May 23, 2024 - News

Central Texas rivers below normal ahead of Memorial Day weekend tubing

Madalyn Mendoza

A river line with trees. — A summer day on the Guadalupe River. Photo: Madalyn Mendoza/Axios

Memorial Day Weekend in Central Texas is synonymous with the official start of tubing (or toobing) season, but river flows are below normal as drought persists.

Why it matters: The flows decide the duration of your float.

How it works: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collects and shares data for each of the rivers online. River flow is represented by cubic feet per second (cfs).

By the numbers: The most-recent flow data for the San Marcos (128 cfs), Comal (116 cfs), Guadalupe (60 cfs) and Frio (7 cfs) rivers are all below normal.

Context: Each river has its ideal rate for tubing. Texas Tubes, an outfitter in New Braunfels, says online that the Comal River flowed at an average of 306 cfs before the drought.

💭 Madalyn's thought bubble: I floated the San Marcos River recently at a "below normal" rate and still had a nice, three-hour float.

Tubing outfitters usually share the float times of their respective rivers on social media, so I recommend checking those out as you plan your day.
Also be sure to check out each river's can ban rules.

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Central Texas rivers below normal ahead of Memorial Day weekend tubing

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