fitness paddling: exercise, train, race by kayak & canoe

Rio Vista in San Marcos

Rio Vista was a place where I first saw the Texas Water Safari in person. I don't count here hours spent on watching safari videos. My two pictures from the 2001 Texas Water Safari show two 4-person boats going through Rio Vista: the first one with West Hansen at a bow is portaging while the "cowboys" are running boat chute - they needed to stop to empty their boat.

In the early 2006 the Rio Vista dam started to fall apart and the city of San Marcos rebuilt it into a whitewater park with three smaller drops - see The Transformation of Rio Vista Dam.

You still have a choice of running Rio Vista with a good chance for swimming in the case of racing canoe or portage it..

Joe Hunt

paddler from Texas, age 54

safari experience: completed several safaris (8 or 10?) in different tandem boats (aluminum, C2, mixed) in 1975-83

finished 2007 TWS in 83:39 hours paddling Spencer X-treme

Brian Smith

paddler from Texas, age 49

safari experience: completed 2004 TWS solo in 87:56 and 2006 MR-340 in 85:00 in sea kayak

finished 2007 TWS in 83:40 hours paddling sea kayak

Gaston Jones

paddler from Texas, age 34

safari experience: 5 safaris completed, finished 2006 TWS solo in 62:10

finished 2007 TWS as the 5th solo unlimited (15 th overall) in 45:08 paddling Spencer X-treme

The picture shows Gaston entering Cottonseed Rapid and, YouTube video, Gaston portaging Rio Vista.

The 2007 TWS pictures come from Bob Brooks photo gallery. You can click any of them to see a full size version.

Rio Vista information from AmericanWhitewater.com

In May of 2006 the City of San Marcos opened the Rio Vista Whitewater Park to the public. The original Dam was closed, water was rerouted and the area was rebuilt due to structural problems.

Rio Vista Park is located about a mile south of the spring-fed headwaters of the San Marcos River just off of I-35 in San Marcos Texas.

Rio Vista is a reliable park-and-play spot with water temperature's in the 70's year round. There are three waves to practice surfing techniques, stern squirts, ferries, eddy-turns and peal-outs. Above the park is a flat water pool great for working on flat water moves and for beginners to work on rolling.

The park has lighting for night paddling so it is not uncommon to see people in the water even late at night. Parking is available at the put-in, however in the warmer months the water is heavily congested with tubers and swimmers making surfing extremely difficult. Plan to arrive late to ensure the crowds have thinned out during the warmer months of the year.

Related posts:

• 3 Top Solo Paddlers in Texas Water Safari 2007 - Part I and Part II
• Carter Johnson and Huki Sx-1 Surfski in Texas Water Safari 2007l
• Ruahine OceanX Kayak in 2007 Texas Water Safari - Ardie Olson 3rd Solo Unlimited
• Carter Johnson on Training for Ultra Marathon Kayak Races
• Video clips: TWS 2002 and TWS 2004