Zedler Mill Paddling Trail

I found this great trail while planning my trip to Texas. It’s six miles on the San Marcos river, ending at the Zedler Mill. The website said that the city of Luling had a kayak rental service but there was not much other information. I e-​mailed the parks & rec department and got a very informative reply with the prices ($ 25 for a single rental including shuttle) and a contact number. I called a few days in advance and said I would be coming Monday at 8 AM. Don said that would be fine and told me to park at the flagpole at the Mill parking lot.
I arrived at the flagpole right at 8 AM, just as a trailer of kayaks pulled up at the edge of the parking lot. By the time I got out of the car, the driver had vanished. However, the phone number that I had called earlier was printed on the side of the trailer. So I called and Don immediately answered, said he saw me and was coming over.
Don was friendly although he said he did not remember my calling. He said that must have been before the mud. He walked me over to show me that due to work on the dam by the mill, the take-​out area was all very soft mud and would be hard to get a kayak out onto. He said that would be the hardest part of the trip and I said I thought I would be okay. He showed me a small ramp of crushed red rock higher up on the bank and said it would be fine for me to leave the kayak there, once I got through the mud.
Don had me follow him over to the side of the take-​out area so I could park my car. Then he drove me upstream 6 miles to another city-​owned area to put in. He had me fill out a waiver. He got my kayak ready for me at the side of the river. Just as I was getting in, he said, «I forgot to get your money!» but we agreed I would pay him when i got back.
The river was flowing slowly and that was good, because I hadn’t gone paddling in a while and it took about 15 minutes to re-​master steering and paddling. I was having so much fun and I was utterly alone. Well, except for fish and birds and the occasional group of curious cattle.
There are mile markers along the bank but the first one I saw said 4 miles. Then of course I spent a good 20 minutes trying to decide if that mean I had gone four mile or had four miles left to go. When I saw the 3-​mile marker I figured it out.
It was late July and the river was a little shallow in places. I almost had to get out and walk at one point, but was able to scoot across the shallow areas and continue on. The shallow areas were earlier on in the trail. There were also some places that required some thought as to how to squeeze between fallen trees or avoid low-​hanging branches. I enjoyed the mental challenge. I did not want the trip to end!
The water was clear enough to see turtles and fish under water. I saw a gar fish and that was surprising… they are not attractive.
When I got to the take out place, I found that the workers had just dumped a load of rock on top of the small ramp I was supposed to use. They directed me upstream a little bit and said the mud was not as bad there. It wasn’t too bad… once I got out and immediately sunk into mud up to my rear end, then figured crawling might work better. About four feet up, the mud was more shallow and sturdy,
There are restrooms and an outdoor shower across the river at the Mill area. I needed to get a lot of mud off of me before I was fit to drive off. (And yes, I found Don and paid him.) The kayak rental was definitely worth the money and it was great to have the river to myself.

updated — paddled the trail this last weekend, it was really clear, only one tree snag that presented any kind of challenge and it that was only a sharp right then left turn. no scraping over logs and everything else was wide open. BEAUTIFUL!
I’ve paddled this 4 times at different times of year. It is really pretty. When the water is slow flowing, you will definitely have to paddle all the way. No floating. This happened to me in August. Compare that to last spring when it was only a 2.5 hour trip and I only had to ‘steer’ cause the flow was fast. But back to this summer, it took about 5 hours cause We got tired of constantly paddling and took our time. I thought my arms were gonna fall off. Would I do this again? Absolutely! This is a pretty safe stretch of river with no rapids. I take beginners with me. You do have to worry and be wary of tree snags down in the water. But if you paddle much, you know that is just a normal thing you have to worry about anywhere. In Texas rivers there are always a few trees down. The four times I paddled, I could get around them. I’ve seen raccoons washing their dinner on the bank, and a lot of wildlife here. Quick day trip from Austin or San Antonio where my brother comes to meet me, great BBQ restaurant, nice people to tun your shuttle if you need, what more could you want for a quickie paddle tip. I’ll be back. Did I mention City Market BBQ? I’ll definitely be back.

Zedler Mill Paddling Trail follows the San Marcos River with 6 miles of sharp bends and turns. This beautiful river valley with 20 ft river banks and forest of trees offers plenty of shade in the Texas heat yet feels like you are on an exotic trip. With no rapids or damns it is a great place for new paddlers or a lazy float down the river. The river is spring fed so it stays at a constant level even during the draught that we are experiencing. The trail begins at a small park under Hwy 90 and ends across the street from Luling City Park.
Our crew met Randy (Luling Rental and Shuttle) at Zedler Mill Park (the address I used for the trail) and shuttled over to the put in point. We had planned to do a longer paddle but Randy informed us that there was a «gnarly log jam at the 3 mile mark» so we stuck with the 6 mile paddle which took around 2 hours.
FYI do not attempt to get out and pee on the private property lining the river there is public toilets at Luling Park.