The Lone Star Float House: Where Texas Still Feels Like Texas

There’s a place along the most scenic stretch of River Road outside New Braunfels that feels less like a bar and more like a secret handshake among kindred spirits. It’s the Lone Star Float House. Part honky-tonk, part restaurant, part tubing outfitter and all 100% Texas.

Let’s circle back to that location. Sometimes as you travel down River Road to 7430 River Rd as the trees bend and guide your way, it all looks too good to be true. Like a CGI or Hollywood recreation. Something you might find at Disney World. But, it's real. Whether you pull up in a truck, tube, or bike (both kinds), you’re home the second you hit that gravel lot. This Float House is planted right on the banks of the Guadalupe, where the same trees that escorted your drive in bend like they’re trying to listen in on the stories and songs floating up from the patio. The songs you'll hear from the Float House patio are premium choice. It's an expert mix of Randy Rogers Band, Cross Canadian Ragweed and Ryan Bingham. Infamously, Bingham was a tube wrangler/couch surfer in his early days. He was taken in by the Float House crew and he's never forgotten it.

Now let’s talk burgers. If you know, you know. The Float House Burger is Texas-sized and cooked to order. Greasy in the good way, stacked high, and just messy enough to remind you you’re living right. It’s the kind of burger you plan your whole day around. Real ones know. And it's amazing to me that it's never been featured on Guy Fieri's DDD or Texas Bucket List etc. Especially when paired with their signature $2 Lone Star Beer. Yeah, you read that right. Two bucks. Ice cold. Pulled from the cooler like a communion with the float gods. It's not a gimmick, it’s gospel.

The vibe? Think Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic got married to a dive bar and raised its kids on Jerry Jeff vinyl and tube floaters. All while keeping the grill smoking and the styrofoam cooler with some chunks missing and faded imagery full of cold Lone Star. On any given Sunday, that choice soundtrack gives way to live music. A blend of songwriter sets, pickers’ circles, and the occasional outlaw spirit spilling songs into the sunset. The back porch stage has hosted rising stars, River Jam legends, and spontaneous literal river jams that felt like church.

All of that would be cool enough on its own. But what really makes this place sacred is the heart behind it. Terry and Audrey Gillespie, the owners of the Float House, treat every customer like a long lost friend. They're the type of people who’ll hand you a beer before you ask, remember your favorite burger order from last summer, and make sure your kid’s float is tied off safe. The type of people and place where customer service is still a thing and if you call their number you reach a human being right away. They pour their heart and soul into every corner of this place. And have for decades. Their generosity, their grit, their heart...that’s the true current that runs through Lone Star Float House.

They've survived floods, droughts, good time and bad. Through it all they've remained steadfast pillars of the greater New Braunfels/Canyon Lake community. The first to pitch in to help their neighbor. The type of people and business that used to be common but are becoming less so as the years go by.

So whether you’re here to float, feast, or find your next favorite song, this place has a way of making you feel like you belong. Come for the river. Stay for the soul. Raise your can, tip the songwriters and staff, and toast to the Guadalupe...and the Gillespies, guardians of the groove and keepers of the coldest beer and best burgers on River Road.

The Lone Star Float House. Where Texas still feels like Texas.

Our songwriter sundays at Float House are always absolutely free, no cover shows. We encourage tipping in person or online at THIS LINK. All money goes to the artists.