Frio River
Cold, clear Hill Country water through Concan and Garner State Park, the prettiest float in Texas, in flash-flood country.
Today’s read
Flow history & what's normal
All gauges on the Frio
About the Frio
The Frio runs out of the western Hill Country through a cypress-lined canyon, and the Concan / Garner State Park reach is the heart of its float scene. The name means "cold" in Spanish, and the water earns it.
This is a rain-fed river that runs low in summer. Garner State Park's dam pools keep the Concan reach floatable at flows that would strand a free-flowing river, but in true drought it can drop to nearly nothing, as it did in 2022. Call a Concan outfitter to confirm before you drive.
The Frio canyon is flash-flood prone: it can rise feet in minutes after upstream rain (Concan and Garner flooded in July 2025). Watch the weather upstream and respect the low-water crossings.
Float stretches we track
Safety on the Frio
- ⚠ Flash floods are the Frio's defining hazard, if it's raining upstream toward Leakey, get off the water and away from low crossings.
- ⚠ Low-water crossings flood first; never drive through moving water in the canyon.
- ⚠ In drought the river can be too low to float outside the Garner pools, confirm with an outfitter before the drive.
Season by season
- •Summer: the classic season, Garner's pools hold water even at low flow, and the cypress shade keeps it cool.
- •Late summer drought: flows can fall to a trickle; the pools become the only floatable water.
- •Spring / after rain: the canyon runs fast and cold, and flashes hard. Check the Leakey gage upstream.
Outfitters on the Frio River
- Neal's Lodges
- Andy's on River Road
- Happy Hollow Frio River Outfitters
- Josh's Frio River Outfitter
- Garner State Park (concession)
Along the river
Concan · Garner State Park · Leakey · Uvalde