La Salle’s River Adventure was a themed riverboat ride located at Six Flags Over Texas named after the French explorer Robert de La Salle who explored the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi River in the mid-1600s.
Diesel-powered riverboats carried 30 guests plus a guide/narrator and meandered through the adventure-filled river created by the park. Various theming and animatronics along the river provided the visuals while the guide’s colorful spiel supplemented the action. Each guide was allowed to embellish upon the park’s general guideline for the spiel, allowing each journey to be unique. Eventually, La Salle’s River Adventure was removed to make way for the Roaring Rapids ride, but its colorful spiels and memorable scenes cemented its status as a nostalgic favorite of Six Flags Over Texas guests and employees.
Ride Experience[]
Over its 21-year operation, La Salle’s River Adventure continually changed — adding and removing scenes as necessary. For example, live alligators and flamingos were part of the action when it first opened. Soon afterward when flamingos repeatedly went missing, the alligators were deemed the culprit and fake animals replaced them. Still, the ride’s general sequence can be described as the following.
After loading, the boats meandered down the 3-feet-deep concrete trough disguised as a wild river. Riders were advised that two French scouts, Jacque and Pierre were sent ahead to ensure their safety. Boats then passed a wolf and entered an abandoned campsite, still smoldering from a presumed Indian attack. After the campsite, a Spanish fort was spotted with cannons that fired upon the unsuspecting guests.
French scouts Jacque and Pierre were then spotted, hanged by their necks from trees. Appearing that the journey was more dangerous than first expected, the guide would then ask a French fur trader if they should continue their journey. Even after a stern “no,” the ride would continue due to the riskier proposition of passing the Spanish fort again.
Riders then found themselves in the middle of a battle with French soldiers on one bank and Indians on the other. Rifles repeatedly fired between the two sides. After the battle, an alligator was spotted with its mouth wide open, ready for its next meal.
An Indian village was the boat’s next stop, complete with a dancing medicine man and women washing clothes along the river’s banks. More wild animals were then seen, including alligators, flamingos, and a cougar. A beaver colony would then be spotted seconds before a tree fell and narrowly missed the boat.
After the falling tree, the boat stopped at a waterfall seemingly blocking the path. A rock wall then opened and the boats traveled into a cave that lit up and revealed hidden treasure. The guide warns the riders not to touch the treasure, as it is obviously being guarded by ancient skeletons. As a token of kindness for leaving the treasure alone, the cave once again opened and allowed the boats to exit. With Fort St. Louis insight, the riverboats returned safely to dock and guests exited the watercraft.
