Fall trees lining the Frio River in Texas

Float Down Texas' Iconic River For Stunning Fall Foliage Views

By Hillary Louise Johnson

VACATIONS

For a relaxing and scenic experience, try floating down Frio River in Garner State Park in the autumn. You’ll feel like you're inside a kaleidoscope of gold, red, and orange.
After Labor Day, the hordes of summer tubers are gone, and there’s nothing but the sounds of rustling leaves and water to disturb the silence as you glide along in the sunlight.
It'll stay a perfect 80-90 degrees from September through November, getting just cold enough in the evening for you to cuddle up in your sleeping bag at the campground.
The spring-fed, limestone-carved river is a patchwork of emerald, jade, and turquoise pools, with beginner-friendly rapids. A 3-mile section is contained within the park.
You can drag your watercraft onto a pebble beach to have a picnic or tie up in the shade of cinnamon-colored cypress trees with wide trunks and roots growing out into the water.