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Cook's Canoes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
3 reviews for Cook's Canoes
I rented a kayak from this place and was very happy with my experience. I was kayaking on the Webberville Loop with some friends who all own their own kayaks. I rented a kayak here for 20.00 for the day and since we are fast paddlers we did the whole loop and did not need their shuttle service (that they offer for free).
I did not call ahead to check but I came armed with a rubber padded door mat for my dog to sit on and they were happy to see that my dog would be paddling with me and told me a sweet story about a guy who is paralyzed from the waist down who rents from them and exercises his dog by letting him pull the kayak. If my dog did not know Sit Stay I would be doing the same thing:)
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
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For $30 per day per canoe, you can wind down the Colorado from Little Webberville Park to Big Webberville Park, which is approximately five miles. You can choose to go further, but it's another twelve before you reach a place to pull out, so be sure you are up for it.
There are great bends and straightways, offering varying river speeds and challenges (for a novice or if you have a 3rd person). Be sure to lolly gag and stop when you can, i.e. use the whole day. If not, you can pull out and pay $10 to get taken back to the original drop-in point. Seems like they need gas money for more than the one shuttle trip included in their fee. Understandable, given the wallet raping we are all experiencing right now at the pump.
Michael and Neil will take your cash (only!) and meet you down at the ramp with the canoe(s), offer you advice (if you need it), and send you on your way. They provide life jackets and plastic bags for your cell phones. Bring a cooler for lunch at Big Webberville Park, while you wait for the shuttle...and, of course, for beer. A third person can sit on in the center on a cushion, but it will require more skill and balance than most are likely willing to provide for someone other than Mom.
It's hard to give 3-stars when I spent all day outside on the water, but I am partial to kayaking, and it was disappointing that the righteous island they pointed out on the map to stop at for our picnic lunch was actually a 15-foot stretch of weed-covered rocks. Not only that, but it would have been near impossible to actually pull up there because the water rushes at the bend just before it, and you aren't prepared for that sad little area to be the oasis you were just described.
Nice guys, who really know the river. It's definitely worth checking out once. They do advertise kayaks, and I believe they are $20/day.
This is all public access, so you can take your own kayaks and canoes down also. If you only want to go the first five miles, the ramp to pull out is hidden behind a tree just before a dock on the left side, which is maybe one mile past four orange-capped posts to the right side.
People thought this was:
- Useful (4)
- Cool (3)
Just 15 minutes east of Austin along beautiful F.M. 969 (That's Far east MLK for you urban types) is a trip into another world. This is a place time has scacely caught up with, and everything is still easy going. Nobody is in a hurry and neither will you be.
The thing to do here is go to the convenience store around the corner and get some cans of cheap beer, maybe some tacos, and then wander on over to the Cokkes Canoe office (right behind the conveninece store, not exactly visible form the road, just rember its the first Webberville). There you have a little conversation and after a little exchange of money you have life jackets, canoes / kayaks, paddles, and enough plastic baggies to protect all your valuable electronics, maps, a ride to the take in point, and asurances of a ride from the take out point.
Now these boats are not exactly high performance aerodynamic machines, but rather workhorses that take a beating and keep floating. The current is usually strong enough that you need only take occasional evasive action to keep going downriver. Most of the time you're just enjoying the cool water, watching the birds and trees, and drinking those cold beers. About half way down the run there's a little island on which you can relax to your hearts content. Other places you can always anchor or tie to a tree and splash around. Indeed theoretically, you can make the run in an hour, but why?
No take your time, drink a lot of beer, watch the river houses and spash around.
At the take out point your ride home is just a phone call away. The folks running this operation are way mellow and quite friendly, a throwback to a kinder, more peacful era that may never have truly existed but exists here in Webberville. And at ~ $30 per boat (capable of holding 2-3 people) its one of the finest cheapest ways to spend a weekend afternoon.
People thought this was:
- Useful (3)
- Cool (4)