Proclaimed the "longest shortest river in the world" by locals, it runs entirely within the city limits of New Braunfels in southeast Comal County.

The Comal was originally called the Little Guadalupe in early Spanish accounts.

After Spaniard Pedro de Rivera y Villalón identified the longer river as the Guadalupe in 1727, the Comal was given its current name.

Mild currents, clear water, and a host of lost items left behind by tubers make the river a common locale for scuba diving.

[3] Because the Comal maintains a temperature of approximately 72 °F (22 °C) year round,[4] divers are present in both the summer and the winter.