The City Tube Chute is convenient for many reasons, and I like that there are life guards at the Tube Chute. The chilly, rarely low Comal River makes for a fun place for a first time tubers and river rats, alike!
Check out My Mommy Tips and pictures from today and in the past for making the most of your visit!
- Know Before You Go
Paid Parking is available at Prince Solms Park by an app. - If you can arrive early, park right outside the bathhouse along the street. This allows you to keep your personal possessions, and lunches, close by!
- Traffic gets very heavy, especially on weekends, and parking is hard to find later in the day.
- Entrance to the Tube Chute is $5 when it’s open, and free after hours because they can’t close the river. After hours, lifeguards are not on duty.
- Weekends include a $2 river fee that all visitors must pay.
- If you are only floating through the tube chute once, then save your $5, you only need to pay if you are going over and over again, like my kids love to do!
- You can rent tubes there, or buy and bring with you.
- We brought our Ryobi air inflator, which is FAST! It does require a Ryobi battery. You can use their electrical outlets for an electric pump, too.
- We left all our belongings, like ice chest, towels, etc in the car and they will hold your keys at the bathhouse.
Packing List
- A lifejacket for young/weak swimmers.
Tubes. Be sure they are large enough and those with handles will help you stay in your tube. If you are renting they have tubes with bottoms for younger children. Do not try to use the tubes where their feet stick out of the bottom, which will scrape up their legs or could hold them under if they capsize. - You can change clothes at the bathhouse.
- Towels
- Ice chest with cold drinks in a thermos or other non-disposable cup. No glass, no cans, plastic bottles or baggies.
- Lunch because you don’t want to give up your good parking spot.
- Picnic blanket
- More sunscreen than you think you need.
- A mesh bag to hold sunscreen, shoes, etc.
- Early in the day the city passes out free mesh trashbags.
- You can take a cooler on the river, but no glass, can or anything disposable.
- Water shoes
- A strap for your glasses (my friend learned that the hard way)
Now you’re ready! From the parking lot, you want to walk upriver to enter the Comal. You can follow the crowd across the bridge and get in the water at the steps. There is also a playground and picnic tables here.
Float down to the tube chute, where you can get out if you aren’t quite ready and walk around.
The current will pull you down the chute, Hang on!
If you fall out, the current will pull you to the other side, where lifeguards are waiting/watching.
Have a prearranged plan for everyone to stop and meet here and regroup/count heads before continuing down the river.
The Float In is a fun restaurant across the river where you can “tube up” and get something to eat.
Continuing down the river, there are two more sets of small riffles.
You can tube almost all the way down to the Guadalupe River, but remember that you will have to walk back. It’s about 6 blocks, so not too bad. We called an Uber, which was $10 plus tips, but the people who got off the river next to us were back at their car before us.
Afterwards, we floated down to the tube chute again, where the kids just wanted to go down it over and over!
For the brave, go tubeless! My kids say it’s much more fun!
Things To Do In New Braunfels
Play
Landa Park has playground, picnic tables and of course, water! Click HERE to visit their website.
Stay
There’s nothing like Schlitterbahn, and resort guest can play at the park the day they arrive and the day they check out! Click HERE for all my best tips before you go!
City Tube Chute
100 Liebscher Dr., New Braunfels
Click HERE to visit their website.
Keep Having Fun in the Texas Sun!
Michelle
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