Before the hot and dry weather left Lake Travis well below normal water levels, Austin Paddle Sports—a company specializing in stand up paddling—was planning on opening a rental location at Rough Hollow in Lakeway over the summer.

But the low lake level caused Austin Paddle Sports Owner Andy Lukei to postpone those plans.

"Right now, it would just be too challenging to safely put people on and off of the water because of the low levels," he said.

Meanwhile, the Austin Paddle Sports rental location at Lake Austin almost doubled its business last summer over the previous summer, Lukei said. Lukei credited the increase in business largely to the hot summer, strong word of mouth and the growth of the sport.

"It's a very trendy sport that's user- friendly to people," he said.

Austin Paddle Sports, 5214 Burleson Road, Ste. 118, Austin, 595-1410, www.austinpaddlesports.com