Cook's Canoes, located in Webberville just yards from the banks of the river, offers canoe and kayak trips between the Montopolis Bridge in Austin (US Highway 183) to Fisherman's Park (and sometimes Tahitian Village) in Bastrop. Between those two points are several public accesses that allow for trips of various lengths. Access points and key landmarks are depicted, with GPS waypoint and mileage information, at the right. Several access points have paved boat ramps that are easy to identify while others are natural paths leading away from the river.

Along the way paddlers will find numerous sandbar islands on which they may camp for the night during overnight or multi-day trips. Caution should be exercised because river levels can rise unexpectedly due to dam releases on the highland lakes above and around Austin causing changes in river level with no impending warning, so choose spots with high ground that looks like it has been dry for awhile. There are a lot more islands which are accessible for camping in low water than in high water, but some may be completely submerged during releases from the dams above.

The Colorado River is characterized by a sand-gravel bottom that helps keep the water clear except right after heavy rains that wash sediment into the stream causing it to become murky. The river is basically flat and free of obstacles other than the generally runnable Decker Power Plant low-head dam about 4.8 miles below the Montopolis Bridge, where this reach begins, and a few swift currents around river bends. The only significant rapid (Class I+ to II) is located at the lower end of the right channel around a large island often referred to as "The Freeze Trip Island" (where Alamo City Rivermen formerly camped on their winter trip every year) about 49.2 miles below Montopolis Bridge. Sand and gravel bars are frequently found along this 62+ mile reach down to Tahitian Village in Bastrop, and if the water is low enough, then some of these become islands, though most are not usually advisable for camping due to flooding potential.

The river is generally wide open and lacking shade, though much of the river banks are tree-lined. Most property adjacent to the river is privately-owned land, and trespassing should be avoided without landowner permission. large cattle ranches are the norm along this reach, and the only real signs of development above Bastrop are at Austin's Colony on river left just above Webberville and the Hyatt Wilderness Resort on river right at about 35.7 miles below Montopolis Bridge. The Colorado is a very crooked river, and at various times you will paddle in just about every point on the compass rose. On a sunny, summer day you can have the sun in your face morning, noon and evening if you are in one of the big river bends that frequent this reach. Except during periods of prolonged drought the river almost always has adequate flow for good trips in canoes and kayaks. And, thanks to the relatively stable Texas climate, trips can be enjoyed year-round. Cook's Canoes will gladly assist you in enjoying the Colorado River anytime that you want to go.