Nice hidden gem. I've driven past this place many times and never took a second look. This place is simple and a little rugged. $5 per person to get in. Get there before 11 and you'll find yourself a nice spot. Bring what you need and don't expect picnics tables or grills. No bathroom either. The drive under the bridge can be a little rough. Parking is limited and it can get packed. We left at 3 and the one lane road was difficult to maneuver with cars trying to go in and out. The river water was perfect. It's not clear, but it sure was refreshing. The river is shallow. Nice to sit on a tube or in a chair. They offer tubing, but I didn't try it. In the area we were at, there were a few ropes kids were jumping off from. Shade is limited. read more

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This place was terrible. 3 of our 6 tubes had holes and were deflated in the first 10 minutes of rafting. After ending the tube ride at the designated ending spot it took them an hour to come and pick up. The office was a 5 minute drive away. It was over 100 degrees outside and about 15 people were all waiting on the side of the freeway to be picked up. read more

THE FIVE DOLLARS SPOT. $5 DOLLARS to enjoy the view, nature and outdoors with your loved ones or like me, your dogs! Shotgun, the owner, met us at the front and went out of his way to walk and direct us to the beach we needed for the doggos! It was so peaceful and relaxing, and because of Shotgun and the other team members we had an amazing first experience of the year. Our pups had so much fun and the water, although cold was perfect!! Thank you Shotgun and team!! read more

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We had a lot of fun here. We went on a Friday morning and we were the only ones there for about 3 hours. We didn't rent any canoes or tubes or anything. It was $5 per person and we took 2 of our dogs. Leashes aren't required so once people did get there, dogs were just running up to our dogs who were leashed and their owners didn't care. We ended up leaving a couple of hours after that. The water is amazing though and there's a lot of different entry spots into the water. One trail to drive down might require 4x4 though. read more

Guadalupe Canoe Livery - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Spring Branch, Texas

This is the second time I've been here and both times has been fantastic. The people treat you like family. It's a place where you don't have to make sure the children sit still while you fill out paperwork. We usually rent kayaks and do the 4 mile float. The boats are always in good shape and the trip is nice. We enjoy swimming and even found a natural spring waterfall halfway through the trip back in one of the sand bar areas. We always use this company for our floats and will continue using their shuttle service even when we have our own kayaks. Over all this place is a win :) read more

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This is one of the worst places you can go it's absolutely disgusting everywhere and the guy at the front gate swore up and down there was all kinds fish in the water he straight up lied I was there for 10 hours and didn't get a single bite what I did get was snagged on every log in the water so if you wanna swim in the water watch out for my 10 fishing lures that are stuck in there somewhere I'd give this place zero stars if I could read more

OMG I had so much fun!! Came here for the first time with my sisters and brother in law for an adult day of hanging out without the kids. I maintained social distance and when we rode the shuttle to the start we made sure to wear my mask, however of course there were so many other people on the shuttle without their mask but one we got on the river we stayed away from people and it was great. For it to be my first time I must say I did great I will definitely be coming back. The staff here was really friendly as well. read more

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Seriously such a great little gem. It's for the people who just want to be by the water, low key, chill, and don't need the "atmosphere" of the Guadalupe river tubing drop off hustle and bustle. It's the $5 spot according to the locals and those that have known about this place for a while. You can still tube and canoe and kayak it's just not as Boujee. You can still drink and have a good time but you are left to your devices. You can drive where ya need to on the grounds but beware of getting stuck at your own risk. It's dog friendly. Kid friendly. Chill people friendly. Great Texas spot for some water and fun in a low key environment. read more

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Paperwork process is quick and easy, waterproof bags are available for purchase and everything is provided for you, on the ride to the drop off, the driver always tells us what to watch out for and what spots to check out while we kayak. We've been here multiple times now and definitely plan on coming back! read more

Guadalupe Canoe Livery - Secret waterfall spot - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Spring Branch, Texas

The prices were reasonable and the staff was absolutely fantastic! We went yesterday for spring break and we had so much fun. We had never kayaked before but we picked it up right away and had the best afternoon. The shuttle was comfy and quick as well. Will be returning asap. ;) read more

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Pick a different rental company for kayaking! Might be fine for tubing, but the service is horrible! After waiting 2 hours to get to the water, they didn't provide a kayak paddle or even try to fix it. When we spoke to the owner, he told us to blame Joe Biden. This is a beautiful area of the Guadalupe, but there are much better rental places. This place has been good in the past but is now under new ownership/ management and is poorly organized. We almost left before getting on the water. read more

I've been delaying writing this, my 100th review, for far too long. Unnaturally long. The John Holmes of procrastination, if you will. I had grand plans. Road trips were involved, where exotic locales were visited and the rarest of delicacies were consumed, but somewhere along the way something was lost. Largely brain cells. Exotic locals and rare delicacies are strictly the provenance of abundantly fermented fruits and grains bottled and canned for your pleasure. And in the interest of research, mind you, I felt compelled to explore the full breadth of the experience. The experience proved wide. So here I sit skimming through the superfluous and muddled memories of my recent past. Flipping through the thoughts like a teenager flips through the poster bin at the mall. But there.... recent and always. A memory written and rewritten a hundred times. A personal sojourn, a collective treasure. The river. Now run and owned by Pablo Escobar, er.... Mike, the Livery was my recent choice to float one of my favorite stretches of the Guadalupe. It's been the same for years, though I seem to remember getting in on the other side as a kid. Just north of San Antonio, where 281 passes over the river, this place was awful close to where I grew up. I even had my 10th birthday on this stretch of the river. And since this was where Hondo had taken his first trip exactly a year earlier, it seemed the obvious choice to take Alex A on his first float. I couldn't let that dude bounce out of the country w/out showing him some of the best parts of the state. $32: three tubes, one w/ a bottom; four hour float, then a ride back to the lot/let-in and your car. The staff is friendly, and Pabl...Mike was cool. He was gracious enough to give us an ice chest to borrow for free. Had he known that we would lose or destroy three ice chests this weekend, I'm not sure he would've been so generous. For his kindness, this was the only ice chest spared. Then it's a short, downhill walk to the river and you're ready to roll. The next four hours takes you down the upper Guadalupe that is primarily fed by Canyon Lake. I like this float more than the popular stretch by New Braunsfels for several reasons: 1. Travels primarily through undeveloped private ranch land. 2. In times of no rain, usually deeper with fewer portages 3. Far less people 4. No militant cops It just seems to be far more relaxing. If you like the party atmosphere and occasional rush hour traffic scene that happens on River Road, this is more laid back. There are a couple exceptions to that with two campgrounds and a spot the locals party at providing some float-by distractions. Other than that, it's low traffic, the river, and you. In a word: pleasure. The next four hours should be savored. I'm always confused by the people I see paddling by. If anything, paddle backwards. Fight the inevitable journey to the far off gulf. I choose to just relax and let the river's gentle pull drape me with banks of low hanging bald cypress. Because the faster you go, the closer you get to where you and this swath of emerald part. As for me, I'm planning my next trip as soon as I begin the brief climb to the road. read more

Guadalupe Canoe Livery - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Spring Branch, Texas

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Update from my last review from 2017. The family went again summer 2019. We were super thrilled because they have new staff that cares about the Livery. It was like night and day from our first experience. The customer service was excellent. We will always go back based upon the beauty of the river but it's nice to have the customer service along with the kayaking. read more

Guadalupe Canoe Livery - Customers might find helpful their current rates and the river map. - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Spring Branch, Texas

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My husband and I rented a canoe, we were shuttled by a polite driver to the landing. The ride down the river was awesome. We had a blast. Victor who manages the Livery. Was super hospitable. He made sure everything went as planned. The prices were affordable. Family friendly. Easily located off the 281. Everyone was polite and curtious. Next time we go, we trying the kayaks. They have tubes, rafts, all sizes. If you dont want to rent a water Kraft, you can bring your own and shuttle to the take off landing. Dont forget to bring sunblock! read more

Backed up to the river, opened back of SUV laid down and relaxed. They could clean the place up. Mow and knock down the weeds on river bank. It would give a better view. $5 per person not bad. Next time i will bring a table and chairs and a float. We had a nice little picnic. I will come back but bring my lawnmower and Machete. read more

Guadalupe Canoe Livery - Guadalupe Canoe Livery, Guadalupe River. - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Spring Branch, Texas

Great price for the experience it was 30 dollars for kayaking for every person and we went down the beautiful Guadalupe river which was a trip of about 4 miles read more

Rented kayaks with a group. The equipment was good and the price was reasonable, $35 for a 6 hour rental. Because we were a good size group they threw in the transportation back from the take-out. The staff is friendly. The upper guad is beautiful. Huge cypress trees grow right into the rivers edge. We took the downstream 6 mile route from the livery. There's a bunch of small rapids, nothing too challenging. Then again almost everyone dumped at least once. It's a fun run for beginner kayakers. A great way to spend a spring day. read more

It started off a little suspect the river was not running fast. So we were told the float would take 6 hours. There were 9 of us 6 adults 3 children. So six hours was to long for the kids. But they said we could do the 2 1/2 hour float trip we didn't need a ride just a little walk down to the river. The man who was to pick us and the tubes up told us that the first bridge we come to on the river was where we were to get out but he wasn't sure if we were to get out on the left or right but he thought it was obvious when we got there. Then to call them to pick us up.The problem was when we did get to the end of the float ride. We got out on the left we then proceeded to call for the pick up. We keep getting a busy signal. Finally two young girls got out and said they were calling their sister because they couldn't get through on the phone either but they had to take their tube back and would tell them we were waiting for a ride. One hour after we got out thanks to the girls we got a ride. We will not do this again! Also we did not get an apology. The owner has one phone line for his house and business. Three of the adults in our group kept calling only to continually get a busy signal. When we did get back to his business we called and showed him it was still a busy signal. Never again!!!! A business should have their own business line and their personal home should have their own line. The float was nice, the customer service and transportation was miserable. Side note, with the phones unreachable at the tube rental place we attempted Uber and Lift which showed no rides available and then attempted non-emergency police (10 calls only to receive different voicemail boxes) and then called the actual 911 to see if we could get directed to non-emergency personal for someone to get someone at the tube rental to pick us up. read more

I had no idea this was called Guadalupe Canoe Livery since everyone whose from San Antonio calls it the $5 Spot. Either way this place is the cat's pajamas. We all know how blisteringly hot it gets in the summer and the $5 Spot is so much more than just floating the river. Basically you drive down (be sure you have a big ass truck otherwise you're parking at the top and taking the five minute walk, trust me when I say little cars can't make the trek) and you find a spot you like. There aren't designated areas there are just banks and trees and you can post up wherever you like. They have kayaks, you can camp overnight you can go rafting or tubing or jump from the rope swing. Dogs are allowed which is even better, just make sure they're on a leash. My typical river outing?? We bring the beer pong table, coolers, food, drinky drinks, koozies, chairs, tubes and SUN SCREEN. Seriously people, put it on, you don't want to look like an old leather book or get cancer. SPF 50 brochachos!! Being from Texas my husband and I go old school and make a "cowboy" grill... which is the top to our charcoal grill, a circle of rocks we have gathered and a bunch of branches we find there too. *Tip: bring dryer lint to start your fire. You're welcome. read more

This was the worst experience I've ever had. We've been coming here for 8+ years. It was always a little un-organized which we would put up with but I've never been treated so rudely. Our family tried to rent a2 kayaks and an inter tube got there at 9:15 they were busy and we were patient and waited our turn to get on the bus this is about 10:10 almost a full hour later fine they were busy but the way we were treated was awful and even worse once we got to the river and they had not packed enough kayaks and my daughters inter tube had deflated they said another one would be on the way. At this point I was FED UP so I called to ask if we could just come back and get our money back, the response from the owner was awful. He called me a liar, told me he would not give me my money back. I tried to reason with him but he continued to call me a liar and tell me I was "playing games". I was shocked at his arrogance and lack of customer service. We got back to the cashier and I just asked for my keys and left. We will not be coming back here the service was horrible on every level!! If you have children beware it's a rough crowd out there. I will not be back and will not recommended to anyone! At the very least they could have just been nice and given me back my money instead he insulted me and was as rude as possible. My first red flag should have been that they are not taking any Covid-19 precautions. They are not wearing masks or gloves and they are WAY over the 50% occupancy. No social distancing everyone packed together on the bus like sardines. All said and done 2 hours and 30 minutes later, no kayaking, $80 gone and our morning wasted. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE! read more

I would give it no star if I could. Run down. Grubby. Trashy. Horrible for rv camping or really any. Expensive for what you get which is nothing. Dirty restrooms. What they call electric barely qualifies. Right by the highway. Does have water access. Not handicap or easily accessible. You've been warned. Stay clear. read more

Favorite place around! Kyra and I enjoy kayaking or just lounging and fishing. The scenery is always picturesque and owners respectful & friendly. read more

Guadalupe Canoe Livery - Favorite place around! Kayaking or just lounging and fishing. The scenery is always picturesque and owners respectful & friendly. - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Spring Branch, Texas

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This place's new management needs some improvement. Saturday Memorial Day weekend, you need more people working. Having only one lady working the check in area while 15+ people are waiting isn't efficient. The float itself was nice, but quick for the price we pay to tube. What made the experience poor was the 45 minute wait to be picked up by the shuttle after the float. We were told to call a number once we reached our end of the float off hwy 311 (which we thought was weird and guessing they'd figure we had a phone on us). Once we we did it took 45 minutes from our call we were there for pick up to actually be picked up. There were 20+ people waiting. They had only one truck going back & forth picking up tubers. The tubes were also not so great quality. By the time they handed me mine & I walked down to pop in the water the tube had lost 40% air & had a leak. They also charge if you return the tube damages which is some bull especially since they give you poor quality tubes to begin with. I'm not so sure that we will be back to visit this business. read more

Guadalupe Canoe Livery - Information - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Spring Branch, Texas

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Love going to this place since its so close. It's not perfect but it's got great access to the river. For those wanting amenities, you might want to go somewhere else. You can chill on the river banks for a price per person or take a float, canoe, or kayak. There's a hidden spot coming off a smaller river feeding in that has 2 nice small pools, waterfall, and much cooler water. But you'll have to find it.... Lol. read more

We came here on a Monday. It wasn't terribly busy but it was very unorganized. There was an old man checking us. We all wanted to pay separately but he told us just to give him all our money together. After we paid he gave us our tubes and pointed down the hill. Absolutely no direction. After our float the walk back up to the road was pretty difficult and I got several Scratches on my knees. It was ok but I wouldn't wanna come back here again. read more

Great place if you want to raft or tube the Guadalupe!

Had a great time. They took us to our drop off point; were up front about certain sections needing to drag the kayak due to low flow. Great stretch of the river and no one was around on a Thursday. Going back again. read more

They charge $5 per person which I thought would have amenities. It is low maintained, trash on the floor and in the water. The parking space is not the greatest. Trash cans were flipped over. Not the best experience what so ever. read more

Let me be clear, you see all the reviews for 1 star or 0 stars, it seems like this are the same people who like hotels to do everything for them. This place is simple rent their boats and they drive you and you become one with nature and don't have to worry about the time out with nature just enjoy it. Went with my GF on the same boat and OMG we loved it so much. The price was very affordable. Im not paying for world class service but a boat and the location and if you go in with the goal to enjoy nature you get just that. I'm sure if you want amazing service you can get it at another location for a hell of a lot more but for the price I paid and no time limitation its amazing. I am not their to talk to the workers but the enjoy the river and I did. I hope this helps some people since I was worried from the reviews before going. But for my vacation this was a real memory and a treat. read more

This is a review for their campgrounds. I strongly advise against spending the night here for camping!! Here is why: 1) The price first of all is ridiculous! At $7/person you would think the conditions would be great...read on to find out why this is not so. 2) When you enter they provide proof you paid by putting a sticker on top of your windshield. This was super annoying because it messed up my windshield wiper and the sticker is impossible to remove, especially since it rained that night. 3) The bathrooms are in horrible condition, and for men, the urinal is a bucket. There are no pipes leading out of the bathroom...gross! 4) Some genius decided to build this campground right off the highway, so you can enjoy loud road noises all night. 5) In addition to the loud road, there are peacocks in the campgrounds which was cool during the day, but they screech every 10 minutes at night and this will guarantee you get no sleep. 6) This is literally 0 lighting on the campgrounds so it's impossible to find anything after dark! You'll have to rely on cellphones which will die by 9pm due to lack of plugs. 7) The water in the river is extremely dirty. I'm talking brown. So in conclusion (tl;dr) do not stay here! You will get no sleep and you won't be able to see in the dark. Plus your windshield will permanently have a sticker on it. And the water is disgusting. read more

The staff (particularly the woman at the front desk) was very unfriendly and almost bothered when we asked about the distance of the paddle we were about to take on. My wife and I along wirh 4 other adventurers loaded up in a 6 person van. When then waited for 30 mins in the hot sun wirh no a/c on and no windows down for a group that pulled in right as we were loading up. 15 mins in I asked "where exactly are they supposed to fit, there's 6 people in their group alone" to which the German man responded "this is an 18 person van" wtf ya talking about bud??? Finally the other group decided they were going to go else where because they couldn't bring their cooler of beer. After the pleasant drive to the drop off we got in our boats and headed down. INEXPERIENCED KAYAKERS!!!! Please give large amount of space for people in front of you when approaching rapids. An older gentleman slammed the point of his kayak into my back causing us both to flip our boats right in the rapid. Idiot! All in the the river was beautiful and an enjoyable paddle but the rapids were definitely moderately difficult. read more

Did this with some friends a day ago, weather was fantastic, nature all around us. In a couple of words it was a perfect boys trip! The crew was awesome and helped us get our kayaks and canoes right on the water. Great location, great crew, and great times :) read more

This place is definitely not for campers or families. It was revolting, to say the least, and we cut our camping trip short. No electric or water at campsites as advertised. No grills or firepits. Trash cans stunk to high heaven. Brush was extremely overgrown, making river access nearly impossible. Old socks, broken bongs, busted ketchup packets crusted onto the tables, food wrappers, cigarette butts, fallen decking, broken stairs, pitiful road conditions and the smell of human waste at the campsites is just the start. Arrived on a Fri afternoon and wandered around for 30 min trying to find an attendant, owner, someone! Im guessing that the scumbag in the black Porsche is the owner since he stopped us on the way out to collect payment. The small children camping in the site next to us, claimed to live at and "own" the property and often ran through our site to check their crab trap. At least our dog loved all the visitors. Around 10:30p, a drone hovered over each campsite for a few minutes. Creepy. Flood lights (that mustve been 2 mil watts) at owner's back porch shined in our tent all night and ruined the little "peace and tranquility" we might've had. This place is the pits! The owners should be ashamed that they've let this beautiful piece of property go for so long. It has amazing potential but needs owners who will do more than just spy on their customers via drone every night. read more

We were given one price over the phone and after you drive all the way out there...you are given a different price. They apologized to us for the misunderstanding, but then I heard them give the folks behind us the same song and dance. The rented kayak and life vest were fine. The river is amazing. However, their exit ramp from the river is nothing short of an accident waiting to happen. Personally saw several people fall. Very very dangerous set up. No wonder they are so worried about everybody signing an accident waiver. read more

The canoe shuttle was well done. The canoe was in good shape. We decided to stay the night in one of the campsites. What a huge mistake. The owners keep a flock of peacocks and cats on the property. I had to listen to a cacophony of peacocks and cats ALL night. The sound best can be described as a pack of cats in heat eating 100 peacocks...and...it...never...stopped...all...night. read more

Ok, so I have NOT been there yet. However, I am TRULY leery after reading A LOT of reviews on here & their "website". I emailed them on April 30, 2017 and STILL NO response! I did call at one point and a man answered phone but was VERY EVASIVE. I want electricity & water but he said water "is gotten from the office" & electricity. .well, NO CLEAR answer given. Even after I reworded the question, NOTHING but "that website is so outdated". I don't think I want to set myself up for a BIG DISAPPOINTMENT for Father's Day weekend. Thanks, but I'll pass. read more

My children and I were the first to arrive in the morning. The owner gave us "general" directions and waved us to go down the road to where we would get to an area where our dogs and kids could have easy access to the river. What he failed to mention is that we should have walked down there and did not have signs or the road blocked to indicate that vehicles were not allowed. His staff were going to help us when our car got stuck in the mud and he was incredibly rude, condescending, and wouldn't allow them to help. He was rude to myself and my children and even yelled at the tow truck driver for blocking the area where he was trying to pull my SUV after we waited for nearly 3 hours. I will NEVER recommend this location to anyone! I can only imagine if something were to happen to someone and he would only be concerned about himself and his own liability! What I can say is that there were very many nice people who tried to help and I was able to talk to my kids about how we could have allowed this one individual to ruin our day but instead we needed to acknowledge that there were many many more who are kind, caring and willing to help one another. read more

The water level at this time of year affects the kayaking trip. We took the trip that was to be 2-3 hrs from Nichols landing. About 8 times we had to get out of the kayak and tug the kayak over areas where we could not pass over. Had to walk over rocks and not fun after the first few times. Too bad because the scenery is beautiful. read more

Seriously, these ppl are the worst. I go tubing and kayaking all the time in Texas and I don't know how these ppl stay in business. They're phone doesn't work or they don't answer it and they seem confused how to inform ppl of simple put in and drop out procedures. Try shanty's in be lower Guadalupe or rocking r in new braunsfels. read more

We have been kayaking since we moved out to spring branch 6 years ago and the only place to go is here! People are friendly and always ready to help you out with what you choose to do rather it be floting in a tube , kayak, canoe, or raft. Would never go any where else. read more