Floating the Frio
“If you haven't floated down the 'Ol Frio,” is a line from the lyrics from the Josh Abbott Band, “My Texas'“ song and floating the Frio River was our second adventure in our year of living out the lyrics. Here is everything you need to know before you go!
Where to stay:
The Frio tube rentals are around Leakey (pronouced “lakey” like a lake) and Concan and won’t find the chain hotels down there so check out AirB&Bs or run a search on Google Maps for privately owned homes and cabins. After a search, I landed on The Springs Retreat which is a beautiful, peaceful property that backs up to a spring that flows into the Frio River. The grounds are well kept and there is a nice pool on property as well. The cabin we reserved had a view of the water and just a short walk down the steps took us right down to the river. We saw some young adults with their fishing poles and other’s with canoes. The property was so peaceful and lovely. You can sit outside your front porch and listen to stream, hear the birds chirping the cicadas in the trees. A great place to go to get away from the hustle of the city.
Floating the River:
The Frio up by Leakey is serviced by Happy Hollow tubing and a few others. You can rent tubes and canoes from Josh’s River Outfitters but they do not run shuttles anymore so unless you plan on tying up and staying in one place, you’ll need two cars, one parked at wherever you plan on exiting. We did stop in at Josh’s store to pick up some water shoes, extra sunscreen, sunglasses cords, and we bought a few souvenir items while we were there. The staff was friendly and helpful. Garner state park runs through the middle and then a little further south you can rent tubes at Andy’s, which offers shuttles back. This is what we did. Our experience at Andy’s was great until the very end. If you go, take note that the area called “Neals, which has the swimming hole and directly after is a bridge. There was one little sign, the size of a yardsign, that directs guests floating with Andy’s to exit. I happened to see it in the nick of time. And there were no markers on land so a little signage would go a long way here. Not a big deal, but something to note.
Social Hour
That evening we went to the Back Porch Bar and Grill at the Historic Leakey Inn for dinner, dancing, drinks, and live music. We had a wonderful time! Tiffany, the bartender, who has fittingly earned the title of “best bartender in the world” made delicious Chiltons for me all night and let me tell you, not all bartenders know how to make one, let alone a great one! We met the former judge of the town, W.B. and he provided a wealth of information about the history of the town. His family settled there in the 1800’s! The band, highly entertaining, sang old country songs and the lead musician is also the mechanic in town, and “a damn good one” so I was told. We got to know quite a few of the townspeople along with some tourists too.
We had the absolute best time and will definitely go back to visit! The hill country down there is beautiful, and we recommend taking a drive on windy, ranch road 337. The views are absolutely stunning!
