Texas Whitewater

Texas Whitewater by Steve Daniel 

a Carolina Paddler Book Report

by Zach Schiada

∞ (Author’s note:) I’m writing about a guidebook that I recently read by Steve Daniel. In doing so, I cannot help to think of the recent passing of the author of another meaningful guidebook that I own. I did not know Paul Ferguson personally, but his book, Paddling Eastern North Carolina, was the first guidebook I purchased and read. This was years ago before paddling occupied all of my free time and mental capacity. I was in college and a friend and I both purchased whitewater kayaks. It was a dry year when we bought our boats, so not many trips were made. A trip on the Middle Haw and another on the Deep River were all we managed to do.. Sometime around then, I purchased Paul’s book,  which is regarded as the best of its kind for my home region of North Carolina. It seemed like a good idea since I and my friend lacked knowledge about river running. My paddling hobby was short lived and other life events took priority. I held onto Paul’s book and continued to read through it from time to time, hoping my brief hobby would someday pick back up. Unfortunately, I lost my copy of Paul’s second edition. When I dove back into paddling a decade later, I realized just how valuable the book was and I scrambled to find it.

I eventually got a hold of a Second Edition, with the orange cover, the same I had before. Soon my revived hobby was consuming every bit of my thoughts not dedicated to family and work. I was obsessively reading paddling guides and looking at maps for my next adventure, anytime I couldn’t physically be on a river. Many thanks to Paul, who I never got a chance to paddle with or meet. As I look through the tributes to him by other paddlers in the club, I realize that his contributions extended well beyond his excellent books. I feel confident that his legacy to the club, his friends and family will continues to inspire people as his writing lives on.

∞ It was at the time of Paul’s passing that I had just begun reading the book this report will reference. From the river information on American Whitewater’s database, I understand Texas Whitewater is THE book for the Lone Star state. Steve Daniel wrote the original version in 1999. The Kindle version is the 2004 Revised Edition and includes photos of boats from this time period.

Apart from living in Texas until I was in third grade, I have zero remaining ties to the state, nor do I have any plans to travel there in the foreseeable future. I believe I tubed down the  San Gabriel River when I was very young, but my memory of 30 years ago is fuzzy. Similarly, I believe I tubed on a part of the Comal River that passes through one of the best water amusement parks in the country, Schlitterbahn. I have limited knowledge of the state’s rivers or geography apart from the Hill Country around Austin, where I lived. The book covers the whitewater on these rivers, among many more. Reading Texas Whitewater has been a treat as I’ve learned about an area where I spent part of my childhood.

I was browsing kayaking literature on my Kindle when I stumbled upon this book. I immediately purchased the digital version in hopes of reading about what my paddling life could have been had I never moved to North Carolina. The digital version does not include quick links to different chapters like most digital books have, but it does have links to desired runs in the table of contents. Similar to many guidebooks, this one starts with the usual information: safety, class ratings, paddler’s rights, etc. What caught my eye was a neat disclaimer saying some of the runs listed were speculative, with no known descents. I’m not sure how most people would feel about this, but for me, it was an exciting opportunity to explore, on the map at least. In my opinion it gives paddlers a blank canvas to create their own adventure. I would love to hear if anyone in the Carolina Canoe Club has paddled these obscure creeks in Texas.

The book is divided into river drainages. Most of the whitewater appears to be located in the central part of the state, with a few exceptions in the Dallas area and the canyon areas near the southwestern border with Mexico. Of particular interest was the description of Crabapple Creek (Blanco River tributary). It is considered the second best Texas Whitewater destination–if it weren’t for unfriendly landowners at the put-in with law enforcement taking their side. As of 2026, no trip reports or updates appear on the Crabapple Creek AW pages, so I’m guessing this is still the case. I found a couple of Youtube videos, including this screen grab below from one of them. It is part of the Llano Uplift and drops 100 ft/mile at first and then 70 ft/mile as it passes through a gorge. On video, it looks like a Texas’ version of Wilson Creek rapids. Water levels and resistance from landowners appear to make it a different story. Given the author’s emphasis, I’d like to know if access to this run is an ongoing discussion or if the battle has been lost.

Many other rivers and creeks sound interesting. There is a hint of a different paddling culture in Texas. For example, it appears boofing dams is a more common in Texas than what I see in east coast paddling guides. There are many mentions of dodging barbed wire fences while paddling flashing creeks. Normally these are dry stream beds with cattle fences stretched across. Oftentimes these fences are conveniently washed away when rivers are watered enough to be paddled.The phrase “wait till the floods take out the barbed wire” is repeated a number of times. Most of the rivers mentioned are spring-fed, something I’m not familiar with in North Carolina. I have seen springs in Florida, but they lack the gradient Texas has to offer.

When reading guidebooks, I often follow the described rivers on Google Maps satellite view to see what the streambed looks like. It is eye opening just how different the terrain is. Many rivers appear as dry dirt-paths with only the occasional pool to show that a river is there. It is wild to compare the photos scattered throughout the book with a satellite view that does not hint at the excitement derived with the addition of water to the streambed. I’ve learned a bit about Texas geography and geology from reading the book. While Texas streams have less overall gradient compared to North Carolina whitewater, certain isolated gorges are very steep.

Many paddlers who live outside of Texas would be most interested in the  Big Bend National Park area of the Rio Grande, currently a hot topic in the paddling community. The book covers the whole length of this river through Big Bend and several of its tributaries. For those interested in the Rio Grande, this information alone would be justification to get the book. It mentions sections worth making an overnight or multi-night trip versus those offering a decent day trip. Feeder creeks are noted that might be worth checking out with enough water.

The book goes into quite a bit of detail about paddler’s rights and the conflicting views on what constitutes a navigable stream as held by landowners, paddlers and law enforcement. It’s an interesting section for folks who are passionate about this topic. The laws appear to be similar to those that we have in North Carolina with an additional navigability test. The stream must be at least 30 ft in width on average. Lacking detailed trip reports on American Whitewater of many of the rivers mentioned in the book, I wonder if despite the different laws, paddlers in both states are still facing similar challenges. I’d be curious to hear of any Carolina Canoe Club’s members’ experiences  paddling whitewater in Texas.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever get over to Texas to paddle their rivers. I’d like to since many seem to be right up my alley. What I am sure of is Daniel’s descriptions have caused enough intrigue that I’d like to visit Texas to get a very different whitewater experience than what I’m used to. If I  do, I’ll make sure to read up on this book again before I go. If you plan on paddling in the state of Texas, this book is worth picking up. Or if you have the unusual hobby of reading about areas that you may never paddle and you like to daydream like me, you’ll enjoy this as well.