New Braunfels, Texas

Is New Braunfels the best place for year-round water fun in America? We think so!

Here’s why. The clear, pure and relatively warm Comal River originates in New Braunfels and provides idyllic conditions for swimming, boating and tubing year-round. In summer, the Comal and nearby Guadalupe River meander for miles through town chockfull of happy summer crowds enjoying leisurely swims and rides on all kinds of water contraptions. When crowds thin after Labor Day, natives revel in the relative solitude of luxuriant shorelines and still-comfortable water temperatures of the Comal, America’s most usable large mineral-springs river.

Our national guidebook, The Great Towns of America, includes three towns in Texas, all of them in the spectacular Hill Country—New Braunfels, San Marcos, and Fredericksburg. This favored portion of Texas is the state’s most popular getaway vacation area, full of undulating hills, orchards, vineyards and farms, and inviting small towns. We selected New Braunfels to be our first eBook for this region because of its distinction as Texas’ freshwater recreation landmark—partly for its two rivers and because Schlitterbahn Waterpark is the epitome of wild, wet fun for people of all ages. The scope and variety, artistry and whimsy of the creative rides, coupled with a semitropical garden setting and use of fresh spring-fed river water in some rides, make Schlitterbahn as delightful for adults as for children.