Parks Close as Summer Ends
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Four parks and three boat ramps closed Sept. 25, marking the end of the glorious summer season in Canyon Lake.
On Oct. 1 Crane’s Mill Park closes to tent camping, leaving only the RV section open for business.
However, other facilities are still open. Click here for a complete list of parks, boat ramps, marinas, docks and piers.
Although Winter Texans are expected to begin arriving in mid-October, the millions of dollars they bring to Central Texas’ economy isn’t enough to offset the loss of summer tourist dollars in “the water recreation capital of Texas.”
Fall slowdown
As fishermen replace boaters, the rhythm of life along the lake slows.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Canyon Lake parks and boat ramps, can’t afford to pay $100 a day to keep gatekeepers at each park.
“Our agency looks at the cost to run these parks versus the revenue they bring in,” says Terri Teaschner of the Canyon Lake Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “If you score too low on one of the Corps’ matrices, you may be forced to close your park. We do what we can to run Canyon Lake parts in the most efficient manner that we can.”
Closed for the winter are Canyon Park, Canyon Beach, North Park and Comal Park. They will reopen April 1, 2017.
Closed along with each park are their boat ramps: #3 and #4 in Comal Park and #18 in Canyon Park.
Still open
Open year-round are Cranes Mill, Overlook and Little Jacobs Park. Joint Base San Antonio operates Jacob’s Creek and MWR for active duty personnel.
Potters Creek, which was destroyed by floods in 2015, remains closed.
However, tours of Canyon Gorge pick up in the winter, Teaschner says. Cooler temperatures are ideal for the three-hour, physically demanding hike around the gorge, created by flooding in 2002.
