Paddlers prepare for Texas Water Safari river trek

Being the river community that San Marcos is, it is no surprise that the annual Texas Water Safari makes a real splash.

The four-day canoe race starts at the headwaters here as the participants row southeast until the Gulf Coast town of Seadrift is reached–a 260-mile journey. The race has been held on the second Saturday of June since 1963.

“It’s quite an extensive race and one of the longest ones that I know of in North America,” Texas Water Safari board member Bob Spain said. “There’s a longer race, more mileage, but it's on a river that’s flowing really fast.”