Wanting to Dive the Comal River

[brntwltrs]

Hey guys,

Wanting to dive the Comal river (NB, TX) in the next couple of weeks... Does anyone have suggestions, maps, places to stay (camping), is there a loop you can do or is it a current dive trip (if where do you put in and get out)?

Thanks,
Brent

 

[waytooslow]

Brent, I have been wanting to dive there as well, maybe a convoy from Euless? Will be watching thread to see if info gets posted - Thanks

 

[Guba]

Random answers...
It's pretty much a drift dive. While you CAN fight the current, it's more fun if you don't. During the summer, hoards of folks tube the Comal. Therefore, the "tube taxis" are running and it's an easy job to park at your take out point and hire one of the many taxis to take you to the upper reaches. (Or you can to the reverse...park at one of the tube joints on the upper reaches, dive to a take out point and hire someone to take you back to your vehicle.
From the upper putins, it's about a tank or so down to Hinman Park, a good takeout. I haven't dived the lower river (below the first tube chutes) but I'm told there is a good loop where you can ut in on one side of the loop, dive around the tight bend in the river, and get out on the other side, then walk back to where you started.
Have fun, and be looking for "stuff" on the bottom as you dive...tubers drop just about everything!

 

[brntwltrs]

Hey Guba,
Thanks for the help, greatly appreciated.

Hey Waytooslow,
I see a road trip in the near future, more the merrier. Give me a call at 817-980-5916 (cell).

Brent

 

[vanessar]

I love to dive the Comal and am looking forward to The 2009 Trashfest. I did my OW in the Comal and diving there always brings back fond memories.

Going through the tube shoots in your gear is a blast!

vanessar

 

[Rhino2K]

I dive there all the time. The upper river (Hinman Island Park) is deeper. You can also dive the lower river by entering the river at the Lincoln St. bridge. It takes 35-40 minutes to make the half loop. Ascend every so often and look for the "Last Public Exit" to the left. You need to get out of the river at this point or you will end up in the Guadalupe River.

 

[Jay_SMART_Diver]

Here's some info from one of my old posts:

Ok Here's the Dive report from the Comal (Hinman Island Park) from Friday 12-31-04. My dive buddy had to cancel so I didn't get out there till about 3:00 pm. The weather was warm and partly sunny/cloudy outside temp was around 78-80. Geared up in the parking lot of the park next to a couple of lovely blond Divers who were already heading to the river, and also saw a few other guys already in the water. My lovely brunette girlfriend :07: showed up and shuttled me further upstream than you can get in the park, by driving me around to this RV park that is across the river (gives about 40 more yards of river and I didn't have to walk that far with all the gear on.) Dropped into about 5 feet of water and started the dive, I had added about 6 extra pounds of weight for the current and it worked great. This was almost like drift diving in Cozumel, just not as deep . The dive was effortless and the current wasn't too strong to overcome if you grabbed a rock and dumpped BC air you could hold yourself in one place. The visibility was 8-10 feet and the riverbed is mostly rock with a little covering of silt. There are quite a few piles of railroad spikes and other iron nuts and bolts from the railroad trestle that have been scattered around the riverbed. I did see a couple of Rio Grande Perch, a couple of large Carp, and Bass. The depth was mostly around 6-8 feet but the river does start getting deeper past the last set of stairs to Hinmann Island park (around 12-15 feet past the stairs) closer to the Dam and Tube Chute, at this deeper part the current does ease up, so swimming back to the stairs isn't too much of a chore. The water temp was 75 degrees and I wore a two peice 3mm wetsuit and was very comfortable. Dive #1 was 27 minutes with a max depth of 11 feet. Dive #2 was 13 minutes with a max depth of 8 feet. Exiting the last set of stairs and walking back to the first set of stairs wasn't too hard fully geared, and you could get possibly 4 dives out of one tank. Easiest way to get there IH-35 to New Braunfels, Exit 187 Seguin Ave, go west on Seguin Ave to the Square of town, take the first right off the traffic circle going around the Square onto San Antonio Street. Cross the river and take the first left onto Liberty Ave. Take the first left that Y's off (past the entrance to Prince Solms Park) onto Hinman Island Dr. There is parking on the left side of the road and ramps and stairs down to the river.

Landa RV Park is across from Hinman island Park and they have camping sites right by the river, plus they will shuttle. During the Summer on the weekend the City usualy blocks off the parking spots at Hinman Island Park, so you have to pay the $5 and park at Prince Solms Park @ the tube chute. I have done this as well and geard up at my car and made the walk across the footbridge from Solms to Hinmann and it's not that bad. If you can make this dive during the week it tends to be less crowded and since it's spring fed the water is about the same temp year round.

 

[eieio_24]

Brent,

I would never suggest you go through the Tube Chute in your gear. I've gone through it on tubes, and without a tube, and have bumped rocks. I've also dove below the tube chute in the heaviest area of current, and there are large rectangle cement blocks and large rocks not too far below the surface. I would hate to bust up my gear doing the chute geared up - suggestion: get out at the stairs and walk around - much safer. Also, the current is not bad - it is fairly easy to fin your way back up-stream.
If you spearfish, there is also a city ordinance banning spearfishing in the Comal.
- enjoy...

 

[brntwltrs]

WOW, thank y'all for all of the information, please keep it coming. I have found my new favorite website I plan to go either late this month or early July and will certainly post the date when I firm everything up. It would be great to dive with someone that has "been there and done that".

Thanks again,
Brent

 

[chrispete]

RumBum, BOGrady, and I did the Comal this past weekend. The 'toobers are starting to come out in force so the viz in the lower Comal wasn't the best but the interaction with the toobers made up for it. I'd suggest carrying some fake gold coins or a bikini top (these can be found on the bottom rather easily) for the inevetable "what did you find down there?" questions. Let me know when you'll be in town, we're always up for a dive.

The river's already ready for a cleanup. Maybe someone who knows the owners of a river taxi company/service orginization could suggest a "trade a bag of trash for a ride" type setup where divers can get a free ride back to their start point if they bring up a bag of trash at the end of their dive. I would think that the various service clubs would see the benefit of being able to say to the public, "not only do we help the economy by bringing in tourists, we clean the river at the same time."

Just a thought.