed like a very slow evening. After seeing the bats depart the bridge we once again had to raft up and wait while our guides gathered up the whole group so we could return as a group. And speaking of the whole group, I think the group to guide ratio was out of balance. We had two guides for what I am going to estimate 21 to 28 people. The guides had to help launch and retrieve all of the boats and that just took a lot of time. I think we finally returned to the launch spot at 9:30pm. So nearly a two hour excursion for perhaps 30 minutes of paddling time and 10 minutes of bat view.ing. As far as our guides themselves, I think they did a good job being hospitable and ensuring everyone was accounted for - they were just out numbered in my opinion. Aside from the slow pace, and the kayak traffic jams created by several kayaking companies operating on the river and the "rafting up" exercise, the experience was nice. To start, a very fast, basic paddling lesson was given The kayaks were easy to maneuver with reasonably comfortably seats. The views of the Austin skyline were nice and of course it was fun to see all of the bats wake up and head out for a night of partying . . . or eating bugs. read more

Really great experience as a first time paddle boarder. Many people in our group had not been paddle boarding before, and we didn't have a reservation when we arrived, but the woman working at the shack was SO patient and walked us through everything. I took off one star because the one employee working there was the only one staffing the shack, and it was very busy -- it was a holiday and there was a long line to check in, people were paddling back and needed help getting out of their kayaks/boards, and then some people were waiting to get on the boards themselves. It caused a little bit of a delay in getting situated. I felt like the employee was super overwhelmed and needed help, which wasn't her fault, but she did an amazing job corralling everyone and keeping everything organized considering it was a one man show. I would recommend that the shack have two people working at one time, if at all possible! Ultimately I was really happy with my visit and would definitely come back. It's a great location on the lake and pretty straightforward. read more

There are a lot of different kayak/paddleboard/etc. rental places scattered along the Lady Bird Lake area. This one is A-OK. Not amazing, but nothing wrong with it either. I reserved a full-day's rental of a double kayak for me and my spouse for $45, which I felt was a reasonable enough price. The website was easy to navigate and use for reservations, and they even sent a follow-up reminder email about the reservation. I selected the earliest available slot (10AM) because I have seen pretty significant lines for rentals here while patronizing Cidercade (which is next door and shares the same parking lot). We arrived ten minutes early, and the staff member wasn't quite ready for us and still setting things up after 10AM. He was friendly enough- not the best customer service, but alright. The kayaks are all stacked outdoors and accumulate a lot of dirt/mud and are pretty scuffed up and worn, but serviceable in terms of what matters most- they float! LOL. We were given lifejackets out of a plastic tub and told "one size fits all" which... not so much, but okay. The lifejackets were also not in the best of condition, but serviceable. The condition of the equipment is honestly what brings down my review, because while we were paddling around, we saw a lot of other kayakers/paddleboarders from the "competition" and their equipment looked newer and in better condition overall. But hey, once you're out on the water, all cares pretty much drift away. There's a lot of open space to explore and gorgeous views, tons of fun bridges to paddle under, and lots of turtles! Bring a waterproof camera/phone to capture a few of the memories while you're there. Note: the direction of the current seems to change corresponding to the direction the wind is blowing! We went upwind initially thinking it would be an easier row back... but then the wind switched directions on us and we had to return headed upwind again! So be prepared for "Texas" weather. We had to return by 6pm, as it was the deadline imposed by the establishment. Kind of a bummer; I wonder if any of the other rental spots allow you to stay out longer and perhaps enjoy a sunset? read more

We had a blast kayaking in Austin! There were great views of downtown Austin and the weather was perfect (just remember sunscreen!). Our rental guide was Rives and he gave great advice to where to go and was very friendly and helpful read more

Love this trip. Challenging yet enjoyable with very supportive and fun guides, Connor and Ryan. Shout out to both of them. Worthy!!! BTW I'm a senior that is not sportie! It was great! read more

Austin Paddle Shack - Kayaks - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Great adventure! Only one place in the world to see the bay colony under the bridge. It was a fun family experience and Cullen and our other guide (who's name I forgot, sorry Man) they were great hosts. Definitely recommend! read more

We had an amazing time on the bat tour! Our guide Crystal was funny, knowledgeable, and easy going. The views and sunset was perfect and seeing the bats was very awesome and unique. 100% would recommend! read more

Austin Paddle Shack - Bridge - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Austin, Texas

Had a great time. The girl working the tent was nice, polite, and helpful. It was nice to be able to fill out the waiver forms online on our phone and it made the process so much faster. The kayaks were good quality and clean. read more

Austin Paddle Shack - The water was clean and the kayaks were great! - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Tldr: you get what you pay for, good service but dirty equipment Really nice and patient service! Mario and Shana were very helpful. We were late (30-60 minutes) coming back for our hour because of waves but they didn't charge us, which was super nice of them. However, this is one of the cheapest options on lady bird and it shows. The parking lot entrance is to the right of cidercade and signage was lacking. Also, the boards/paddles were pretty dirty (black gunk came out of a paddle) and the lifevests we were moist and smelly when they came out of the shack. read more

This was 10/10. we had a lovely time taking in the sights and listening to Trevor tell us about the city skyline history and other fun facts. Our 9-year old loved it as well and even found a baby turtle. The kayaks are a great place to see the city and get a little exercise. Our tour guide, Trevor, did amazing job and thanks for such a fun experience. read more

Prices are not unusual. Employees are for the most part easy going. I have been coming to this place for years and there are awesome guys here like Henry and that blonde dude with the 2 eyes. I hate Brenda tho. Thank goodness I've only seen her once! read more

Sean was friendly, knowledgeable, and fun! He took us out on the river and described the restoration of the lake, the buildings in the skyline, and so much bat information! We floated under the bridge and saw the amazing nighttime activity of those beautiful creatures. Sean answered all our questions and conveyed that he truly loved those bats and his part in enlightening others! It was so much fun! read more

Crystal (sp?) was GREAT! I haven't kayaked in 3 years and it was ocean kayak. She gave me a quick 30 second explanation and I was on my way! She even told me directions for Congress bridge (bats) and best views. I was at the last bridge in 20min. I rented for 2 hours and burned 744 calories. BEAUTIFUL and relaxing. read more

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Andrew made a scary (for me) experience a lot of fun! I'm not the biggest fan of being on water and I've never kayaked before, Andrew helped teach us how to row and stayed with the group to make sure everyone was good. He's also very knowledgeable about events going on in Austin read more

This was our favorite activity. So relaxing yet still got to see a lot! Andrew was a great guide with lots of knowledge!

This was such a fun experience! Connor and Christel were very knowledgeable and had the group laughing all night! I highly recommend the evening tour. Watching the bats fly out from under the bridge was incredible! Plus, it gives you a prime view of the sunset. I would definitely recommend bringing some kind of light with you for the ride back once the bats are all out though. It gets very dark! read more

Austin Paddle Shack - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Austin, Texas

Our group tour was so much fun, Reid and Wayne were great guides. We did and evening tour and the sunset and city views were amazing.

Ellie provided great service and was welcoming. Next time I'm Austin will be going back.

Such a fun experience Connor was great super friendly. My parents had a such a good time we'll be coming again. Can't wait to take the rest of my family. -Baddie read more

Austin Paddle Shack - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Austin, Texas

Had so much fun! Super quick and easy to get the kayaks and start the adventure !!!!!

10/10! Sean was super amazing. He was very knowledgeable, and even helped both me and my novice kayaking husband in and out of the boat by himself!! He gave us sound advice and was very reassuring that we would be safe and have a great time. Definitely go for this once in a life time experience and ask for Sean. read more

Such an amazing tour. My daughter and I loved how educated the tour guide was and she was pretty funny. We loved our time. She was so spot on and kind. We live in Katy and want to come back already. Thank you guys so much.l @austinpaddleshack read more

Reid did an awesome job with communication and knowledge about Austin skyline and Town Lake!

Had the best time paddle boarding. Ive never been, so my instructors, Crystal and Cassie (???) were incredible what I need to do step by step. Such a wonderful group of instructors. Will definitely be back! read more

JT was a great guide and you can tell he knows the history of the bridge, the river, and the bats! Great view and super cool sight to see. Would recommend. read more

Good location in the middle of Austin. Great views of the city. Online reservation and waiver system is straightforward and gets you in the water quickly. Connor was especially friendly and helpful at check in. read more

The absolute best! We had my daughter's 7th birthday here with 10 of her friends. I stopped by the day before to make arrangements. The staff were so great and accommodating. They even arranged to come in a bit early to get every one set up and ready to go. The kids and adults had an absolute blast. Getting in and out of the water is fast and easy. It's a beautiful, not crowded part of the lake with incredible views of the Austin skyline. Parking is so easy. A great way to spend the morning - highly recommend! read more

Austin Paddle Shack - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Signed up online for paddle boarding. The prices here are much cheaper than anywhere around. Conner was super helpful and we had an enjoyable paddle! read more

It was such a fun experience! Would definitely recommend for anyone visiting Austin to try it. It was a bit of an arm workout but it was so relaxing/peaceful it was so worth it. read more

Austin Paddle Shack - Lady Lake - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Austin, Texas

Amazing experience! Connor was awesome!! Made my first kayaking experience a breeze. Easy process to get in/out of the water. Coming back here every time I'm in Austin . read more

Great spot for paddle boarding or kayaking. Avery helped get us set up with three single kayaks and was super helpful. Would love to come back again paddle board or kayak with Austin Paddle Shack again read more

So great! Perfect location for kayaking or paddle boarding with a beautiful view of the Austin skyline! The process was seamless and when we got there, Avery was super friendly and helpful! It was my first time kayaking, and she was able to explain it to me in simple to understand terms. Definitely made my experience that much better. Can't wait to go back! read more

Great tour guide with Conner Champagne!! Highly recommend for a leisure float on LadyBird lake and opportunity to learn about past and modern day Austin. Bring water n wear sunscreen! read more

We had a blast on the bat tour! I've lived in Austin over 10 years and wasn't sure what to expect when tagging along with some out of town friends who booked it. It turned out to be the absolute coolest way to see the skyline and the bats, and I found myself learning new things about the city, too. Crystal and JP were excellent guides and I'd recommend this for anyone! read more

Terrific evening with Connor and new guy from North Dakota (forgot name...sorry). Perfect position to see thousands of bats launch from the bridge. Highly recommend! read more

Cheapest rates during the week! And I didn't even have to carry our boards down to the water I felt like a princess. Very nice staff Crystal really helped me out and made it such a easy smooth experience read more