I am in love, y’all! The Medina River is the Frio River I knew 20 years ago. The river itself is that clear, greenish water that allows you to see the rock bottom at all times. The particular stretch we floated ended at the city park and while we saw residences along the way, they were set way back and for the most part our scenery was shade producing cypress trees.

We floated the 1 hr long stretch twice and made 4 hrs of it by stopping at some beaches and letting the kids splash around.

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We went on a Sunday during a holiday weekend and saw maybe 5 other groups of people all of which had the same, “we love this little secret of a river” comment. We also came across TWO pieces of trash, one of which we were able to retrieve and leave it cleaner than we found it. There were only 2 sets of rapids on this stretch, but that was perfect for taking 3 young children down a foreign river for the first time. Mommy still managed to flip a$$ over head at least once on them 😆 The wonderful folks at the family run Medina River Company provided our tubes and as many rides as we liked on their shuttle service. They told us the other float trip they recommended was about 4 hrs with 8 rapids and 2 waterfalls. 😳 That trip may wait another year.

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The last couple of years on the Frio have proven difficult to find that kind of calm, truly relaxing experience that we had on this trip. In my early 20’s I noticed the river changing from what I grew up with into a more party atmosphere and let’s be honest! I was loving the hell out of it then! Now I want a river to raise my kids on that doesn’t have (c)rap music blaring from a radio the next group over or wondering if that person who bumped against my kids’ tube in the crowd is going to be a creep.  So, we’ll leave the Frio to those of my former youth. My family will be found on the Medina enjoying it for as long as it takes for the “yayhoos” to show up.After 7 years of pregnancies and raising babies, it was really surreal taking our WHOLE family on a float trip together. Let a whole notha level of fun begin!

-Lindsay