Comal River — Attraction in New Braunfels

Great city run river. All city employees were knowledgeable and kind. We were heading into the river Tuesday 7/27 at 1230p and the two people watching everyone enter were so helpful.

Dog on the river: I read a few reviews online and called beforehand (we used a tube rental place, I would suggest just bring your own) to ask about dog safety. I saw reviews that dogs had fun and reviews that said don’t take dog. Not much in between. The first rapid is dangerous, for dog or human if the tube isn’t bigger/ very buoyant. It’s almost as soon as you enter the river. My husband had been before and said he didn’t remember it being anything wild. So my 15lb fluff ball sat on my lap. And our tube flipped and I fell on top of him and we had a pretty horrible experience; just after getting in. It was my fault that I hadn’t put his vest on yet. That would’ve helped. So if you take dog, life vest before water- period. The city appointed life guard saved his life. Props to the city employees for sure. Also, out of the water dogs must be on a leash or there’s a 500$ fine.

When you enter the river area- there’s city employees and life vests owned by the city. The lifeguards are also city employees. You could really just get some tubes at academy or something, park somewhere in the middle, and head over. Because, rentals end up being a 45$ service if you are one person. (Our tube site-rockin r, charged you 20$ to park at their offsite lot.)

I hope this info helps your family feel more informed before going! The river itself is fun and...

It was going amazing until we were exiting where the employees asked everyone to get off and the worst thing possible happened... my spouse went completely under the water and began to drown. I jumped in and attempted to pull him out then we both began to go under as the current started to carry us away from the employees. I yelled for help and the employees literally just WATCHED!!!!! Then I got a good grip on him and got above the water the employee so casually threw a little tire with rope. IT WAS ABOUT 6 EMPLOYEES INCLUDING THE MANAGER AND NOBODY GOT IN AND HELPED!!! One of the employees witnessed what happened and was very sympathetic and apologized for how things happened. I was extremely upset due to the fact WE COULD HAVE DROWNED!!!!! The supervisor was extremely nonchalant and could care less what happened. They need to be more trained on how to respond to a situation like that!!!! People can catch cramps ect and things can happen very quickly!!!! The police were across but I guess they didn’t realize what was going on either. Just a complete mess!!!!! By the grace of God we are ok and thank you to Amber and the diver that tried to assist us as much as they could. We are very appreciative of them. To avoid any future major lawsuits I advise they get some type of training and...

2 stars for safety concerns- last time (and only time) I went to the Comal so many people were being smothered by the crowds. They do not tell you that if you go to the very end there are only 2 exits. The first exit you see is for a business and it says “exit only” for THEIR patrons.

Ignore that sign if it’s a busy day. I don’t care what they say to you. We went to the next exit trying to follow directions and that was the ONLY exit left. There were hundreds of people all exiting at once. It was pure chaos and people started to panic. A man pushed me under 3 different times until someone else finally yelled at him to quit. My dad had to pull me out bc the water was far enough below the first concrete “step” and there were no stairs descending further down.

My friend got separated from us, pushed back out into the river. Ended up getting out in someone’s backyard and a cop yelled at her. The cop needs to yell at the city instead. She was alone and didn’t know where we were. Shame on that cop.

ALSO- STAY IN THE CHUTES! DO NOT DIVERT AND STAY AWAY FROM THE TINY WATERFALL. A man was actively drowning when we went through and someone had to go save him. Be careful. Wear your water shoes. Bring food and drinks. APPLY SUNSCREEN TO YOUR KNEES FOR THE LOVE OF ALL...