Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crabapple Road bridge CR 104, upper Blanco | Bridge crossing | 30.10212, -98.51191 | First public crossing on the upper river. Everything above here is private ranchland with no mapped access. |
| 2 | Wayne Smith Dam Above Blanco | Dam / hazard | 30.09993, -98.44327 | Weir above town. Portage. |
| 3 | Blanco City Dam Number 1 Blanco | Dam / hazard | 30.09287, -98.43094 | The upper of the dams that pool the river through Blanco State Park. Portage. |
| 4 | Kendalia Road bridge CR 102 | Bridge crossing | 30.09263, -98.43048 | Crossing at the head of the park reach. |
| 5 | Park Road 23 low-water crossing PR 23, Blanco State Park | Bridge crossing | 30.09123, -98.42415 | Low-water crossing inside the park; impassable and dangerous when the river is up. |
| 6 | Blanco State Park Texas Parks and Wildlife Department | Park / conservation area | 30.09306, -98.42386 | TPWD park on both banks through town, the one reliably public stretch of the Blanco: camping, day use and the dam-pooled reach. Point placed on the park headquarters. Pole-and-line only in state-park waters. |
| 7 | South US Highway 281 bridge US 281 | Bridge crossing | 30.09210, -98.42295 | |
| 8 | Chandler Street bridge Loop 163 | Bridge crossing | 30.09642, -98.41822 | |
| 9 | Ranch Road 165 bridge RM 165 | Bridge crossing | 30.09109, -98.40175 | |
| 10 | Blanco Settlement RV Park Private RV park below Blanco | Campsite | 30.09107, -98.39799 | |
| 11 | Tejas Trail bridge CR 405 | Bridge crossing | 30.09009, -98.37760 | |
| 12 | River Oaks Riverfront RV Resort Private riverfront RV resort | Campsite | 30.10375, -98.33854 | |
| 13 | Fischer Store Road bridge CR 181 | Bridge crossing | 30.00057, -98.20009 | The classic upper put-in for the Blanco's Wimberley run, and the only mapped public touch point in a 38 km stretch of private river. |
| 14 | Wayside Drive bridge | Bridge crossing | 29.96734, -98.18962 | |
| 15 | Boy Scout Dam Above Wimberley | Dam / hazard | 29.95562, -98.16918 | Low dam. Portage. |
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Blanco River Outfitters Wimberley | Outfitter / canoe rental | 29.98618, -98.11066 | Outfitter on the river at Wimberley. Named in OSM with no shop tag, so treat the hours and the shuttle range as worth a phone call. |
| 17 | Green Acres RV Park Private RV park, Wimberley | Campsite | 29.98790, -98.11015 | |
| 18 | County Road 1492 bridge CR 1492 | Bridge crossing | 29.98482, -98.10944 | |
| 19 | River Road bridge Wimberley | Bridge crossing | 29.98915, -98.10571 | |
| 20 | Wimberley RV Park Private RV park | Campsite | 29.99764, -98.08932 | Mapped in OSM as Wimberley RV Park & Mini Storage. |
| 21 | USGS 08171290 Blanco River near Kyle Stage and discharge | USGS gauge | 30.00556, -97.95250 | The gauge this float reads off, at chainage 117 km. The Blanco is flashy and loses flow to the aquifer in dry spells - read it before driving out. |
| 22 | Randall W Vetter Park Hays County | Park / conservation area | 29.94201, -97.90297 | County park on the left bank above Five Mile Dam. |
| 23 | Five Mile Dam Park Hays County | Park / conservation area | 29.94219, -97.90103 | County park either side of Five Mile Dam, the best-known public access on the lower Blanco. |
| 24 | Five Mile Dam Hays County park reach | Dam / hazard | 29.94045, -97.90163 | Weir that pools the lower river through the county park. Portage; the pool above it is the swimming reach. |
| 25 | Union Pacific Austin Subdivision bridge Railroad crossing | Bridge crossing | 29.93730, -97.89556 | |
| 26 | Post Road bridge CR 140 | Bridge crossing | 29.93726, -97.89532 | Road crossing beside the railroad bridge. |
| 27 | Interstate 35 bridges I 35 / Purple Heart Trail | Bridge crossing | 29.91255, -97.89822 | Four decks cross within about 80 m here; one marker stands for the crossing. |
| 28 | Blanco Shoals Natural Area San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance | Park / conservation area | 29.90582, -97.89747 | Greenbelt natural area on the shoals reach below Interstate 35. |
| 29 | Union Pacific Lockhart Subdivision bridge Railroad crossing | Bridge crossing | 29.88496, -97.90645 | |
| 30 | Old Martindale Road bridge CR 295 | Bridge crossing | 29.87132, -97.91564 | Last mapped crossing above the San Marcos River confluence. |
Gauge: USGS 08171290 — Blanco Rv at Halifax Rch nr Kyle, TX. Live flow on the web page.
Species: Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Guadalupe Bass, Largemouth Bass, Redbreast Sunfish, Rio Grande Cichlid
Regulations: tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/fishing
Emergency: call 911 and give the number of the nearest point on this map plus its coordinates.
Blue Hole Regional Park in Wimberley - the best-known public access, with cypress pools and a swimming reach.
Five Mile Dam Park near Kyle - county park with river frontage and reliable year-round water.
Ranch Road 12 crossing at Wimberley - roadside access to the wadable gravel runs above town.
Seven A Ranch and the Wimberley low-water crossings - limited public frontage, best at moderate flow.
Halifax Ranch gauge crossing near Kyle - the reference gauge site and nearby public streambed access.
Blanco State Park in Blanco - upper-river state park with bank fishing and a stocked winter trout reach.
San Marcos confluence below Kyle - the bottom of the river and a common kayak take-out.
Spring: strongest flows of the year, excellent wading, and Guadalupe bass on the gravel runs.
Summer: warm and low, early mornings and the deeper cypress pools hold the fish worth chasing.
Fall: flows steady after autumn rain and the river fishes cleanly with very little pressure.
Winter: clear and cold, slow warmwater fishing, but Blanco State Park carries stocked trout upstream.