Guadalupe Canoe Livery

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

Pricey… Dirty…
Some Friends and Family were in town recently and we dropped by there to put in our Kayaks, and rent a canoe for the day. First off, upon arrival some shady character was walking around with a fixed blade knife in his belt asking us if we saw a «chick“walking down the road? and how she took off with all his «stuff» Never mind how dirty and unkept the grounds were or the crackhead walking around we inquired about pricing with the owner, He told us $ 20 per boat (our 2 kayaks) and $ 35 for the canoe, plus $ 10 for additional person in the canoe… so we’re up to $ 85 to rent one canoe and trailer our two kayaks up river (Old Spring Branch Rd.) along with 3 other groups doing the same trip and put in. We were already there and went ahead and did the trip. Scenery was gorgeous, water level was good, caught some bass saw a few moccasins, the trip was advertised for 2 ½ hours but we dragged it out swimming and drinking at some good spots. Overall I won’t be going there again anytime soon.
Conclusion: I bought a Park pass right down the road at Guadalupe State Park for $ 65 and its good at 95 other parks for an entire year! Great deal, very clean and better scenery along the river.

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.

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.

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.

This review is for the great canoeing experience with friends I had on the little rapids of the Guadalupe River back in April. I felt like Pocahontas rowing just around the riverbend and between long river corridors of huge cypress trees. The friendly shop owners at the livery gave us fair warnings about how to navigate around a fork in the river (and how not to crash into the huge cypress creating said fork) and how to bring our canoes back up to shore. It was a beautiful day, and for some reason strong WiFi was available on the river — I was able to video chat with my husband while I was on the river rowing to bring him through the cypress groves and river rapids in TX that day :) It was both my canoeing partner’s and my first time caneoing, but we didn’t capsize, and every time our canoe got stuck, the river was at a speed and depth comfortable enough to hope our and reorient the canoe.

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.

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

Great tubing on the un-​regulated part of the river, only rules are no glass and no styrofoam. The North part from Nichols Landing to 281 is the best, the lower part has a lot of shallow spots, but still fun. I’ve been tubing here since ’89 and it’s always a lot of fun. The owners are always friendly and helpful, and the bus drivers are a hoot!

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.

I rented a canoe here twice and each time was unforgettable. Possibly life changing. The first outing I was with a man for an Alamo draft house event and the water level was good. Man=muscle=good. Possibly the funnest thing I’ve done since moving here. Prices were ok, friendly people, there’s peacocks even. The second time I went with my mom and the water level was awful. Ended up the closest time I’ve ever come to feeling like i was in «The Lord of The Flies». We were sweating, dragging the canoe, crying, tripping on rocks and the vultures were circling. Near the end i think we were just about ready to eat each other. Donner family style. I’ve never worked so hard or wanted anything to be over so badly as that day. Well except for perhaps «The sex in the city» movie. In hind sight we are so glad we did it and laugh about it often. The man that rented and drove us to the lake was a character (in a fun way). I’ve felt very backwoods Louisiana bayou here both times and i like it. Just remember, muscle/​good. High water/​good. Refreshing drinks/​good. If you’re two wimpy city girls like us then expect to be discovering muscles you didn’t know you had.

The GLC aka «The five dollar spot». I will give you the few pros first before I get to the bad. The location is super easy to find and it’s real easy to hop in the river. The campground has a cool vibes that makes you wanna hang out. Now for the bad… Don’t go here on a busy weekend. I can be a total taint kick trying to get a tube. Always bring cash. They have one credit card machine which only works if no one calls. This last trip the bus situation has been good but in years past we were left to roast on the side of the road till the bus driver decided to pick us up. To their credit they have made some structual improvements because it was a border shanty town back in the day.

Smaller version of Yosemite national park. Great place to tubing and camping. Bring mesquito spray.

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.

I’ve been delaying writing this, my 100^th 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 10^th 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.