Tubers, outfitters ready for unofficial kickoff of summer during Memorial Day weekend

Guadalupe, Comal rivers fill with tubers during summer weekends

SATTLER, Texas – The Guadalupe River opened for tubing business Friday. The Army Corps of Engineers slowed the flow of the river down to 400 cubic feet per second, just fast enough for a perfect tubing ride.

"We are so excited," said Will Korioth, owner of Whitewater On The Horseshoe, a tube outfitter. "The lake is full. The river is flowing. We’re set up perfect."

Korioth plans on the holiday weekend, given good weather, to be big not just big for him but for all the tube renters along the river.

"'How many cars can you park?' You are going to be booked and sold out, so everyone will be on the horseshoe this weekend," Korioth said.

The 'horseshoe' is a popular stretch of the river just below the dam the crosses under Highway 306 twice near Sattler.

Adventurers wasted no time enjoying their weekend as soon as they could get a tube and get into the water.

One group all the way from the Bay Area in California are here for the first time to attend a wedding so they figured to get in a little fun.

"Cool, refreshing, yea. Oakland doesn't really have any good water like this so '(I’m) loving it'," said Dima Volkov.

Some early tubers came from El Paso, Lubbock and Houston.

Travis Pharr has tubed the Guadalupe before with his friends but this time he brought his wife and young son with him.

"I am going with the family so we are going to have some fun," Pharr said.

"The energy of it. It's getting hot and the river is just so perfect. It kicks off the summer," Korioth said.


About the Author:

David Sears, a native San Antonian, has been at KSAT for more than 20 years.