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Texas | Prairies and Lakes
Colorado River
Texas River School River Camp to FM 973 / Del Valle Bridge
Check current paddling conditions for this Colorado River route, including water level, recent gauge trend, weather, and route details.
Route location
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Need to know
Why this call
Conditions
Gauge history and hourly forecast
The top card is the quick read. This lower section keeps the longer gauge trend, gauge context, and hourly forecast together.
Gauge detail
Gauge history & hourly forecastDetailed view
Gauge
Recent trend
Checking preferred range.
Checking trend.
Gauge source
--Checking timestampMN DNR provides the current paddling level here, but not chart-ready recent samples.
Weather
Hourly forecast
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Next 8 hours
Short-route forecast
Checking the next several hours.
Route overview
Quick facts and what's next
Distance, difficulty, shuttle basics, and the near-term outlook before you commit to the drive.
Quick facts
Plan ahead
Upcoming outlook
These are early planning reads. Re-check live conditions before you commit to the drive.
Waiting on forecast.
Waiting on forecast.
Plan
Plan your trip
Launch points, shuttle details, distance, and access notes.
Route logistics
Access and shuttle
Launch from Texas River School River Camp and paddle five lower-Colorado miles to FM 973 / Del Valle Bridge. Use the Colorado River at Austin gauge with a conservative 200 cfs floor, then make a same-day call on reservation access, release changes, heat, wind, shallow bars, the FM 973 carry, and private banks.
Prepare this trip
Take the plan with you
Download the canonical route, add a calendar hold, or send a simple float plan to your group.
Put-in
Texas River School River CampTPWD publishes Texas River School as an active leased-access river camp with a source-backed access anchor. Follow the current gate-code, parking, unloading, fee, and designated-area rules rather than treating the coordinate as a guessed water-entry point.
Take-out
FM 973 / Del Valle BridgeTPWD states that River Camp is five miles upriver from the Hwy 973 take-out. LCRA publishes FM 973 / Del Valle Bridge as a TxDOT-managed access, but its coordinates are rounded access anchors; follow the current open route from the bridge area to the water on arrival.
Plan this segment
Access caveats and watch for
Access caveats
- TPWD publishes Texas River School as an active leased-access river camp with a source-backed access anchor. Follow the current gate-code, parking, unloading, fee, and designated-area rules rather than treating the coordinate as a guessed water-entry point.
- TPWD states that River Camp is five miles upriver from the Hwy 973 take-out. LCRA publishes FM 973 / Del Valle Bridge as a TxDOT-managed access, but its coordinates are rounded access anchors; follow the current open route from the bridge area to the water on arrival.
- The Austin gauge is upstream of this selected reach and the threshold floor is broad Austin-to-Bastrop guidance. Treat the app score as conservative and verify visible level and current at Texas River School before launching.
- This route starts at Texas River School, downstream of the urban upstream access sequence where LCRA warns of a low-head dam between US 183 and FM 973. Do not extend the trip upstream without a separate dam-portage plan.
- Do not infer camping or casual private-bank stops from the short rural shoreline, mid-river bars, or islands. Only the Texas River School endpoint campground is included in the route package.
Watch for
- Flows near or below about 200 cfs, when the Texas River Flows minimum is barely met and shallow bars, scraping, or a muddy landing can slow even a short day.
- High or rising water after rain or upstream release changes, when current, debris, water quality, and bank exits can change quickly below Austin.
- Headwind on the broad channel, summer heat, thunderstorms, motorboat traffic near access points, and the limited FM 973 parking/carry setup.
- Snags, overhanging limbs, island splits, soft banks, and private banks away from Texas River School and FM 973 / Del Valle Bridge.
- Arrival-point offsets: use the published access anchors for planning, then choose the actual wetted launch or landing only from signed, open, source-backed access paths on arrival.
Route gallery
See this route on the water
Photos help show what the access looks like and what the route actually feels like on the water.
Score & sources
Why this score
See the gauge, weather, and source notes behind today's call.
Why this scoreToday's evidence strength is checking
Evidence strength mostly comes down to three things: how direct the active gauge is, how clear the range is, and how fresh the data is.
- Checking evidence-strength notes.
- Checking evidence cautions.
Data behind the scoreGauge, thresholds, and timing
These are the live readings and threshold notes behind today's score.
| Gauge site | Colorado Rv at Austin, TX |
| Discharge | Checking |
| Gauge height | Checking |
| 24h trend | Checking |
| 24h change | Checking |
| Current band | Checking |
| Rain last 24h | Checking |
| Rain last 72h | Checking |
| Air temp | Checking |
| Water temp | Checking |
| Wind | Checking |
| Gusts | Checking |
| Rain timing | Checking |
| Ideal range | Needs paddler reports |
| Known low-water floor | 200 cfs |
| High threshold | Not calibrated yet |
| Evidence strength behind the range | Local route guidance |
| Gauge observed | Checking |
| Paddle Today updated | Checking |
| Main source behind this score | Texas River Flows lower Colorado Austin-to-Bastrop table |
| Gauge source | Checking |
| Weather source | Checking |
| Rainfall source | Checking |
NotesWhat to know before you go
These notes cover the access details, route quirks, and source caveats most likely to matter once you get there.
- Official route shapeTexas River School River Camp to FM 973 / Del Valle Bridge, 5 mi
TPWD states that Texas River School River Camp is five miles upriver from the Hwy 973 take-out, and LCRA lists FM 973 / Del Valle Bridge as a lower-Colorado public access point.
- Public endpoint accessActive TPWD leased access to LCRA-listed TxDOT bridge access
TPWD lists Texas River School as a leased-access fishing, boating, paddling, and camping area open by advance reservation through August 31, 2027; LCRA identifies FM 973 / Del Valle Bridge as a TxDOT-managed river access with limited parking and an uneven carry.
- Access-anchor coordinates30.256179, -97.634178 to 30.21, -97.64
TPWD publishes the Texas River School River Camp latitude/longitude, and LCRA publishes rounded FM 973 / Del Valle Bridge access-anchor coordinates. Treat both as planning anchors and select the actual wetted launch or landing only from signed, open access paths on arrival.
- Product-supported live gaugeUSGS 08158000 at 1160 cfs / 15.34 ft
USGS Water Services JSON returned same-day Colorado River at Austin discharge and gage height at 2026-08-13 23:50 CDT during this implementation run.
- Conservative low-water floor200 cfs minimum-only
Texas River Flows lists the Colorado Austin-to-Bastrop corridor at 200 / 500 / 1,000 / 3,000 / 5,000 cfs and defines the first tier as minimum floating water; Paddle Today uses only that conservative floor.
- Camping and endpoint rulesEndpoint campground at Texas River School
TPWD publishes eight primitive campsites at Texas River School with reservation, fee, gate-code, fire, pet, and pack-in/pack-out rules. FM 973 is not a campground, and route camping is not inferred from private banks, islands, or sandbars.
- Image decisionNo route-gallery image selected
Bounded TPWD, Texas River School, LCRA, Commons, USGS, and same-route web image review found route-context photos but no clearly rights-clean exact Texas-River-School-to-FM-973 paddling asset selected for local reuse.
Verify it yourselfCheck the source links
Use these links to double-check the gauge, route details, and access notes before you head out.
Paddler reports
Recent notes from paddlers
A few quick notes from people who were on this route recently.
Reports
Paddler reports
See recent photos and notes from people on the route.
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More routes to check next
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Quick answers
Colorado River paddling FAQ
What water level is good for paddling Colorado River?
Paddle Today watches Colorado Rv at Austin, TX and uses 200 cfs as the conservative low-water floor for this route. The ideal range still needs more paddler reports.
Where does this Colorado River route start and end?
This route starts at Texas River School River Camp and ends at FM 973 / Del Valle Bridge, about About 5 mi on the water.
Is this Colorado River route good for beginners?
This is listed as an easy route, but conditions still matter. Check today's score, water level, weather, and access notes before you go.
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