Lone Star Kayak Tours offers family-run kayak and paddleboard tours and rentals on Lady Bird Lake (Town Lake) in Austin, Texas, conveniently located near Cedar Park, Manchaca, Kyle, and Lago Vista. Guests are guided in a sit-on-top kayak for roughly two hours to one of the business’s handpicked Austin tour locations, exploring beautiful crystal blue spring water and the country’s largest urban bat colony.
The Austin City Skyline Tour ($50, 2 hours, ages 5+, most popular) offers a guided eco-tour of Lady Bird Lake past the city’s architectural landmarks. The Sunset Bat Bridge Kayak Tour ($50, 2 hours, ages 5+, available March 1-October 31) lets guests watch the World’s Largest Urban Bat Colony emerge from beneath the Congress Avenue Bridge, with a similar Paddle Board Bat Tour ($50) available for those who’d rather stand than sit. The Paddle Board Skyline Tour (from $55, 2 hours, ages 5+, most popular) includes a brief lesson for first-time paddleboarders. A seasonal 4th of July Fireworks Tour (from $85, ages 6+) offers a once-a-year chance to watch fireworks from the water alongside the bat bridge and downtown Austin skyline. Standard Paddle Board and Kayak Rentals start at $20.
Rated five stars on TripAdvisor, guest testimonials are extraordinarily glowing, with reviewers repeatedly naming specific guides — Tabitha, Stephen, Cody — for genuinely knowledgeable, patient, and fun-loving instruction, sharing local history and skyline facts while making sure every guest, including seniors and families, felt comfortable and unrushed throughout the trip.
Beyond kayak and paddleboard tours, the business also offers a Rainey Street Walking Bar Tour and Corporate Events, with advance booking strongly encouraged given how quickly tours fill up.
For visitors and locals near Austin, Texas looking for a highly reviewed, guided kayak or paddleboard tour of Lady Bird Lake — including the famous bat bridge — Lone Star Kayak Tours offers a well-established, family-run operation.
