San Marcos River Put Ins and Take Outs

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San Marcos River map free download: tgcanoe.com/san-marcos-river-...
The San Marcos River rises from the Edwards Aquifer in San Marcos Tx forming Spring Lake. It travels 80 miles throughout Central Texas and empties into the Guadalupe River in Gonzales Tx. This makes up part of the annual 260 mile Texas Water Safari race. The San Marcos River is spring fed and has constant flow all year round. As always, know your skill set and research your trip for known portages.
Fishing: Largemouth, Smallmouth, Guadalupe Bass and Guadalupe/Smallmouth hybrids are all found in the San Marcos River. Good number of catfish, Rio Grande Perch, several species of sunfish, carp and gar can also be found.
City Park - Rio Vista Park .6 Miles
Rio Vista Park - Old Bastrop RD 101 4.8 Miles
Old Bastrop RD 101 - San Marcos Scout Camp .65 Miles
San Marcos Scout Camp - Scull's Crossing 3 Miles
Scull's Crossing - Shady Grove Campground 1.8 Miles
Shady Grove Campground - 1977 Staples Bridge 5.2 Miles
1977 Staples Bridge- St Park Road 20 Fentress Bridge 9.6 Miles
Hwy 90 Luling - Zedler Mill Park 6.1 Miles

[@reggieswt]

Alex, This is a great walk through! I've completed the Safari in 2019 and wish we had this then! Keep up the great work. Those that don't know about TG Canoes, they are the best local company with tons of gear and local knowledge!

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Hey, well done on the finish, It can be a brutal race! Appreciate you ✌️

[@roryoldham800]

This is perfect. As someone who lives in Kyle, Thank you.

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Thanks Rory. Get out there and enjoy the river 👍

[@ronniebrown2517]

i used to live in niederwald off 2001...laid back area in 96 to 99....should have bought the one acre i was renting then...anyone know tim schneider?

[@TheSkyIsCrying]

Just moved to the area. Thanks so much for this! Will have to drop by your shop. Thanks again

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Look forward to meeting you 👍

[@mechadebzilla]

Thank you for making this. It's wonderful to see that there are still places in Texas like this.

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Thanks ✌

[@hypergridtech]

I dont know why this information is so hard to find, thank you for such a great informational resource!

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

👍

[@johnnyhughes8662]

Great info! We paddled from shady grove to staples bridge back in March it was out first trip on the San Marcos river. I paid the gentleman from shady grove to shuttle me back from staples so I could leave my truck at the take out. It was great! I can’t wait to get back and try a new section! Keep it up!

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Thanks for the positive feedback Johnny, love to hear you had a great time on the river!

[@javierortiz1296]

Thank you for showing all the access points I just found this video thank you so much

[@donovannfite5317]

Thanks so much for doing this.

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Thanks Donovann

[@adammckee8954]

Awesome video!! Looking forward to the next one

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Thanks Adam

[@johnpartain6757]

Really great information! I love your road trip videos of put-ins and takeout spots!

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Thanks John!

[@simplydevinedesigns]

Thank you for this amazing video!

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Thanks Shelly.

[@mattwhitehead4374]

This is amazing! Thanks for great information.

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Thanks Matt 👍

[@jimjordan1485]

Great job. Thanks for taking the time to compile this information. Enjoy visiting your shop too.

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Appreciate it Jim 👍

[@Hish9]

This is Awesome !! thank you.

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Hey, thank you!

[@paulgmckavett]

Thanks my friend great info and I plan to go visit you soon

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Thanks Paul, look forward to seeing you.

[@blaisebrown9158]

Great video Alex, very well done.

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Thanks Blaise 👍

[@dylanrich2714]

Thank you so much for this info! You da man

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

✌️your welcome

[@rubenreyes6355]

Such great info provided!! We are making the trip from Cedar Park (NW Austin) and all this info is exactly what we were looking for!! Thx again for posting this video! Cheers!

[@TGCanoe]

Thanks, Ruben!

[@josephberryman5206]

Bought a Shoalie from you last week and forgot to ask about the San Marcos as I'm relatively new to Texas. Phenomenal video. Well thought out and extremely easy to follow. Great job.

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Awesome to hear Joseph enjoy your new Shoalie. Thanks for the positive feedback 👍

[@tomcaldwell5750]

Excellent information, thank you so much.

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Appreciate it Tom

[@tomcaldwell5750]

Have you thought about putting your website URL in your KZbin about section.

[@Lumberjack1n]

You are the absolute best

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Ha ha thanks Sean

[@overthrone3494]

Super informative and professional video you sir are a gentlemen and a scholar

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Thank you 👍

[@AndyDepwe]

Thank you!

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

@@AndyDepwe 👍

[@kidko]

Thanks for this amazingly helpful video! Will have to stop by your shop to thank you with a purchase:)

[@TGCanoe]

Come see us!

[@kimberlylay1005]

Cool.. We are blessed to be living in Luling on the San Marcus River... gorgeous town..awesome people..it's almost like the 80s out here...

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Luling is a wonderful town.

[@shawnbarkdull61]

Good video. I rented my first kayak from Dwayne, he gave me a map and gave me some pointers and now my son and I have seen everything from city park on down to fentress. Now to continue on down to Zedlers and then on to Palmeto State Park.

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

This is great to hear Shawn, thanks for the wonderful feedback. It's a great river with lots of life!

[@BlueEffigy]

amazing video alex, thank you so much T G is the best!

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Hey, thanks so much!

[@BlueEffigy]

@@tgcanoesandkayaks Hey alex how's everything going? I got a question, how long do think its takes to paddle the entire river straight through ?

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

@@BlueEffigy San Marcos River only? Or combined with the lower Guadalupe all the way to the coast?

[@BlueEffigy]

@@tgcanoesandkayaks just the San Marcos

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

@BlueEffigy It would be about 75 miles long. Time wise, it totally depends on if you are a racer, overnight camping, or fishing.

[@BRandomFishing]

Such a great video, thanks! New subscriber here!

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Appreciate ya stopping by 👍

[@marlind.odermatt8108]

Your videos are so great, I wish we could somehow pay you to do this on every one of the beautiful Hill Country rivers! Until then, I will simply make it a point to come by when you are open and do some business with one of the locals who works so hard to make it easy on us!

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Appreciate the kind words Marlin 👍

[@mikemckenna8530]

Bought my Mayfly from you...Can't wait to get it on the SMR!

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Awesome, hope you enjoy it!

[@lakesnake2005]

I hang out at the old Cotton Gin at the Staples Bridge. Great camping by reservation only. Showers and restrooms and plush grass to camp on.

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Oh yeah that's a nice place 👍

[@PatrickLarson]

Excellent video! FYI the links to your social media accounts have errors in them so they all go to "not found."

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

thanks for letting me know Patrick 👍

[@richardcreighton7331]

Awesome video, it there a section that would be deep enough for a hobie pedal drive? Or even a different river. Maybe one you can camp on as well?

[@markschwarz3124]

Thanks for making this! Will you consider adding KZbin chapters to this for each stop? I spent 10 minutes skipping back and forth to send clips to people. It'd be much easier to share if I could send the put in and take out links.

[@TheOrdinaryGamerChannel]

Thanks for the video! How many of those allow overnight camping? Or are there other overnight camping places along the river? I would like to do a one or two night trip down the river if possible.

[@ADBanks]

Great presentation brother I’m a kayak fisherman and always looking for good places to fish and now I know where y’all are located I’m definitely coming out to check y’all out 🙏🏾

[@TGCanoe]

AD, come see us. We look forward to meeting you.

[@jkowalkowski3]

Just came across your channel and I love the info you provide. Would any of these locations be good spots to launch, paddle upstream a ways, and float back down to the car? Edit: I should clarify, any of the locations outside of the main city parks. Thanks!

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Yeah absolutely. Sm Scout camp, Sculls, Staples, and Zedler Mill aka Hwy 80

[@bradbudden9156]

Thanks for the put-ins and take outs. Do you know which ones are the best for fishing?

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Thanks Brad, I usually stay outside the city when fishing. Old Bastrop RD 101 - San Marcos Scout Camp - Scull's Crossing - Shady Grove Campground - 1977 Staples Bridge - St Park Road 20 Fentress Bridge

[@2000orni]

this is great info thanks ! do you guys offer shuttles for people with their own kayak ?

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Thanks Damien. We do not rent or offer shuttle service. Texas Canoes and Kayaks and Alamo Adventures operate rental businesses here on the SM River.

[@TheChriskunts87]

Iam just getting in to river kayaking and for someone that has lived in Gonzales my whole life I been looking for the right put in and takes out to fish this river and it’s entirely

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Hope this video helps, if you have any questions let me know.

[@holedem26]

Any recommendations for solo kayak or the only way is two have two cars?

[@jproylance2730]

is it best to use a kayak in this river or could you use a smaller raft like a fly craft? Thanks for the video!

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

kayaks or canoes work best, but there are a few fishing guide services that use the fly craft style as well.

[@magnetcrusher1193]

When I was there this summer they must have removed all that seaweed sometime between your filming this and the summer because it was clear all the way across.

[@robertchilders8698]

I was (I thought) viewing San Marcos, Cal. Suddenly the subject of a river came up! What river are you talking about? Lived there in the 40s. Never knew of any river there¿! Please clarify!!

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

San Marcos River in San Marcos Texas

[@mullins_zone]

Great Video! We are trying to plan a route to diy our own shuttle for tubing using our base camp of Pecan Park. Any suggestions? Is it advisable to tube from Rio Vista all the way to Pecan Park? Any idea how long that would take?

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Howdy, nobody tubes from Rio to Pecan as there is a major damn in-between that creates a long dead zone. The top areas for tubing are City Park-Rio Vista or Old Bastrop-Tx State/Dons

[@mullins_zone]

@@tgcanoesandkayaks thanks for that info!

[@comuniloco]

If I plan a three-day trip and I have only one car where I could put in and allow the car to be there 3 days and where I could take out and find who takes me to the starting point? I appreciate your answer and your video.

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Shuttles can be hard to come by, contact Texas Canoes and Kayaks or Alamo Adventures. They are rental departments here on the SM River and may offer shuttle service. Be sure to have everything confirmed before jumping on the water. I would only leave my car at one of the private campgrounds for that many days.

[@anthonypeterson5957]

I see you have the K2s, any chance you would use those inflatables for the whole river? Or are the rapids too much for them?

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

I do not own any inflatables, those K2 kayaks were locals putting in. I would not recommend inflatables for the rapid areas. they are fine on calm water though.

[@anthonypeterson5957]

@@tgcanoesandkayaks too late 😂, just took them from Staples to 130 today and they held up alright. Would probably prefer a real kayak, but it did the job for 70 bucks. Caught a little small mouth too. Thanks for this video, definitely helps for choosing different trips. The map is super useful, very detailed. Particularly the estimated time for different routes

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

@@anthonypeterson5957 good to hear lol, glad my video was helpful 👍

[@orlandoarreola2977]

Anywhere to Kayak camp along the way?

[@CC-xs1hh]

Great info thanks for sharing,....I recently retired and on a budget, do you sell used kayaks ,thanks again

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Retirement nice! We sell new almost exclusively. The used market right now is on facebook marketplace.

[@ATX1120]

Are there any spots for kayak camping along the San Marcos?

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

If there is an exposed gravel bar within the river banks, you could legally camp there. The SMR is narrow and does not afford many of those, however. Along the way, there are campgrounds you could use by planning ahead for your trip.

[@shaunfoster6462]

Great video and info. Are there places to stop and camp along the river? My son wants to do an overnight trip. We will be in Lulling next week.

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

There are a few campgrounds in the area on the river, also gravel bars can be used if you do not leave the river walls.

[@sooners2037]

I use to be in the Boy Scouts and we would camp near the river downstream from where we would canoe a word of caution be aware of the low head dams on this river the first one is a small sloped one that you can get trapped on you get out of the river and go down some stairs the second one which is more notable is the larger one is about a 20ft-30ft drop stay to the right on the river you would have to carry the canoe down or kayak do not go over that dam

[@sooners2037]

Believe it’s called Cummings dam

[@carmenjonjora4039]

Family going to San Marcos this weekend what's the best area for small children.we want an area were we can take beer if not it's ok.☺️ Can we cook ,take tents. Can we spend the night. Do we need to take cash or can we pay with credit card. What time should we get there in the morning? Thank you

[@sajewren8807]

Can you take out at the 130 bridge in staple too?

[@TGCanoe]

Last we heard, about a month ago, the owners of 130 were going to gate it, effectively closing it. It is a private highway. I don’t know if they did follow through on that.

[@WaqasKhan-hx4hw]

Is there a place to rent a kayak I have a 3 yr old and would love to take him

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Good question, you would have to call and ask a few places. There is a age limit for insurance reasons. A few places I know are 7yrs and older.

[@brock917]

I know a guy named Spring Fred

[@juancarlosgonzales8055]

At zedler mill can I put in and take take out or no?

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Yes you may

[@juancarlosgonzales8055]

@@tgcanoesandkayaks ok thank you

[@texasbassin614]

How about launching from Stokes park?

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Stokes Park has been closed down since the 2015 floods that's why I did not put it on the list.

[@texasbassin614]

@@tgcanoesandkayaks thanks for the info.

[@kevinraypole3907]

need to replace you cab bumpers. aka body mounts

[@toniavasseur9574]

I’m not even saying it right this is San Marcos river not San Marco

[@tgcanoesandkayaks]

Yeah, it's the San Marcos River 👍

[@toniavasseur9574]

@@tgcanoesandkayaks ya I no

[@kevinraypole3907]

Thats whats causing that noise. i know i spent 14 k finding mine. lol. long story

[@alfredrivera9148]

How do I get to luling 90