Cranes Mill Park (USACE) in Canyon Lake
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Canyon Lake, Comal County, Texas, US
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WARNING, CAMPERS!! Dont try to go before 3 p.m.!!!!!Did not have a problem previoysly,, but in June 2020, we were denied entry due to time of arrival. We arrived at 12:30 p.m. and were told that we had to wait to enter until 3 p.m. check-in time. The woman at the gate refused to check if our reserved site was already vacated, stating that she couldnt let us in regardless. (COE parks do have a 2 p.m. checkout time, and a 3 p.m. check-in time, but we have never been refused early entry at any Texas based COE park when we had a reservation and the site was empty/already vacated upon our arrival. In this case she outright refused to check or let us know, and told us we couldnt enter regardless.). This was strange, because on a previous visit to this park, we were allowed in, again with a reservation, and we were able to proceed to our site....that was in March 2020...the problem was in June 2020. Only difference we could tell was the gate attendant who was on duty.Denial of entry was a difficult problem for us. We carry a 12 volt Alpicool fridge/freezer in our tow vehicle and had it set as a freezer. It was full of food that would have defrosted if we had stopped the truck for any decent amount of time, so we had to drive around aimlessly for over two hours before returning to the park for entry.We enjoy this park, but at this point, we will probably not ever return. We have never, in months at a time on the road, been denied entry to any park, either public or private, ( we never arrive before 1 or 2 p.m. at the earliest ) , where we had a reservation.BTW, we left the park at about 11: 30 a.m. on the day of departure. At least half the sites were empty, and they still were not letting anyone in early, and stated that they did not plan to do so. They said that was due to the Park Managers policy. (We were told that he manages all the Parks on Canyon Lake.)We camped with our 350 truck and our 31 foot fifth wheel.
This place is fantastic. Good views of the water from any campsite, plenty of room, lots of amenities (electricity, water, covered picnic table, fire ring, grill, and clean restrooms with showers). The staff is friendly and the online reservation process is very easy.
Very nice camp ground at a convenient location from Austin/San Antonio. The lake view was gorgeous and the staff was very friendly. We were lucky to go on a full moon day with clear skies. Moon rise over the lake was spectacular. Overall, it was a great experience and we will definitely go again.
Stayed there while visiting San Antonio, New Braunfels, Boerne, & Gruene. Park is reasonably priced, quiet & well layed out. There are good smooth paved roads in and leading to the park. All sites are very large with extra large concrete pads, plus attached parking spot, and covered picnic tables. Nice views of lake from any site, but no swimming access.
The views you absolutely cant beat. Awesome sites with everything you need - covered table, trees, outlet, water. Good fishing spots and scenery/wildlife around. Our all-time favorite campground. Only complaint is at night it got so windy we couldnt sleep due to noise in the tent. Maybe its just when we went but bring earplugs or do without your tent cover because that thing was flapping around like mad all night.
Wouldnt recommend it if you like to leave your campsite after 10pm. If you choose to go to the store you will not be allowed to drive back in you have to park at gate and walk all the way to the back! Kinda weird! They dont tell u this till after you pay for your non refundable deposit!
Park ratings are often based on expectations prior to arrival. In this case, we EXPECTED a peaceful, spacious, rural lakeside park, much like so many others we have visited in our travels. However, this lake is heavily populated with large homes surrounding the water. The RV park area is rather small and compact compared to other COE parks we have visited.However, those expectation problems are mine, not the parks. It is clean and well maintained with a very nice bathroom/ shower house. Better than most, in fact. There are lots of walking/biking paths available as well as fishing docks and boat ramps.So good park, just not the remote and isolated location we had expected due to past experiences.
Fithy campsite. Trash all over the site,gravel and pavement. Someone did not clean up after their very large dog, and the camphosts ignored it also. The fire ring and grill also filthy. Not able to use grill due to rust. Used underwear in firepit. The rate was decent but the gate guards were less than friendly, and annoyed by questions. Bath rooms acceptable. Dont think the gate guards were Texan. Neither friendly or informed about local area. Disappointed because so many other ACOE parks are great, like Cedar Ridge.
Best sites I have ever seen. Not a lot of shade but if not to hot its perfect. Has the potential to be a 5 if they would trim grass on around concrete edging and spray weeds in gravel areas. Lots of room on pads and site area. Couple improvements in bathroom facility, such as putting toilet paper on rollers vice rectangular pieces of steal which does not allow the roll to turn and a shelf for soapand shampoo and voila u have a perfect 5 rating.
Front gate staff was helpful, bathrooms were clean, and campgrounds were quiet. Unfortunately there arent any swimming or fishing spots nearby, despite it being located on a peninsula. If you have a motor boat and use the dock, it would be nice but it wasnt what we were hoping for. Luckily they are dog friendly and the campgrounds were clear of any hazards for the dog. The lake is beautiful.
Its a great little park. Bring your boat, kayak or ?? Your favorite water play toy and cruise the calm water in Canyon lake. They have showers and flush toilets that are perfectly clean and maintained at all times. I only kayak therefore I didnt have need however they do have a small marina launch ramps. This is an awesome place to relax and enjoy what is probably the quietest park I have ever been to. Pets are allowed but must be quiet and under your strict control at all times
Tried to visit this place during Spring Break with no reservations. I knew it was going to be tough, but did not expect to be treated rudely. The, I guess manager, acted like he owned the place more than if he was an employee. Tried to get reservations through the website, but trying to get the password accepted never came to fruition, verify frustrating.
The park is lovely. Have to give it a low rating due to front gate staffing. There was a woman working 7/27/2019. She has worked the gate on and off for a week. Today she put a sign up stating be back in 10 minutes. Entering and exiting guests could not do either for 30 minutes. She came back and was upset so many people were lined up to get in and out of a park they paid to stay in.Not sure why we cannot leave the park without her permission as well. Other staffers leave the gate open during hours of operations they wave as you drive out. They do check the credentials given to paid guests returning which make security sense.
This is a beautiful park on Canyon Lake. It has large, level sites. Unlike at the place across the lake (Potters Creek), we were allowed to walk in the area that was closed for the season. The park is clean and well maintained. Staff were all very nice. Deer are abundant. We were stuck there while waiting for repairs. If you have to be stuck, this isnt a bad place to be.
Great park, but the gate keeper needs a new job. We have been camping for 30+ years and have not been treated so rudely. We showed up before “check in time” which we have done many times before at many parks. There have been times where we have to wait for our spot to be vacated, but we have never been turned away at the gate and not allowed in the park. (We had paid reservations) Usually we are given our tags and told that we can find a place to park and wait for the current occupant to leave. NOT HERE 🤨 he told us we had to come back in three hours because our spot was still occupied. We wanted to see where our spot was so we found a parking spot at the fishing dock and walked over to check it out. Spot was empty. We went back and told the gentleman our findings. He said that they hadn’t checked out and that he had to verify that it was empty before he would allow us in. Crazy policy if it is really what they are told to do.
Beautiful location, TERRIBLE maintenance situation. The ONE restroom building was filthy all weekend and by Sunday afternoon there was no toilet paper left. Another camper complained and was told that the restrooms are serviced once a week, on Monday, and the staff can do nothing about it because its contracted out. Plus, the restroom is really far from the majority of tent sites. Also, the grass was above knee height and full of grass burrs, so you couldnt even set your tent up in a clear space. In fact, the family next to us had even gone so far as to bring a weed whacker with them! Everywhere we went we ended up with painful burrs in our shoes and clothes. Not to mention the ant problem! They were awful and I ended up bitten so badly that my right foot has been swollen for 3 days. I will NOT be camping here again, despite the lovely location. Do not bring children or pets either, or they will be full of burrs and ants!
The gate attendants are all on their own schedule they all do things differently. Some leave the gate up so you can leave others have to see who it is and leave it closed. Some even ask for your pass back when you leave don’t know why unless they are reissuing it to someone else.. There is no supervision at all for these people some of them act as if they are doing you a favor by just being there. The new manager raised the price to launch a boat. The one lady had gave me a hard time cause I gave her a twenty and she had to make change. My friend from California met me there to go on my boat and the gate attendant gave him a hard time because he didn’t have a boat and tried to make him park outside of the gate. Don’t know who oversees these people but someone probably needs to oversee the one in charge. Marine Out!!!
The views are nice, its fun to take a walk out on the short pier. I wish there were more yes for privacy at the camp sites, but I suppose that would take away from the panoramic views of the water. The camping sites are also a tad close together. Book in advance too ensure you get a good site.
I would say this park was pretty mediocre. I think the primary issue is that there was not any sort of dedicated spot for swimming (that I could find). The water access points were dangerous with a lot of extremely slippery rocks. There are also like a bazillion boats and jet skis that make it almost impossible to catch fish. On the flip side the camp sites are close to the water, have grills, and are relatively inexpensive.
Oh the sweet summer air in the morning and the cooling wind in the area. It was a memorable time at this place. Please bring your food inside your vehicle and dont leave it out and cover it. The bugs will find a way to get in no matter if you cover it so well. Bathrooms are clean, good price for each night, not many areas to swim, good areas. Mostly for boating and fishing. If you want to found somewhere to swim, dont pick this place.
I have been to this park 2 times on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends it is never crowded and I was able to book it late not like other parks were you have to book 11 months in advance. It has nice campsites and it is clean. The shore is very rocky and alittle difficult to get in the water to swim. The water is very nice and clear until you get in it gets cloudy and you have to go into the deep so it can stay clear. Water i very cool on Memorial Day and warm on Labor Day. By the second day the toilet paper is gone so take your own for back up. Staff is very rude I guess because they are old. The two times we have been here our tent and canopy broke because it gets windy.
Only thing keeping this from being 5 stars is the gate keeper, older man with grey beard and hair. He was very rude and treated all my quests like they were un welcomed. He appears to be just a bitter man that needs to work somewhere else other than being the face of this park. On the positive side, park was very well maintained and great views of the lake from all sites. Facilities were top notch and would highly recommend to others.
Wish we couldve stayed longer! Nice and clean campground with the beautiful lake as a backdrop. Plenty of places to take a walk and most importantly, to us at least, it was QUIET! No screaming kids or barking dogs...park staff takes care of that stuff immediately. Guy at the guard-shack was kind of snooty, but whatever...we got over it. Nice picnic tables at each site with firepits...both a rarity were noticing.
This place is gorgeous! Great if you have a boat/RV. We did tent camping and stayed in site 62 the first night and 56 the second night (we moved when some noisy people moved in next to us). We did take a dip in the water but not exactly swimmer friendly and no beach front that we saw of.The showers & bathroom were really nice. Decently clean for a camp site- only complaint is that the women’s restroom ran out of tp in all but two of the stalls.They had both a grill (badass five star indeed) and a fire pit. The picnic table has a cover attached and we even saw one guy hang his hammock underneath the covering (life hack if you’re looking to travel minimalist style).I would say that from our experience there were more “glampers” (i.e. people that drive to the restroom, pack everything from the house, play obnoxiously loud music that drowns out the sound of nature) than people who camp rugged style.Other than the lake, there isn’t much else to do (i.e. hiking, volleyball) other than bbq and enjoy being out in nature.The ranger who drives the white king ranch truck was super nice as well. (However, Pat who checked us in was pretty rude to my companion from the get go).
Great RV and Tent camping park. Has water and electrical at each site. Hot and cold showers available too. RV sites $26 and Tent site $20. There is a cleared path to the water in loop 1 and in the old road across from the boat ramp. Mostly a rock shore, but the water is still plesent. Two places to fish on the park. Lots of roads for kids to ride bikes. No playground or official swim area.
Our boat blew a hose and a good Samaritan towed us in over here. They very hospitable. We were there before they opened. They allowed us to use their restrooms before they opened. They knew we were in a pickle and they were very kind about it while we called for help. They never made us feel like we were an inconvenience to them. After we got our issue fixed we bought cold drinks and gased up. Thanks guys for being so nice at the marina.
Lucky to have get a last min. site. The sites were very spacious. Lots of room between; however, they could have done a better job leveling the sites. The restrooms were very clean, heated (grateful sinve it was 28 outside), water hot. The checkin was slow and the lady not overly congenial. BEWARE...they are a reservation only location. No walkups or first come sites.
Well maintained grounds, showers and restrooms which are heated in the cold weather. The gatekeepers are pleasant and knowledgeable. Each RV pad is paved with a bbq grill, fire ring, and large covered table. Live Oaks abound throughout the campgrounds which is right on Canyon Lake. These are the things that we love about ACE campgrounds!
This place does not carry America the Beautiful park passes for military. Frustrating since the park is run by the Army Corps of Engineers, and its the only place in the SA area to get them. I have been here multiple times the last 2 months and all they tell you is they dont have them, or somebody ordered them but dont know when theyll be in. Their website states right on the main page that these passes can be obtained 7 days a week from the warehouse. They should change their webpage at least, and plan better for passes. America the Beautiful passes are very popular and in high demand. How can you not keep some in stock year-round. . . .
Cought plenty of nice fish , catfish 4 ,5 pouners,20 inch striper 18 inch large month and some nice croppie all cought on live minnows.facilities at the campground where excellent.showers sinks clean restrooms.,we had 2 vehicles and people only 20.00 per night . really good deal
My husband and I were hoping to take our dogs on a walk at Cranes Mills Park, but when we arrived we were told the park was closed for winter. Im from the Chicago area originally and was very surprised to be told that a park in central Texas (where its currently 75°) is closed for the winter when parks where I grew up, where there actually is winter, dont close. The Campground however was open, but we were told we couldnt walk our dogs in there unless we paid for a campsite. Extremely disappointing, and lame.
Total reviews rating 4.4
169 Reviews for Cranes Mill Park (USACE) 2023:
Review №1
2022-07-01Probably the best camping park around. However, my biggest disappointment is that there is no swimming access. The park is not on a nice part of the lake. It’s full of seaweed and the water is not very clear. The bathrooms were not horrible, but didn’t meet my expectations from other reviews that mentioned they were very clean. I will say that the sites were pretty clean and have a very nice picnic table and awning. The park gets VERY busy on the weekend. The staff were very friendly and easy to work with. Overall it was a good experience and I would go back if I had to stay on Canyon Lake but next time I think I’ll find another park since I didn’t care much for Canyon Lake.
Review №2
2021-12-08Cranes Mill Park was a great place to visit and we enjoyed our camping vacation. The staff was awesome Thank you to Susan, Mary Lou, Mary, Joe & all the staff! We got to relax, enjoyed the view, hiked a bit, saw many deer at a small distance, fishing pier within walking distance and it was quiet. The area was clean, mowed, and the restrooms/shower area were kept clean & warm since it was cold outside approx. 39 degrees. Our family is definitely returning on our next vacay!
Review №3
2022-05-24I traveled with my family through Texas, and found this campsite, while checking in the gentleman at the gate was so friendly and helpful. Than we found our campsite and it was clean beautiful, the lake is beautiful we, also met Tom Liberty the Host, he gave us us lot of information about the area, we definitely will come back.
Review №4
2021-02-21Surprised about the many bad reviews about the attendants. We came before the crazy winter storm hit. The couple was nice, they are strict with the check in and check out, yes, but never disrespectful. There was another attendant on day also nice and helpful. I would say people are a little rude in the town, but I think that how they are around here. We are beyond thankful for this campground. They have heater and hot water in the clean bathrooms. A life saver when our water was frozen. We never lost power here. Felt secure and safe here during this crazy storm. The park os beautiful. We stayed a week due to the lack of power at home. Thank you!
Review №5
2018-02-13Six stars if it went that high...perfect location on Canyon Lake. Stunning lake views on every site. Park hosts were courteous and friendly. Tent camping area provided an awesome daily hike and a chance to see deer. Campground, although not full hook ups, is a resort-like camping experience...H U G E campsites, paved with extra vehicle parking. Covered picnic tables...fire pits and grills...bathhouse and ground were well maintained. Definitely will plan a return visit..
Review №6
2021-02-01The best campground on our trip so far! Very,very nice! Just getting settled in.
Review №7
2021-04-20Beautiful on Canyon lake only 40 minutes from San Antonio would stay again but stickers in the grass not good for dogs stay off the grass check out our video on you tube Jantz road Trippin 2021
Review №8
2021-07-05The park is beautiful with excellent amenities. Park rules should include quiet hours. We stayed here a few days and other campers just cross over our site as shortcut. People drive wrong way all the times on one way road, and there should be laws to enforce that.
Review №9
2022-01-30Nicely maintained campground on Canyon Lake. Clean restrooms with wonderfully hot showers and nice staff. Read a number of bad reviews about grouchy, miserable staff. We had no problems with anyone. In fact the lady at the gate was beyond kind. So sweet and welcoming everytime we passed her.
Review №10
2020-06-01Nice park. Covered metal tables are awesome. Paved sites. ***SMALL TRAILERS BEWARE- Dump Station is too high for lower trailers (its elevated with a curb around it). I had to take mine to Landa RV in New Braunfels. They only charged me $5 to dump.