Hazard Warning: Hazard information may be user-submitted and unverified. Conditions change frequently. Always scout rapids and obstacles yourself.
Rapid TX

Martindale Dam

San Marcos - 3. Westerfield Crossing to FM 1979 (5.5 miles) (TX)

Gauge Conditions
Runnable: 200.0 – 1,000.0 CFS
Description

A sloping dam that can generally be run near the center by whitewater paddlers.  A portage trail exists on river right.

NOTE:  Do not hang out on the dam structure.  Either run it or portage it, then keep paddling.  The cops will show up if you linger here for too long.

Martindale Dam is reported to take on a Class IV character at high flows (thousands of cfs), forming a "stopper wave" that can hold a boat but which is not, despite appearances, terminal.  Mistaking the stopper wave for a terminal hydraulic led, indirectly, to the death of an experienced paddler via a failed rescue in 1992.

Location
Type
Rapid
Difficulty
Class N/A
Mile Marker
4.9 mi
Directions
View Full Run
3. Westerfield Crossing to FM 1979 (5.5 miles)
San Marcos
I-II 5.5 mi
Current Conditions
5-Day Forecast
Whitewater data from
American Whitewater