Texas, Columbus (70 miles east of Houston), Colorado River RV Campground, Thousand Trails. Very peaceful place! This campground felt more like a state park, located on Shaw's Bend, a old-time haven for hunters and outdoorsmen, because of its lush environment. TT bought the ranch and turned into a camping preserve. This campground has dozens of huge 200+ year old pecans and oak trees gracing the river and trails--absolutely amazing. Because of its geographical location/weather, its easy to grow actual grass, which they have done extensively. They have over 4 miles of hiking trails, mostly through shaded woods. There is a boat ramp to the Colorado River at the end of one trail.
There were very few 50 amp sites working in the park, that were not used by permanent residents. This is a temporary situation, and they were working on electrical while we were there. We got there late in the afternoon the first day Texas reopened, and they had dozens of people check-in before us. So we were only able to get a 30-amp site for our big rig, with water and sewer. We were parked under a huge oak tree, and had afternoon shade so 30-amp worked out for the most part. Our site was in the older A section, with smaller spaces between sites, we had to trim a few branches to prevent roof and slide out damage. Most of the rigs around us were small, and all were backed up in a circle so we had some privacy. The Ranger that checked us in was very kind, kept checking on us, and wanted to know if we wanted to relocate if a larger 50 amp site in C or D came open. All utilities were reliable. We were able to back up enough to disconnect our 5th wheel and have room to park our truck.
We visited 1-15 May, and we enjoyed a variety of spring wildflowers, deer and fawns, rabbits, birds, we even saw some feral pigs in the distance. It's the only TT park where we didn't see any potholes. The restrooms were so clean, they looked newly built. The grounds and trails were likewise spotless. The laundry room had 4 washers and 4 dryers all working. The AC and laundry table could use an update. We only have very good things to say about this campground and the folks who worked there. We will return, and hopefully during bluebonnet and/or pecan seasons.
We camped during Covid-19, so none of the amenities, like the pool, were open. Thousand Trails corporate prevented them from opening any amenities, so they were unnecessarily much stricter than the State of Texas Governor's re-opening recommendations, which were provided by Dr. Birx. We couldn't even get a staff member to place a jigsaw puzzle on the porch for us to pick up later. This was overkill, by corporate TT. They should have opened the Texas campgrounds in-line with the Texas Governor's reopening criteria. This entire county adjacent to Houston had only 12 Covid cases with 0 deaths, but TT kept the campground locked-down tight at least through 15 May, when we left.
Nearby, we can recommend taking the gorgeous Painted Churches Tour (we picked up a brochure in Shulenburg and did the self tour, which includes all but two of the churches). If you want a guided tour, contact the Shulenberg Chamber of Commerce 3 weeks in advance, and you'll need to pay $50. Columbus has an app you can load for a driving tour to hear interesting information while visiting local historical buildings. We also dined-in at Shobels in Columbus and the Market and Café in Shulenberg. Hruskas and Original Kountry Bakery offered pretty great sweet treats. read more