Be still my heart! Colorado River Thousand Trails is the standard for what Thousand Trails campgrounds should be. When we arrived, everything was immaculate from the sign at the campground entrance to the brand new sites they just put in. Even with this expansion, the campground still feels like a park and not a campground given that the park is set in a pecan grove. Deer walk lazily through the park but keep a safe distance from the RVers passing through.
Getting There Is Easy
We came in from Lake Conroe Thousand Trails in Willis, Texas. It was a short run of only 112 miles with no charging needed in our Model Y. We avoided Houston proper because honestly who wants to pull a 43′ fifth wheel through Houston and on top of that the tolls for a 5th wheel are a nightmare. It was picturesque drive through the back roads of Texas. I highly recommend getting off the interstates as often as you can.
The Campground
We stayed in the premium pull through section of the park, which offers 50/30/20 amp full hookups and enough room to park a large rig and two vehicles and still have plenty of room to relax outside. It’s wide open as these sites are newly finished and the trees are very young, so you’ll have no problem with line of sight for satellite whether for TV or internet. Deer watching by campfire light has been a favorite activity so far. It is worth noting that there are some painful stickers in the grass here that have caused our dogs some issues and made it impossible for me to run around barefoot.
Amenities
Let’s start this with the nitty gritty: the bathrooms rock. They are clean and either brand new or well maintained. If there is an issue they will fix it immediately. This was true even on our first visit when they were severely understaffed.
The mini golf course is well maintained and wisely placed mostly in the shade of the pecan grove. It’s Texas, y’all. The heat will kill you in the shade. Equipment is available in the office.
For those of us with disabilities, I heartily recommend this campground. I mentioned to the staff how often the ADA camping spots are taken by healthy people, and they admitted the rule is that you need to have a disability tag or placard to park there but they are simply too short handed to police it. The manager, Rick, and I spoke through the office personnel and now if those of us with disabilities call the ranger’s office and let them know we are coming they will go block off an ADA site if available and make sure no one takes them from us. The ADA spots here are concrete, level, and extra wide, and the concrete extends to the living area outside. They did ADA camping spots right. Thousand Trails corporate needs to repeat this recipe for accessibility elsewhere.
Connectivity
As usual we have our Starlink, the T-Mobile Home Internet device, and 5 T-Mobile phones (3 iphones and 2 android). The T-Mobile here is screaming fast, with the T-Mobile Home Internet running at about 350 down and 40 up while being the lowest priority tier for T-Mobile service and my phone running at a whopping 480 down and 50 up.
I know some of you are wondering why I would bother putting up Starlink with numbers from T-Mobile being so good, but it wouldn’t be a good review if I didn’t and our setup takes less than 5 minutes. We have residential with portability solely for the ability to move into a crowded cell and occasionally get priority internet. We did not move into the cell here in Columbus, so we have roughly the same priority as those on the RV plan. Speeds are good enough to do almost everything we would need to, averaging 70 down and 15 up with no obstructions and very few drops.
When we move back to Lake Conroe Thousand Trails we will have priority data since I was able to move into the cell and it will be interesting to compare our internet experience to our last visit a few weeks ago when we did not have priority service.
Things to Do
The Painted Churches of Schulenberg are a worthy trip. You can choose between getting some maps and pamphlets at the Chamber of Commerce in Schulenberg, TX, or you can book a guided tour for a reasonable price from the Chamber’s website.
The water is low at the boat ramp and nearly the entire ramp is exposed. The current is a little too swift for my comfort but YMMV.
Supplies
This town has survival level supplies available locally. Anything beyond that requires a drive of at least 20-30 minutes either to Sealy or La Grange.
The Basics
The shopping situation in Columbus is questionable at best. There is a tiny H-E-B sharing a building with a tiny Walmart. The food options are very basic, so if you have any sort of food restrictions this campground won’t be workable unless you’re okay driving 25-30 miles to Sealy, TX, where there are stores with more diverse options. I have since learned that there is a Brookshire Brothers grocery store that is stocked a bit better, but I haven’t personally visited. Chain pharmacy options are limited to Walmart unless you want to go to Sealy for that as well.
For propane I recommend Columbus Butane. Even during the hard freezes they never seem to run out, have great prices, and they are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. The Tractor Supply rarely has someone available to dispense propane.
Restaurants
We really loved Los Cabos Mexican Grill. The food is excellent and reasonably priced. Their Texas Two Step Margarita is a personal favorite of mine. Their chili con queso dip disappears quickly and is served with a side of pickled jalapeños so you can make it as spicy as you like. Things to try are their Chipotle Fajitas, El Campo Nachos, and the Taco Salad. The restaurant is in a metal building and has absolutely no cellular coverage.
Joe’s Italian Restaurant is located in the same shopping center as Walmart and H-E-B but I’m sad to say I’m warning you against it. Their bread is amazing…if only the rest of the food was even edible this restaurant would be incredible. My daughter and I went and we ordered the stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer. When they arrived they were tiny and frankly smelled like feet. I tried a bite and realized the seafood was past its prime. I was embarrassed to have to spit it into my napkin. I was really craving Italian so I hoped the entree was better; it was not. It was also a seafood pasta dish and the smell was so bad that neither Nadine nor I could eat near it. I tried to eat it and ended up in the bathroom. We paid and left rather quickly, and the waitress seemed confused about us considering the food not up to par. We thought we’d merely ordered the wrong thing but multiple reports as to possible freshness issues have come back to me as I discussed food options in Columbus.
I keep meaning to try Schoebel’s Restaurant, but somehow it has consistently been the thing my teens have not wanted to try. We hear good things about it from families who have tried it, however.
Parts and Repair Services
If you have trouble and need to make repairs, Sealy is the closest town with RV parts although the stock is limited. I frequently had to drive to Katy for RV parts for our business as Sealy is only going to have the very basics. If it’s fall/winter and you’re looking for a mobile tech, we’re likely in the park doing repairs as On the Go RV Tech, Inc.
As far as tires, I DO NOT recommend Columbus Tire. Not only did they order tires for one of our RV repair customers that was too light of a load rating for the rig they were going on and kept insisting they would be “fine”, but they kept another friend’s diesel truck and refused to do basic diagnostics claiming they were too backed up after leading them to believe it would be happening “soon”. Their empty lot says otherwise. They are a shop that’s used to having little to no competition and do as they please. Buyer beware.
If you have a vehicle in the Ram family, we cannot speak highly enough of Cavender Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. Our Ram 3500 HO MegaCab dually, Beauty, popped a radiator on the road from Lake Conroe Thousand Trails to Colorado River Thousand Trails. We found out that at the time that radiator was on nationwide backorder and needless to say as a fulltime RVer that’s the last phrase you want to hear when your tow vehicle is down. Two days after dropping the truck off, they contact us to let us know that a radiator is on its way from Arizona. The dealer there had 2 and owed Cavender a favor. They cashed in a favor on a hard to get part for someone who did not purchase their truck from them. On top of this, everyone we spoke to was kind, considerate, and doing their best to get us back on the road. We had Beauty back in less than a week.
If you have issues with your diesel in Columbus, I heartily recommend Brast & Sons in Cat Spring, TX. They are a diesel only shop and really know their stuff. They are also kind and generous with their time. If you’re unlucky enough to break down in this area, definitely give them a call.
Conclusion
I heard recently that the ranger at Colorado River, Rick Penny, is leaving this summer. This makes me sad as he was kind and passionate about taking care of the park. Colorado River Thousand Trails is a crown jewel of Thousand Trails in large part due to his dedication and hard work. Rick, you will be greatly missed.
I know it seems like this park is out of the way, but it really is a must see Thousand Trails park. We never considered an annual site until this place.