Joint Base San Antonio Recreation Park at Canyon Lake Featured Hot

Like so many before this is an excellent FAMCAMP. Only issue I have is with the check-in process. They were very friendly and ready for me when I arrived. Looking back it appeared they assumed I had been here before and just told me to go almost back to the gate and I would find my site. My recommendation would be to provide me with a map and circle my campsite and give directions. It wasn't until the next day that I found out there was a map of the campground and what was available. I was lucky enough to be camped next to a camp host and he helped with what the office should have done. I will come back the next time I'm in the area.

My wife and I were impressed! The camp hosts and all the staff we talked to were very friendly and helpful. It is wonderful to see these great facilities for the service members and their families. We camped in the RV park in a 5th wheel in a full-hookup pull-through site, and we drove all through the recreation area several times. The grounds were always clean and the wildlife was amazing. We saw lots and lots of deer, a few jackrabbits and even a fox. If we are ever in the San Antonio area again we will be sure to stay here. We loved it! Hopefully, Texas will get more rain this year, because Canyon Lake and all the other Texas lakes we saw were way down.

While the facility itself ranks with the best, we were quiet disappointed with personnel at the registration point, in that, behavior was completely unacceptable. And let’s be clear, some employees did demonstrate good manners and were courteous. For instance; when we called in to make reservation, were told to ask about the “lottery,” since we were not able to reserve through the weekend. So at check in, we did inquire about the lottery. I don’t wish to mention names but the person who was taking care of us, besides being totally rude with their responses, also told us the “lottery” was not longer available. Incidentally, I came in the registration office Friday morning and luckily, a different person was at the front desk. Curiously I asked “again” about the lottery and to make a long story short and consequent to the “lottery,” we did get a site until Sunday, as originally desired. On another issue, when we are home, wake up normally arrives around 5:00 AM. Doesn’t necessarily mean a similar pattern is to be followed when we are on vacation. During our stay at Canyon Lake, we experienced a much unwelcome hammering noise from someone collocated next to our RV site. Moreover, they also elected to clean their POV air filter with a pretty loud air compressor. Later we learned that they happened to be “camp hosts.” To the powers to be, someone needs to visit the above cited matter and act accordingly. Customer service, for one, is a subject which should be equally exercised by everyone “behind the desk.” We look forward to return and hopefully the mentioned areas are taken care of.

We absolutely loved our stay in the Bunkhouse on the Fort Sam Houston side. The area was clean and everything functioned just as it should. We made extensive use of the fire pit and grill as well as the convenient country store and bathroom/shower facilities. The kids enjoyed the playground and NEOS games. We rented a pontoon boat for the day for the extremely reasonable price of $105.00. We had an absolute blast. The guys at the marina were friendly, motivated, and professional and made the boating experience fun and low stress. The staff at the store and check in desk were courteous, friendly and efficient. The guy who let us in the gate initially (after hours) made us feel very welcome and was very helpful. Everything about our visit was positive. We will come back and do the exact vacation every time we get the chance!!!

Great place but one major downer...the fishing pier on Fort Sam side is out and they have no idea when it's going to be fixed. This was the main reason my family loves this park and we were very disappointed about the pier being broken.

Arrived on January 5th for 4 nights. The check-in process is very good. There is a gate to enter and after hours each camper has an individual code to enter. (Works great, if your code has been setup. On our last visit about 2 months ago that was not the case. All was corrected quickly). We selected site #4 which is very level in all directions. The men's restroom was clean and in good shape except the door will not close, so need for a code on the door. According to the wife, the ladies not so clean and the heaters not working on day one. Next day much cleaner and two space heaters are now in place. A little too cold to check out the other amenities in the area. The check-in office was well organized and the folks that work there were very helpful. Supplies to purchase was ok. Due to the weather forecast for rain on our checkout date, we extended for one extra day. Ladies in the office did this with a smile. There is deer everywhere. Some of the other campers were feeding them. This is a common practice. We stay here a few times a year and always enjoy the stay.

I love this place we live in San Antonio and before the joint base change we use to go at lease 1 week a month and stayed in the east RV park. Since the change we can't ever get a reservation phone rings 1000 times before answered and they they just tell you they have no reservations. They say they have first come first serve really who is going to load up your rv in hopes of getting a site. Why are there no reservations on line in this day and age it would be so easy then you could see when there are reservations available.

This was my first visit to this facility. My initial phone call was friendly and courteous. I made a follow up phone call, Robert was very friendly and helpful. The female that checked me in at the gate was very friendly. The bombshell came when I got there late and was very tired and was actually at my site relaxing and setting up our site when a very grouchy bearded rude old guy came yelling about our boat being somewhat on the grass. Scared my family to death, ruined our night. Yes, my bad. I failed to notice my son had parked it on the grass. The guy had no tact I thought I left the army and went back to basic training. To notice the next day the guy 2 RV's down had his trailer on the grass for the duration of my time there(4 days). Perhaps that man was racist or had the good old buddy system going. Past that experience, the park was great, the shower facilities were great and everyone else seemed friendly and courteous.

This by far is way better than the camp in Mississippi where we stayed last. At least the combination on the bath house works!The bath house looks new. Has nice individual shower stalls with two curtains, one on the outside area where the bench is and one on the shower stall itself. The bath house looks to be only a couple of years old, everything is very modern and up to date. There is a liquid soap dispenser that always has soap on the sink. The drive through pads with covered picnic tables are all 2 years old too and very level if your rig isn't too long. There is a ramp up to a very flat place and a slight ramp down. Before we every got our travel trailer plugged in, 3 deer came wandering through the campground. The next morning we saw about 17 deer. We are parked in space 8 so we are in the older campsite. The bath house is very close and it's an easy walk for me even though I don't walk real well. Behind the office there is a washer dryer area. There are 5 washers and 4 dryers. It costs 75 cents to wash and 50 cents to dry. Attached is a work out room what has several machines, tables and a tv so you can sit or work out while your laundry is working. There is also a bathroom and shower area, but the shower area is awfully old and there is no soap by the sinks there. There are no locks on the doors either, so don't use that shower! They really need to tear that shower area out and redo it completely. You have to leave the camp area to eat. They lock the gate at 10pm so you need to be back by then. You can always leave, but they don't unlock the entry gate until 7 am we are told. We love it so much here, we intend to stay longer, maybe another week. There is a nice walking trail with a gazebo to rest. The people and camp host are all so nice. And at night, weather permitting they invite everyone in the RV park to come gather around the campfire at 5 pm. There is a small area off the office to buy some supplies and ice cream. It is really peaceful here and in the mid 70's this week so the weather could not be more perfect! We will definitely come back here next winter! And the price is right, $15 a night for full hookups. And we have free wi-fi.

I was disappointed with this campground. I was tent camping and while the campsite itself was good I was disappointed that there was no water available in the primitive campground. I had to buy water and bring it in. I have never been to a campground that did not have water spigots for the tent campers. I also thought that the bathrooms were dirty and one of the shower stalls looked like it was never cleaned. I also asked one of the office attendant a couple of local questions about where to get water and a good breakfast and I felt that he was rude and did not really answer my questions.

Park is now a joint base operation with Randolph AFB and Ft. Sam Houston. Reservation policy changed while we were staying here to allow ALL full service sites to be reserved on the west park side. The full service sites 21-28 facing the lake have much better views than 1-10 which are farthest away from the lake. The park could use some maintenance in trimming up tree heights (less than 13 feet), leveling sites, and having utility hookups closer to the driver's side of the coach when backed in. Bath facilities need upgrading. Overall, we loved the location's proximity to Hill Country venues, San Antonio, and Austin. Would stay here again.

Great place to stay. It's 16 miles off I-35. The staff is very helpful. I marked Amenities/Facilities down a little because there was never soap by the sinks in the bathrooms and the water backed up some when showering. Other than that it was great. Awesome trails. Super nice people wherever you go. Went fishing and we caught 9 w/i 2 hours. It was a really nice time. They have boats and paddle boats to rent at very reasonable rates. Not sure where the poster below got that there is a $5 fee on top of the $15/day. There is no additional fees. Maybe they changed that since he was here.

We arrived Friday only to find out Fort Sam and Randolph Rec Areas are now Joint Force operated by Randolph. Sites 11-24 are currently electric only. They now take reservation for sites 1-10 and sites 25-30 are space available. Air Force side has 10 full hookup sites available. Some of the regular, annual winter RVers don't like the change, however, from my conversations with the Air Force staff on the East side, there are plans to make all sites full hookups after the Christmas season and reservations will be accepted 3 months in advanced. No one likes change and that's what going on currently. Both RV parks are in great locations with plenty of place to hike.

Taking the time to write this because I think that everyone should know that this is an awesome facility. Hate camping because the military makes us do it enough. However, this was a great safe family experience. We arrived early Saturday morning, unpacked, set up our tents, ate lunch, played in the river and sand, took a walk, bar-bq hamburgers for dinner, played some more, set up a fire for smores and lights out because the kids were too tired. Hubby and I stayed up drinking beer and listening to the sound of crickets. Woke the next morning to coffee and bacon on the grill. It was a great time. There is an office to buy somethings that you forgot. Showers and indoor plumbing at the office for those who do not like sleeping with sand in their shorts. Washers and dryers available. Downfall is that if you forgot something like ketchup and the office is closed you have to travel 30min. to buy some affordable ketchup, understand that there is no electricity in the tent area and no sinks but you can take a big bucket and fill it up with water at a well to wash your hands before you eat. Oh, and absolutely under no condition can you skinny dip....other than that it was a great time, great place and best of all great people!!!

Awesome experience. Our family, including kids and grandchildren, stayed in a cottage this past weekend. Cottages are clean and air conditioning is nice and cold (we can control). Full kitchen! Bring a mattress pad if you want to sleep comfortably. Each of the three bedrooms had a queen bed. Staff was very friendly. Beach area was great for the grand kids and the lake is beautiful. Already made reservations to come back.

1st review for 2010. Not much has chg'ed from past excellent 2009 reviews. Very nice pads/sites, facilities all in good working order & new. However, checking in is strange. We got to the gate, got a pass & directions to the office. Perhaps I misunderstood but drove around until a camper showed me the office. Office staff told me to go back to the RV park & pick out a place, set up & come back to register afterwards. We got to an empty site, drove in & found the hookups are reversed every other spot. So in number 2 you have hookups on the left, number 3-on the right, etc. And don't forget there's $5 added to the daily $15 site (Park entrance fee). No way out of that except a $40 annual parking pass.

Great place to get away from it all. Loved the deer out side of our rig each morning. Only negative was a lack of hot water in the mens showers. Will come back.

We love staying here when we come to see my brother and sister-in-law. Since our last visit a year ago, we noticed a lot of the RV sites have been upgraded. We now have complete hook ups with 30/50amp, sewer, and water. The new concrete pads are now wide, and long. Each site has a nice patio, grill, and a big picnic table. Since the upgrade, the number of sites have been reduced from 33 to 30. I think that because of the improvements, the nightly rate increased from $10 to $15 a night which is still not too bad. There are still some improvements that need to be made, but overall, we are very impressed.

Stayed here recently on a whim. The hill country area is very beautiful and Uncle Sam picked a very nice location on the lake for Ft Sam and Randolph just across the road. The cottages (trailers really) were immaculate and, for the most part, comfortable. They are relatively new and well equipped. The folks who worked there (except for one grumpy old coot) were warm and friendly. We stayed in the trailers (cottages) and here are some things I wish I knew beforehand: - The beds are horribly stiff. Bring your own mattress topper unless you prefer sleeping on floor-like stiffness. Also bring your own pillows (we did). - The park is locked up at 10 PM every night. So if you return to the park after this time you have to park your vehicle outside and walk to your cottage. It's not far, but some other parks have a key pad operated gate which allows entry after the staff have gone home. Kind of inconvenient if you were in town and had a load to carry. - This is just a heads up - there is a 2 page check-in checklist in which you have to count the spoons, pans, collanders, etc (along with a price for each item) and return to the office within 1 hour of check-in (or else). There is also a 2 - 3 page check-out checklist to run to include scrubbing the toilets and floors and leaving the mop and sheets (specifically tucked inside the pillowcases) near the front door (or else). Lots of bold print items enumerating that if this/that/the other thing isn't done, they can charge a penalty on your credit card. Just be ready for a moving out of base housing, white glove inspection experience. Other than that, we'd do it again and probably will.

Stayed Mother's Day 2009 and left following Tuesday. Gave amenities/facilities a lesser score because the beach area was closed; however, this was not their fault--serious drought. Bathhouse (female) was very clean--only change I would make would be to make shower head adjustable. If you want to hook-up to WiFi, there is no guest password, can either hit enter or type in guest--staff did not know this info. Very quiet, which is what I needed and the price was right since I had National Park Pass.