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Kayaking and camping with boy scouts.

Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 2:17 pm
by CSJ3790
Hello.

I'm looking to help my sons boy scout troop a kayaking trip down one of the near by rivers. We are out of the houston area, so I am looking at colorado river, but am open to suggestions on other rivers? My plan would be to do a thru trip, where we are dropped off up stream and pick up at a designated location down stream.

I have never been on a trip like this, and not sure how many miles we should plan to travel per day. I understand flow rates, wind, heat, cold, etc will effect how far we can reasonably travel. Taking into account, time for fishing, lunch, and exploring, how many miles per day would you attempt? Again, this is with boy scouts, so inexperienced, immature boys be the majority of the group.

Any suggestions, advice, etc is greatly appreciated.

Thanks


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Re: Kayaking and camping with boy scouts.

Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 8:32 pm
by HooknPaddle
Our troop did day float trips on Village Creek (Beaumont) or on the Colorado (Bastrop or Columbus).

Village Creek has a state park for camping and outfitters there.

In Bastrop, there is Bastrop State Park, 2 LCRA Parks and 2 outfitters: http://risingphoenixadventures.com/, http://www.bastropriverco.com/

In Columbus, we stayed at Thousand Trails: https://www.thousandtrails.com/texas/co ... ampground/. The outfitter in Columbus is Howell Canoe Livery https://www.howellcanoe.com/

A 6 mile trip will be 2-3 hours depending on how many stops you make.
Bastrop has a 6 miler (2-3 hours), 14 miler (5-8 hours) and overnight trips.
Howell Livery in Columbus offers several options as well.

We usually packed lunch and planned to stop at a gravel bar or island to eat. This can easily lengthen any float trip.

Another fun outing we have done is to rent a bunch of Kayaks and camp at Huntsville State Park. The boys have a lot of fun paddling in the lake and getting exposed to kayaking.

If this to be an official scout trip all your boys should have completed their Swimming Test and one or two adults must have completed all Safety Afloat Training.

Good Luck!

Re: Kayaking and camping with boy scouts.

Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:55 pm
by CSJ3790
Thanks alot! This is extremely helpful and gives me a some more options i was not aware of. Appreciate the reminder about the requirements about safe a float training.

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Re: Kayaking and camping with boy scouts.

Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2018 10:30 am
by TG Canoes and Kayaks
Howdy,
If you're looking for a Friday - Sunday adventure, try the San Marcos River. Boy scouts have been enjoying this beautiful, spring-fed river for decades. Most stay at the boy scout, girl scout, church group, family friendly San Marcos River Retreat, which is safe, alcohol free and right on the river. Drive in and set up Friday night, paddle 6.5 miles from City Park in San Marcos back to the campground, enjoy another night of camping, and make the easy drive home on Sunday. Avoid the summer months because the tubers are many. But, from late Fall to early Spring, the San Marcos River is yours. Phone number for the San Marcos River Retreat is 512-787-5574. Phone number for canoe and/or kayak rentals is Paddle With Style 512-749-2350.
Duane TG