San Antonio / South Central
Comal County, Texas
A porch-side guide to the county: the stories that give it a shape, practical local checks, and a few things worth knowing before they surprise you. Every note points to its source.
12 stories · 14 practical · 2 good to know
The practical part
Comal County offices and deadlines
Appraisal district & tax office →
The Comptroller's official directory for Comal County: who sets your value and who sends the bill.
Homestead exemption →
File Form 50-114 with the appraisal district. It is free. The regular deadline is April 30, and late filing is allowed for up to two years.
Protest your appraisal →
The usual deadline is May 15, or 30 days after your notice arrives, whichever is later.
Estimate a tax bill →
Model a bill from local rates, the homestead exemption, and the appraisal cap.
Start here
A little of what makes this place itself
Comal County · State Park
Guadalupe River State Park Is Close to New Braunfels
Guadalupe River State Park near Spring Branch offers camping, swimming, tubing, hiking, and mountain biking along four miles of river frontage.
Comal County · Lake Recreation
Canyon Lake Put Recreation Around a Working Reservoir
Parks, ramps, campgrounds, and coves grew around a reservoir built first for flood control and water storage.
Comal County · Fishing
Rainbow Trout Are Stocked Below Canyon Dam Each Winter
TPWD stocks rainbow and brown trout in the Guadalupe River between Canyon Dam and New Braunfels each winter.
Practical New Braunfels River Rules Limit Containers, Coolers, and Tubes Inside New Braunfels, river rules cover disposable containers, cooler size, tube size, and noise. Practical A Groundwater District Regulates Wells in Comal County A Trinity Aquifer well needs district authorization before drilling or alteration, even when its later use is exempt from production fees. Good to know The Guadalupe River Can Rise Fast — Know Your Flood Zone FEMA maps identify Special Flood Hazard Areas, but a mapped line is only one part of a property's flood story.
All 28 local notes
The full county shelf is mixed so stories and useful checks travel together. Use the filters when you need one kind.
Showing all 28 notes.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Guadalupe River State Park Is Close to New Braunfels Guadalupe River State Park near Spring Branch offers camping, swimming, tubing, hiking, and mountain biking along four miles of river frontage.
- Practical Rules & Licenses New Braunfels River Rules Limit Containers, Coolers, and Tubes Inside New Braunfels, river rules cover disposable containers, cooler size, tube size, and noise. New Braunfels
- Stories & local character Outdoors Canyon Lake Put Recreation Around a Working Reservoir Parks, ramps, campgrounds, and coves grew around a reservoir built first for flood control and water storage.
- Practical Home & Property A Groundwater District Regulates Wells in Comal County A Trinity Aquifer well needs district authorization before drilling or alteration, even when its later use is exempt from production fees.
- Good to know Home & Property The Guadalupe River Can Rise Fast — Know Your Flood Zone FEMA maps identify Special Flood Hazard Areas, but a mapped line is only one part of a property's flood story.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Rainbow Trout Are Stocked Below Canyon Dam Each Winter TPWD stocks rainbow and brown trout in the Guadalupe River between Canyon Dam and New Braunfels each winter.
- Practical Home & Property City Limits, ETJ, and Unincorporated Comal County Are Not the Same A New Braunfels address can still mean different rules depending on whether land is inside city limits, in the ETJ, or farther out in unincorporated Comal County.
- Stories & local character Outdoors The Comal Springs Feed the Comal River in New Braunfels Texas's largest spring rises from the Edwards Aquifer in New Braunfels and gives the short Comal River its flow.
- Practical Rules & Licenses Cutting a Driveway or Building in the Floodplain in Comal County Comal County uses PIPROW permits for driveway work in the public right-of-way and floodplain permits for certain mapped floodplain projects.
- Good to know Cars & Driving Low-Water Crossings Close Fast During Heavy Rain A dry dip in a Comal County road can become a flooded crossing after rain falls upstream.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Tubing the Guadalupe River Runs Through Comal County The Guadalupe River below Canyon Dam is a popular spot for tubing, kayaking, and whitewater paddling.
- Practical Money & Taxes How the Homestead Exemption Works in Comal County A qualifying principal residence can receive school and local homestead exemptions, including a 20% Comal County option.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Canyon Lake Began Filling on a June Day in 1964 A 6,830-foot earthfill dam turned a Guadalupe River valley into Canyon Lake for flood control, water, and recreation.
- Practical Cars & Driving Texas Vehicle Registration and Inspection in Comal County As of January 1, 2025, standard non-commercial vehicles in Comal County do not need a safety inspection or emissions test before registration.
- Stories & local character Home & Property Canyon Lake Has a Working Waterline at 909 Feet The 909-foot line separates GBRA's stored-water pool from the Corps-managed flood space above it.
- Practical Rules & Licenses The Fire Marshal Signs Off on Commercial Building in Comal County Comal County Fire Marshal permits and inspects new and remodeled structures when fire safety and code compliance are involved.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Comal County Built a District Around River Weekends WORD is a voter-created recreation district serving Canyon Lake and more than 30 miles of the Guadalupe River.
- Practical Money & Taxes Who Sets Your Property Value in Comal County The appraisal district sets property values and handles protests and exemptions; the tax office sends and collects the bill.
- Stories & local character History & Culture New Braunfels Still Carries Strong German Roots German settlement survives in New Braunfels through its town plan, fachwerk buildings, music, and an annual salute to sausage.
- Practical Money & Taxes Ag Valuation Can Cut Your Property Tax Bill in Comal County Open-space appraisal depends on the tract's current use, five-of-seven history, and Comal County intensity standards.
- Stories & local character History & Culture The Balcones Escarpment Gives Comal County Two Landscapes Rocky plateau country drops across the Balcones Escarpment toward the lower coastal plain in eastern Comal County.
- Practical Home & Property Building Near the Edwards Aquifer Has Extra Rules Regulated work over the Edwards recharge, transition, or contributing zones needs TCEQ review before soil is disturbed.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Comal County Has Grown Rapidly Since the 1990s Comal County has gone from a small rural county to one of the fastest-growing counties in Texas over the past few decades.
- Practical Money & Taxes Over-65 Property Tax Freeze in Comal County Homeowners 65 or older get an extra school tax exemption and a tax ceiling that keeps their school taxes from rising.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Comal County Was Founded by German Immigrants in 1846 New Braunfels began with an 1845 German immigrant settlement; Comal County followed one year later.
- Practical Home & Property You Need a Permit for a Septic System in Comal County A site and soil evaluation comes before Comal County approves a new or altered on-site sewage system.
- Practical Rules & Licenses You Need a Texas License to Fish or Hunt in Comal County Anyone 17 or older needs a valid Texas fishing or hunting license to fish or hunt in Comal County.
- Practical Rules & Licenses Comal County Has Burn Bans That Change With Conditions A county burn-ban check is only the first step; TCEQ's outdoor-burning rules still apply when a ban is off.
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