2015: Campground review: Lake Conroe Thousand Trails, TX

You might say that Lake Conroe Thousand Trails, near Willis, TX is our “home” Thousand Trails. So far each of our travel “adventures” has started and ended here. We’ve been here often enough that we head straight for the section we like the best when looking for a camp site. We find it kind of funny that we’ve found the exact same site open for three different stays now and are calling it “our site.”

Since I have written about this particular place a couple of times prior to this I’ll just focus on a few things. First, Thousand Trails has poured a great deal of money into Lake Conroe, making it one of their primer properties. The pool is the primary focus of the place. It has been completely redone with lots of places to sit, including several cabanas that each has its own refrigerator and even a TV. I’m kind of wondering about how well the electronics will survive in the open air environment, but for now it’s pretty impressive. The other really big effort has been the enlarging of the cove that includes a new swimming beach. There’s more to come at the cove, including a community of residences and the development of the “island” in the middle of the cove as a recreation focal point. Also, several of the campsites have been freshly graveled and leveled and the electric service in most sites is now both 30 and 50 amp. The restrooms/showers are all being updated as well.

I’ll mention that there is a new electric policy in place. Since so many sites are now both 30 and 50 amp, and since there’s a $3 surcharge for using 50 amps, the campground charges the extra charge based on how the RV is wired. If the RV has a 50 amp plug on it, the extra $3 is charged up front, no matter where you park. If the RV has a 30 amp plug, there is no surcharge unless you park in a 50 amp only site. Most people with 50 amp rigs prefer 50 amp sites, so the policy works fine for them. A few, though, want to use an adapter and save the $3 – so there’s been some controversy. The staff says it’s a pilot program from the company, but I’m guessing this is how it’s going to be and, as other Thousand Trails add 30/50 amp service to each site the policy will be standard everywhere.

Aside from all the construction and upgrades the other major story for us has been the weather. One storm in particular was quite threatening with high winds and a torrential downpour. Surprisingly, there was no real damage in the campground. I think we were seriously close to seeing a lot of damage. The weather here, though, wasn’t as bad as it has been in the middle and north of Texas. A tornado hit Lake Whitney Thousand Trails, which was to be our next stop. With that campground temporarily closed, we extended our stay here for a few days and then added a short stop at a Waco campground. We’ll see what happens next and the Lake Whitney campground is still in play if they can get it open again before we move on north and east.

Let me share what I think is an important Lake Conroe tip: just know that the pull through sites are the worst in the campground. Not only are they generally rough and unlevel, they are “back to back” sites in which your neighbor’s slide will practically touch your camper. Listen, the back in sites here are big and there aren’t any tree problems – you’ll like this place a lot more if you find one of them and stay away from the pull throughs. (BTW, I’ve seen 40+ foot 5vers being pulled by HDT’s on those sites – you’ll fit!)

While we think of Lake Conroe Thousand Trails as our “home” preserve, we’re more than ready to get on with our 2015 Adventure!

2013: Campground Review: Lake Conroe Thousand Trails

Our first stop on our 2013 adventure is a short drive up I45 from south of Houston to Lake Conroe Thousand Trails near Willis, TX. We were just here in February when we took a short shake down trip with our camper. This is such a nice place. There’s an inlet of Lake Conroe right here on the property and lots of campsites. Some of the roads are gravel, but others are paved, although the pavement is in considerable need of repair. We’re camped right next to the big pool and large heated jacuzzi. The park is well laid out with the Activity Center, pool, tennis courts, and more right in the middle of the park. The Hidden Cove area is a neighborhood of permanent, small cabins. There’s also a neighborhood of long term residents and another area pretty much dominated by seasonal people.

With all of that, there’s plenty of full hookup sites for short term visitors like us. There’s WiFi but it’s not that great. We have a five bar connect but it’s still sluggish at best. My Verizon 4G, though, is 3 bars and not bad at all. We’re in a 30 amp site, but for an extra $3 there are plenty of 50 amp sites available. When we were here in February we went to a Valentine’s dinner at the Activity Center. A talented fellow played the keyboard and the steak dinner was very good. Now, though, we’re into May and most of the seasonal people have headed north. We went to a scheduled potluck and were out of luck, as no one showed up. It think the lack of attendance was due to the number of departures coupled with a local tragedy that resulted in the death of one of the long time residents. Nearly every “long timer” we talked to mentioned it. I think that speaks well of the sense of community here. The park has it’s share of trees, but not so much that there’s any problem getting satellite TV. Also, our rooftop antenna is sufficient for us to get most of the Houston TV stations. I think most of the area attractions are Houston oriented; around 40 to 60 minutes to the south. Since Houston has been local to us for the past many years we’re not inclined to fight the traffic so our time here is more being used for decompression from the intense events of our lives the past few weeks. That’s okay with us but we are starting to think about the next parts of our big adventure.

Let me also mention that just a few minutes from the preserve, on Little Egypt Road, is John Burge Park. It’s a county park with some nice wooded trails and a nifty frisbee golf course out through the deep woods. If you like to enjoy a 30 minute hike through the woods you’ll enjoy this park.

2013: Thousand Trails Lake Conroe

We’ve taken a few days off to get out in our Hitchhiker II LS 5th wheel and have been at Thousand Trails Lake Conroe, just north of Houston.  Our first couple of days here were overcast and cool with light rain, but things turned around on Wednesday afternoon and we’ve had pretty days with cold nights; nothing to complain about in the middle of February.

Other reviews of this campground and area are here.

Jackie and I like this place.  It’s only a few minutes from Conroe and a booming community named Willis.  In fact, we’re just a stone’s throw from I45.  However, once you are here it feels like you are way out in the country.  Thousand Trails calls its parks “preserves.”  Lake Conroe feels like a cross between a state park and a RV resort.  The sites are somewhat roomy, like those in a state park but there are amenities, like a pool, activity center, and stuff for kids to do, reminding us of a family resort.  Tonight we attended a Valentine’s Day dinner and enjoyed some nice keyboard music from a talented gentleman. I guess you’d say we get the best of both worlds here.

Aside from the overnight trip home when we first bought our Nu-Wa Hitchhiker this is our first time out with this camper so it’s been somewhat of a shake down cruise.  Jackie and I have both been working on one little project or another most of the time we’ve been here so time has passed quickly.  Still, it’s nice to get away to a different world for a few days.

An inlet from Lake Conroe is accessible here at the preserve.  While there are no campsites right on the lake, it is nearby.  In the summer there are canoes and paddle boats.  It has been too cool to use the pool but it’s a beauty.  We were tempted to try the spa.  The hot water would have felt good, but we couldn’t bear the thought of getting out, all wet in the cool weather.  Maybe we’ll try it next time.

The WiFi signal is pretty good but it’s very slow.  I’ve been using my 4G connect instead – it’s quite good.

 Again, we like this place and will most certainly be back.  We recommend Thousand Trails Lake Conroe!