Cranes Mill Park Campground

We camped here in March, 2015 in a 35 foot fifth wheel. The rate shown is with the Senior Pass discount.

Cranes Mill is a small COE park on Canyon Lake. Check in was easy and the camp host was friendly and helpful. All the sites have paved pads for the RV as well as a paved pad for the vehicle. The sites have water and electric hook ups and there is a dump station on the way out of the park. Some sites also have a tent pad. Our site had crushed gravel surrounding the paved pads, a covered picnic table and a fire ring. Best of all was the view of the lake from our site. There is a separate campground with tent sites. There is a bath house which I did not use so can't comment on.

The lake level is very low now and the boat ramp was closed. We saw several deer in the park.

We used the park as a base for exploring the Texas Hill Country and enjoyed the drives from there. Nearby Startsville has a laundromat, small grocery store and gas stations. More shopping is available in New Braunfels.

So far we think this is one of the best places we've camped this year. The rate is Senior rate. Regular is $26.

An hour from San Antonio, 1/2 hour from New Braunfels (where there are a number of RV related businesses including Camping World).

The sites are as described above but I would note that only a few have shade that is nice when it's hot. #s 2 and 4 seem to have the best afternoon shade while 14, 15, 16 have great views and are at the far end of the lot, though not shaded. 20/30/50A and water, which is good quality, at the site and the dump station at entrance/exit. (The tent sites also have water and electric.) There are dumpsters positioned throughout the park and the bathhouse/toilets are centrally located, VERY clean with HUGE shower stalls with good controllable pressure and the nozzles are high enough that tall people don't have to "squat." BUT the floor in the women's shower room seems to always be flooded due to the poor drainage of the smaller stall. Take caution.

There is a marina in the park and a boat ramp (about 1/2 mile from RV section) in the CG. They are serious about life preservers though so make sure you have/wear them.

Lots of nice roads for bike riding or walking. It's quiet, now (in April) the wildflowers are in bloom, and there are deer mostly in the early morning and dusk. Very pet friendly as long as they are on a leash.

The laundromat is about 7 miles down the road in Startzville, next to a donut shop (but Google Maps will tell you it's on the wrong side of the road.) Machines (single) -W and D-are $1.50 (as of Apr 2016) and the dryers give you 30 minutes which is ample time for a large load since they are huge. There are larger washers but I didn't look at the price and the manager said they are planning to install a few more.

The grocery store is further east on the same road on the left but is quite limited in selections. There is a CVS between the laundromat and the market.

There are a number of gas stations along the road coming in but the cheapest gas was at the intersection of Rte 306 and 2673 (the road to the CG).

If you don't have plans or info about the area it would be a good idea to stop at the Canyon Lake information center as the CG has only the car sticker. It's on Rte 2673 on the way to the CG in Canyon Lake. While CM is an hour+ away from San Antonio, Fredericksburg and Austin it is centrally located for all of them.

We had made reservations through recreation.gov so had preregistered and check in was a breeze.

UPDATE as of Apr 21-We were supposed to leave today but due to rain all week extended our stay in one of the walk-in spots. A few things to note:
IMPORTANT: Mail cannot be sent to you at the COE office. There is a PO in town but most campers get their mail at Freedom Mail (http://freedommailcenter.com/) 1885 FM 2673
Canyon Lake, Texas 78133 (830) 907-3600

ALSO, of the sites I listed above: #2 is a walk in but is closed right now due to "electrical problems" The 2 closed sites (with barricades) 21 & 23 have, however been closed since last May so there's no telling when 2 will reopen. Sites 1, 3, 16, 28, 29, 30 are the walk in sites. 16 would NOT be appropriate for a big rig as the slope is pronounced. (A MUCH smaller one or trailer would work better.) #28 is where we are now but the patio area floods completely in the rain.

This was our first time staying at an Army Corps of Engineers campground. We had made a reservation online for 5 nights, but before we even arrived we decided we would probably prefer to stay for 9 nights. Upon arrival I asked if we could switch sites to a walk-up, something most parks let you do and was told no.

On our 4th night the park was filling up, and so I went to the gate and asked if I could book a walk up site (willing to pay the final night on my reserved site + pay the walk up just to make sure I was able to get a site) but was told no. They are very strict on changing sites, one of our neighbors was in a walk-up and wanted to move to a different, vacant, walk-up and they told him he could not.

Luckily on the day we were to check out one walk up was available so we were able to move and extend our stay.

Other then that, the biggest downside to the park is that they close the gate at 10pm. If you are out of the park after 10pm you need to park your vehicle outside the gate and walk in. We aren't partiers or super late night people, but we were in San Antonio (an hours drive away) and enjoying an evening at the river walk and we felt like teenagers with a curfew in that we had to cut our night short and rush back to beat the gate.

When we were there the entire RV loop was open, no closed sites, but the tent loop was closed.

The sites are very large. Our fifth wheel, with the truck connected is 52 feet long, and when we backed in, before we unhooked, we easily had another 5 - 10 feet of available space. On top of that each space has an attached parking space that appeared to be between 15 and 25 feet deep depending on the site.

The weekends are VERY busy. Lots of locals come up for the weekends. Lots of people sharing sites, so a lot of people in the CG. On one site I counted 6 trucks and a boat.

Sites are pretty wide, while there isn't any barrier between sites, you have enough space that you aren't right on top of your neighbors.

Apparently they have had problems keeping a landscaper, so the grass has not been cut since Oct. The grass is very long, which is a bit annoying. Some of the locals that are regulars there are bringing weed wackers up and cutting the grass in their spaces before they set up so some spaces, where a local has stayed, do have nice shorter grass but in general be prepared for long grass.

Like most of our experiences in TX, AT&T was pretty week but Verizon was decent:

Verizon Boosted
10.4Mbps down / 7.18Mbps up

Verizon Without Boost:
13.55Mbps down / 11.36Mbps up

AT&T Boosted
2.41Mbps down / 0.8Mbps down

AT&T Without Boost
2.12 Mbps down / 1.13Mbps up

30 Large RV sites, 34 tent sites. Wonder views of the lake from almost every site. Lake side site odd numbers starting with 13. Very clean Restrooms and showers. We enjoyed the 2 days there and will stay next time in the area. Fishing pier west of the campground and nice boat ramp. Only 4 out of 5 stars.... We like hiking and there are no designated trails.

What a great little park. Restroom and showers worked great. Plenty of room and parking on the paved pads. We camped in Feb. 2018 and were surprised at the large # of fishing boats on the lake. We saw plenty of deer and a fox. It worked as a base to explore New Braunfels, Gruene, San Marcos, Guadalupe SP and it's beautiful river, Wimberly, Dripping Springs and of course San Antonio. The trips back to camp became tedious as the camp is pretty far off the main roads. On one of those trips back into the park we came in view of the entrance gate and saw a traffic jam. As it turned out the gate attendant would not let any of the registered campers to re-enter untill he finished processing in a new camper. There was one road in and one road out. I was the 8th car in line and got tired of waiting so I walked up to the "guard shack" and asked Sarge if we could go in on the out lane. He told me tersly, "absolutely not". Some people waited 25 minutes. I can't wait to go back to Cranes Mills but I hope Santa is at the North Pole.

This is a great little park with spacious sites and lots of grass, which is nice for my dog. The showers and bathrooms were clean. Each site has a proper metal picnic table with cover. We stayed here in March and both the tent and day use areas were closed, so it was nice and quiet. I made a reservation online and had no issues. Also had no issues with the camp hosts. Would stay here again for sure and will try out other COE campgrounds.

Fairly level site near the bathhouse. Water and electric hookups. Dump station. Views of the lake. Huge paved sites. Large picnic tables, fire rings and bbqs at each site. Grass between sites.

We stayed heee because it is between San Antonio and Austin and we wanted to visit both cities. It was a very relaxing stay. The sites are spacious and pretty level. They all have a covered picnic table, grill and fire pit. The restrooms were clean and the showers were very adequate. This was our first Army Corps of Engineer park and we will definitely be checking out more of them. We had water and electric and there is an easy access to the dump station.

Nicely maintained facilities with absolutely terrific staff. Beautiful view of lake that was clear and clean . All amenities in good shape and good WiFi. Very popular with many nice campers just enjoying themselves.

The notice on my reservation made clear the campground’s 3 PM check-in time is strictly enforced. Therefore, we spent the day killing time by traveling through towns we might not typically have had a chance to see. Johnson City provided an RV parking space at their Lyndon B. Johnson boyhood home national park. And first we made lunch in the camper and then spent a leisurely two hours walking the grounds of this amazing historical treasure. Johnson’s paternal grandparents settled the land there and their story is so interesting. The old homestead of his grandparents remain in great shape, along with outbuildings, and Johnson’s boyhood home is available to tour. This stop was a surprise and is one of the highlights of this summer’s adventure, and if it weren’t for knowing ahead the strict check-in rules of Cranes Mill Park we most likely would not have stopped in Johnson City.

Cranes Mill Park itself was okay, nothing great or negative about it. And only thirty RV hookups are available, but that does not deter the occasional immature man who acts like one of the slacker roles Matthew McConaughy once played. This Dazed and Confused man drove around the lakeside bend and abruptly pulled straight into his campsite so his front door faced us. He had a small vintage trailer, which was cool, but every accomplishment of his set-up produced a swift one-clap of the hands by this strange man. He had a tall bistro-type umbrella he set up, with a table he attached to the side of his trailer, and two plastic Adirondack chairs. After every task accomplished he made a quick clap, and it was fascinating to watch a person so weird and enamored of himself. Shirtless, and playing something resembling a mix between rap and hip-hop, he also had a miniature motorcycle he kept in the bed of his truck that he could lift out by hand and take a spin around the park from time to time. Luckily for us he left the next morning.

We chose this park because of its proximity to Austin and San Antonio, as well as popular HIll Country towns such as Fredericksburg, Blanco, Luckenbach, and Wimberley, all of which we visited. The scenery was astounding, especially the drive between Luckenback to Wimberley and Wimberley to Canyon Lake. The weather sort of messed with us, but we hadn’t had a lot of rain to deal with on this trip so it was manageable. Wimberley was a nice surprise as well with its art-village appeal and Cypress Springs Preserve.

The restrooms were rustic and a combination of old and new. The shower stalls were large and provided plenty of hot water. AT&T service was a satisfactory two bars. Our geezer price averaged $15 per night, which was a bit steeper than our usual fee and not indicative of any additional amenities than other ACoE parks we have stayed in, and basically over-priced in our opinion. Yes, there were enough safe roads in which to ride our bicycles, but with generally no trees it wasn’t so much fun in the direct sun. No nature trails in the park itself to hike, but day trips can provide anything a camper like us might need for a satisfactory experience. This park is truly a boater’s paradise, and not a good choice for those of us who prefer a bit of shade, wooded topography, and a bike ride through the countryside. Much to our dismay we did arrive to our check-in about ten minutes early. However, we parked outside the gate and I approached the gate window on foot. I presented myself as humble, and apologized for being early. The camp hosts were friendly and forgiving, and also expressed their pleasure that we had obviously gone to some trouble in order to follow their rules. Happily, check-in was quick and easy.