GRUENE, Texas – The Guadalupe River has been closed in many spots to tubers in the past few months after heavy spring rains and a full Canyon Lake.
As of Wednesday, the river was flowing at 1100 cubic feet per second at Gruene, which is considered a moderate flow.
"Anything over a 1000 (cfs), we don't really put tubers out. So, we've got thousands of tubes that are sitting and getting dusty,” said Shane Wolf, General Manager of Rockin’ R River Rides.
Wolf said there are also age restrictions when it comes to high water flow. On Wednesday, a small group of tubers were transported to a calmer stretch of the Guadalupe, where tubers are still allowed. Still, demand is high as the Independence Day weekend arrives.
"It’s been quite some time since we've had the optimal flow, and people are itching to get out there," said Wolf.
Wolf said they had been fielding hundreds of calls every day inquiring about river flow.
The holiday weekend, however, brings good news for those who want to head to the river. The Army Corps of Engineers will reduce the flow out of Canyon Lake at 4 a.m. on Friday to 400 cfs, which is ideal for recreational activity.
"Before we see the full effect here, it'll be about 2 p.m. (Friday),” Wolf said.
Wolf said the reduced flow will mean big crowds.
The same move to reduce flow was made on Memorial Day weekend, and there were high numbers of tubers on the rivers then.
While the river flow has been fast, spring's heavy rains have created good recreational conditions for the Guadalupe River.
"Thirty-seven years in business and we've never seen it, back-to-back years like this,” Wolf said.