Canyon Lake Gorge Tours: How to Visit, Book and What to Expect
How to visit Canyon Lake Gorge: guided tours and self-guided rim hikes, ages, trail lengths, booking, hours, where to enter and what you will see.
Below Canyon Lake Dam there is a canyon that did not exist before 2002. A single summer flood cut it out of the Hill Country in a matter of days, and it now shows layers of limestone, fossils and dinosaur tracks that had been buried for more than 100 million years. You can see it on a guided tour or on a self-guided hike along the rim. From Sienna Ridge RV Park on FM 306, on the north side of the lake, it is a short drive.
What is Canyon Lake Gorge?
In the summer of 2002, according to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA), more than 34 inches of rain fell in one week in the upper Guadalupe River watershed. Canyon Lake rose until it went over its spillway for the first time since the reservoir was completed in 1964. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that about two times the lake’s volume went over the spillway in a very short time.
At its peak, more than 67,000 cubic feet of water per second flowed over the spillway, per the gorge’s tour site. That water sliced open the ground below the spillway and left a gorge of about 64 acres.
How fast did it form?
Very fast. A research supplement by geologists Michael Lamb and Mark Fonstad notes that the lake overflowed from July 4 to August 10, 2002, and that the largest spillway discharges lasted three days. In their words, the flood turned the spillway valley into a deeply incised bedrock gorge “in a matter of days.” They call it a rare modern example of a major canyon cut into bedrock in a single flood.
Who runs the gorge?
The gorge is operated by GBRA. The Gorge Preservation Society, a volunteer nonprofit founded in 2007, works alongside GBRA staff. Its volunteers serve as the tour guides and docents, and a crew it calls the Trailblazers helps maintain the trails. Tours and tickets are handled through GBRA’s site, canyongorgetours.com. (The older address, canyongorge.org, now forwards to GBRA’s gorge page.)
Can you visit without a tour?
Yes. The tours that go through the gorge are led by a guide, but on your own you can check in at the visitor center for a self-guided hike along the rim, or take a walk on the Nature Trail. No reservation is needed for the hike.
Per the public tours page, the self-guided Gorge Rim Trail runs along the north rim, is about 1.6 miles long, and is rated easy, with many stopping points for photos and signs. There is a $5 trail fee for ages 12 and up, and hikers under 18 must be with an adult.
What tours are offered?
Guided tours run Tuesday through Saturday. Prices, group sizes and age limits below are from the tour site as of this writing; check it before you go.
- Guided public tour. About 2 hours and about 1.25 miles with a guide, rated moderate. It covers fossils, dinosaur tracks, aquifer channels and waterfalls. Up to 10 people, ages 7 and up. The site notes the tour may be modified in summer because of extreme heat.
- Drop-in public tour. A shorter walk through the lower part of the gorge, rated moderate to slow, focused on fossils and exposed aquifer channels. Ages 7 and up, check in at the visitor center. The dinosaur tracks are only seen on the 2-hour tour, so book that one if they are the reason you are going. The site asks you to contact the office for details.
- Private tour. A 2-hour, 1.25-mile guided hike for a group of up to 20, ages 7 and up, with a minimum charge for small groups. See the private tours page.
- School and youth group tours, and the Outdoor Classroom. Separate programs for schools, homeschool groups and youth organizations, booked through the same site.
Everyone on a guided tour must fill out a liability waiver. A parent or guardian signs for anyone under 18.
Traveling with kids under 7?
Guided tours start at age 7. The private tours page suggests the self-guided overlook hike for families with younger children, with no reservation needed.
How do you book a tour?
Pick a date and buy tickets on canyongorgetours.com. The booking calendar shows open dates for each tour type, and some dates show no tours available, so look ahead if your travel dates are fixed. For questions, call the gorge office at (830) 964-5424.
What will you see?
The gorge exposes Cretaceous limestone more than 110 million years old, laid down in an ancient sea. GBRA describes it as a textbook look at Hill Country geology and at the Trinity Aquifer, with faults, fractures and seeps in the rock, plus waterfalls and springs where the aquifer is exposed.
On the guided tour you also see fossils and dinosaur footprints. GBRA notes that some fossil sea urchins are preserved well enough to show their spines, and that ripple marks from the old sea floor are visible in the limestone.
Where do tours start?
The gorge is at 16029 S Access Rd, Canyon Lake, TX 78133, below Canyon Lake Dam. The entrance is easy to miss. Per GBRA, turn onto the driveway shared with the Tye Preston Memorial Library, across South Access Road from Hidden Valley Sports Park, then take the first left and follow the gravel drive to parking below the visitor center. GPS coordinates are N 29.86304, W 098.18750.
From Sienna Ridge, it is about 4 miles and roughly 8 minutes by car, based on an OSRM route estimate. See our directions page for getting to the park itself.
When is it open?
The gorge is closed on Sundays. Weekday and Saturday hours are listed differently on GBRA’s two sites. The GBRA gorge page says that starting September 8, 2026, the park is open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with last entry at 3:30 p.m. The tour site lists trails open Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with last trail entry at 3 p.m. Call ahead or check before you drive over, especially if you are arriving late in the day.
Neither site lists seasonal or weather closures.
Planning your visit from Sienna Ridge
With the gorge this close, a 2-hour tour fits easily into a morning or early afternoon. Sienna Ridge has 50 full-hookup sites with 30 and 50 amp service and room for rigs up to 75 feet; see RV sites and rates. The office is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at (830) 268-0509, or you can book online. For more to do around the lake, see things to do.
