Texas Hill Country river town between Austin and San Antonio — Schlitterbahn, the Comal and Guadalupe tubing chutes, and the 1845 German hamlet of Gruene.
New Braunfels is the Texas Hill Country river town 30 miles north of San Antonio and 50 miles south of Austin where the spring-fed Comal River — the shortest river in Texas at 2.5 miles — meets the Guadalupe downtown. The whole local economy is built around the rivers and Schlitterbahn (the original German-style waterpark that opened in 1979 on the Comal headwaters); the 1845 German hamlet of Gruene, two miles north of downtown, holds Gruene Hall (Texas's oldest dance hall) and the Whitewater Amphitheater on the Guadalupe. The Camp Warnecke Estates river-tubing condos, the Inverness Condos at Comal River, and the Riverbend Condominiums make up most of the local rental inventory.
Tube the spring-fed Comal River, ride the Schlitterbahn Master Blaster uphill water coaster, dance at Gruene Hall, paddle the Guadalupe below Canyon Dam, and walk the 1845 Gruene Historic District.
The Comal — the shortest river in Texas at 2.5 miles — is the spring-fed local tubing chute, 72°F year-round and reliably floatable from May through September. Rockin' R, Texas Tubes, and Comal Tubes all rent at $25-30 a tube with shuttle pickup and a 2-3 hour float through downtown New Braunfels. The Tube Chute at Prince Solms Park is the rapids highlight at the midpoint.
The original 1979 German-style spring-fed waterpark — 65 attractions on the Comal River headwaters including the Master Blaster (the world's first uphill water coaster) and the Falls (a continuous 1.5-mile river ride). Memorial-Day-through-Labor-Day operating window. Day passes around $69 adult; the Camp Warnecke Estates condos walk to the gate.
Texas's oldest continuously-operated dance hall, opened 1878 in the German hamlet of Gruene two miles north of downtown New Braunfels — a tin-roofed open-air dance floor where Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, and Gary P. Nunn cut their teeth. The afternoon free-show series runs Wednesday-Sunday; the night ticketed shows run Texas country, red-dirt, and Americana acts. Cover varies $15-50.
An open-air concert venue on the Guadalupe River two miles north of Gruene — 5,000-seat lawn-and-pavilion seating with the river running behind the stage. The big Texas country and Americana shows of the summer (Pat Green, Shooter Jennings, Robert Earl Keen) run April through October. Tickets $30-90; arrive an hour before show for tubing-and-tailgating in the parking lot.
The Guadalupe below Canyon Dam runs cold (58°F year-round, released from the bottom of Canyon Lake) — a longer, cooler, more wilderness-feeling float than the Comal. Outfitters at the Horseshoe Loop on River Road run 4- to 6-hour shuttle floats; trout-fishing the upper Guadalupe is the year-round option since the river stays at trout-survivable temps. $25-35 a tube.
The 1845-founded German hamlet on a bluff over the Guadalupe two miles north of downtown New Braunfels — Henne Hardware (1857), the Gruene Antique Company in the old cotton gin, the Gristmill Restaurant (in the original 1880s gristmill), Gruene Hall, and a six-block walking tour of restored cottages. Free; allow two hours.
New Braunfels is the only Texas town where you can tube the spring-fed Comal in the morning, drink a Shiner at Gruene Hall in the afternoon, and watch a Pat Green show at Whitewater on the Guadalupe at night — all without ever leaving the city limits.
The Natural Bridge Caverns, the McKenna Children's Museum, the Wurstfest sausage festival in November, day trips to San Antonio's River Walk and the Alamo, and the Outlets at San Marcos.
Twenty-five minutes west of New Braunfels in the Hill Country — Texas's largest known commercial caverns with a 60-minute Discovery Tour through 180-foot-high cathedral chambers and underground rivers. The above-ground Adventure Park has a maze, a zipline, and a sluice-mining game. Around $32 adult; $20 kids. Year-round 70°F underground; the August heat-day save.
A 51-acre municipal park at the Comal Springs headwaters in downtown New Braunfels — paddle-boats, a miniature train, an 18-hole golf course, the Comal Springs spring-fed swimming pool, and a 0.7-mile hike around the headwaters. Free entry. The free-shaded family alternative on hot afternoons.
New Braunfels's small German-Texas history museum on the original 1845 hilltop where Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels established the colony — exhibits on Adelsverein immigration, Comal Springs cotton-mill heritage, the 1851 Sophien-Hotel, and a small archive of original-settler letters. $7 adult; closed Mondays.
A small downtown New Braunfels children's museum with a hands-on Comal Springs exhibit, a kid-sized HEB grocery store, a doctor's office, and a German-village dress-up area — the under-10 rainy-day standby. Around $9 admission; closed Sundays.
The first-week-of-November ten-day German sausage festival at Landa Park's Wursthalle — beer-and-sausage tents, the Texas Polka Music Hall of Fame, oompah bands, the Wurst Family Polka, and 80,000+ attendees. Around $10 entry. Book lodging six months ahead; the local rental rates spike to peak-season for the festival weekend.
The third weekend of every month February-through-December in Gruene — 100+ artisan vendors set up around the Gruene Hall plaza for a Saturday-Sunday open-air market. Free entry; pair with an afternoon Gruene Hall free show. The local Saturday-after-tubing classic.
Thirty miles south on I-35 — San Antonio's downtown attractions: the Alamo (free), the 15-mile River Walk loop, the King William historic district, and the Pearl Brewery food-and-shopping campus. The local New Braunfels-week classic; allow a full day. Park at La Cantera or take the SA-bound bus from Gruene.
Fifty miles north on I-35 — Austin's downtown is 50-70 minutes via the Austin Bergstrom side; ample time for a UT campus walk, Lady Bird Lake paddle, the State Capitol tour, and dinner on Rainey Street or in East Austin. The longer-day-trip option from a New Braunfels base.
Twenty minutes north on I-35 — Texas's biggest outlet mall complex (the Premium Outlets and the Tanger Outlets share the I-35 service road) with 240+ stores. The rainy-day Hill Country shopping save.
Twenty minutes north on FM-306 — the 8,200-acre Canyon Lake reservoir and the Guadalupe River below the dam are the cooler-water alternative to the Comal on a hot August day. Boat-ramp launches at Comal Park and Cranes Mill; trout-fishing the upper Guadalupe is the year-round option. Browse our Canyon Lake microsite for a longer multi-night base.
The Gristmill in the 1880s Gruene gristmill ruins, Krause's biergarten for the schnitzel, McAdoo's Seafood for the Friday-night fish fry, Naegelin's Bakery for the morning kolache, and the New Braunfels Smokehouse for the Hill Country brisket lunch.
Built into the 1878-1922 ruins of the original Gruene cotton gin and gristmill on the bluff over the Guadalupe — three levels of patio dining over the river, the local-favorite chicken-fried-steak, the prime rib night, and the cedar-plank salmon. Reservations strongly recommended for weekend dinner; arrive an hour before sunset for a top-deck table.
A downtown New Braunfels open-air German biergarten — 80+ rotating-tap beers (from the Hill Country brewery scene plus a deep German import list), the local-favorite jaegerschnitzel, sauerbraten, and the Wurst Plate (sausages, sauerkraut, mustard). Family-friendly until 9 p.m.; a Texas-country-music Friday-Saturday night. The Wurstfest year-round.
A downtown New Braunfels American room in a restored 1920s home one block off Main Plaza — the local-favorite grilled-quail starter, the chicken-and-andouille pasta, the seasonal blackened-redfish, and a 200-bottle wine list. Reservations recommended for weekend dinner. The locals' anniversary-and-birthday default.
A New Braunfels Cajun-and-Gulf-seafood room downtown in the former 1907 post office — the local-favorite fried-shrimp basket, the étouffée, and the Friday-night fish fry. A Hill Country surprise for genuine Gulf-fresh shrimp 200 miles inland.
A New Braunfels Hill Country brisket-and-smoked-meat institution at the I-35 service road since 1943 — the local-favorite brisket plate, the smoked-turkey sandwich, the Hill Country sausage ring, and a small mail-order shop for the Hill Country-style smoked turkey to take home. Open 11-9; arrive before 1 p.m. or after 7 p.m. for the shortest line.
Texas's oldest continuously-operated bakery, opened 1868 — a downtown New Braunfels German bakery with the local-favorite kolaches (sausage-and-cheese for the morning, fruit for the afternoon), apple strudel, and the bee-stings (a Hill Country honey-and-almond pastry). Open 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closes when the kolaches run out.
A downtown New Braunfels specialty coffee bar in a converted 1920s storefront — Texas-roasted single-origin pour-over, the local-favorite breakfast tacos, and a small pastry case. Open 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. The downtown-tubing morning coffee default before the river.
Best season for the Comal vs the Guadalupe, the San Antonio vs Austin airport choice, neighborhoods (Camp Warnecke, Inverness Condos, Riverbend, Gruene), what a New Braunfels week actually costs, and how the tubing shuttles work.
Every property in our New Braunfels collection is hand-checked, hand-photographed, and backed by twenty-four-hour concierge support. The guide is the warm-up. The home is the trip.
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