We offer a selection of Texas Intercoastal kayaking trips, trips involving river kayaking in Texas, and trips involving paddling in lakes.

We give a 30-minute introduction to kayaking before each trip, so with most of our trips, if you are in reasonably good health, you can join us without any previous experience. If you would like to go somewhere that we do not have listed, let us know.  We can scout the trip for hazards, and if it is safe, arrange to take you there for a kayak tour

Going Batty in Austin

This is a trip involving padding in a small lake.  Come see 1.5 million Mexican Free-Tailed Bats exit from under Congress Street Bridge in Austin, Texas. Best times are May and June and late August and September.  we schedule evening trips at the full moon or just before the full moon on Lake Lady Bird Johnson (formerly Town Lake). We launch before sunset to give everyone an opportunity to get familiar with the assigned kayak, and then we head for Congress Street Bridge. Sometimes we see only a few bats, especially if clouds move in; other times the stream of bats seems to never end.

Cost: $40 per person (minimum 5 clients)

Group size: Group size is limited to 16 people.

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4 to 6 Hour Kayak Tours

We have a number of different tours available.  They range from a paddle down the San Marcos River (see adjacent photo) to a number of the different Texas Paddling Trails, to trips on the Pecos River and the Rio Grande.  We are constantly adding new tours.  The tours can be slanted to bird watching, communing with nature, or just relaxing on the water.   See farther down on this page for some of the tours that are available.  If you want to go somewhere else, let us know and we will check the area out and determine whether it is feasible.

What to expect: After the kayaks are rigged, we take those who are not experienced kayakers through a 30-minute pre-launch briefing and kayaking orientation.  Those with less experience are paired up with participants with greater experience or with guides.  Normally one guide stays in front of the group and one guide stays behind the group, so no one gets separated from the group.  If any member of the group becomes tired and cannot continue to paddle, one of the guides will provide a tow.  We are out to become a part of nature, so we are not racing, and we are not in rapidly-moving white water, so most tours are very relaxed with opportunities to discuss what is observed.  Some clients bring binoculars.  Others bring cameras to shoot close-ups of birds and other creatures.

Cost: $180 for the 1st person, $60 each additional person – To add a moonlight paddle on the Lighthouse Lakes tour, add $20 per person.

Group size:  Usually limited to 16 kayakers .

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Parida Cave, Panther Cave, and the Lower Pecos River

This is the ultimate river kayaking in Texas if you do not want to fight flowing water.  We launch at the Pecos River boat ramp (40 miles west of Del Rio) for all three kayak tours.  Parida Cave and Panther Cave are on the Rio Grande River and can only be accessed by watercraft.  It is a two-mile paddle to Parida Cave and an additional 6 miles to Panther Cave.  Unless we have a wind blowing up the lake and funneling between the limestone cliffs lining the Rio Grande, the paddle to Parida Cave is pleasant with a 3- to 4-hour round trip.

For adventurous strong paddlers, after visiting Parida Cave we can paddle on to Panther Cave (6 miles) and see additional Indian Art. The Panther Cave excursion requires that we primitive-camp on the shores of the Rio Grande for one night.  As long as we do not have clouds, and usually we don’t, the stars will be bigger and brighter than most people have ever seen them.  When going to Panther Cave, we launch at 9:30 am and visit both caves on the first day and usually we are back to the launch site by noon on the second day. Each kayaker will be carrying a portion of the food, water, and camping gear required for the trip.

For the Lower Pecos River kayak tour, we paddle upstream about 6 miles to the Pecos Railroad Bridge, past dolomitic limestone cliffs riddled with side canyons to explore.  We can continue up-river as far as Shumla Bend (park boundary), about 10 miles above the launch site. This trip requires at least one night on the river; and depending on the paddling skills, endurance, and desires of the clients, can be a 2- or 3-night campout.  We schedule paddles to Parida Cave, Panther Cave, and the Lower Pecos River year-round, but July and August tours tend to be rather warm.  While in the neighborhood, we encourage our clients to take a hiking tour in the Seminole Canyon State Park to see the Fate Bell Shelter.  Lodging is available in Del Rio, or camping facilities are available at Seminole Canyon State Park.

Armand Bayou

Armand Bayou is one of our favorite Texas Intercoastal Kayaking locations.  It is located in LaPorte, TX, and is a brackish-water bayou.  There are different things to see each month of the year.  During the winter there are numerous over-wintering water birds.  In the spring there are flowers to see along with the birds.  August brings out the harmless spiders.  Alligators are common in the area and are periodically seen throughout the year, but are more prevalent in the warmer months.  There are portions of Armand Bayou where people can paddle and find their way back to the launch site without a problem.  There are wonderful portions of the bayou where a GPS (and knowing how to use it), or a guide who knows the area, keeps people from experiencing more of nature kayaking than they desired.  We schedule Armand Bayou trips year-round..

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Lighthouse Lakes

This is another of our Texas Intercoastal Kayaking gems.  Between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas, Texas, are low-growing mangrove swamps that cannot be accessed by most powerboats.  Between the mangrove motes are underwater prairies of sea grass.  At low tide, there are even limitations on access by kayaks.  From October through the Ides of March the area is home to numerous over-wintering water birds.  During that time, the winds are not as bad as they are during the summer, but there can be trip-canceling winds during any month of the year.  It is easy to get lost, but oh-so-many things to see.  The specific route is based on the winds, the tides, and what the clients want to see, and whether duck season is open.  Schedule your trip a few days before a full moon and add a moon-light paddle to the trip.  We schedule coastal kayaking trips to the Lighthouse Lakes from September through March.

Birds are much less afraid of people in kayaks than they are of motorboats or of people walking or wading.  Being 15 feet from a feeding Little Blue Heron is not unusual and is definitely kayaking with nature.

SCHEDULING  A TOUR

See the TRAINING page for a list of currently scheduled tours and classes.  To schedule a tour or a class, call us at 210-573-2020 or e-mail us at herbnordmeyer@gmail.com

Please Read our Requirements to prepare yourself before the journey.