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Holiday Inn Resort at Canyon Lake, TX

Timeshare Von

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We recently booked a week here through RCI for August. Yes I know, Texas in August is going to be HOT! That is partially the point of this trip, to see just "HOW HOT" it is, as we're considering this area on our short list of places to retire to.

Beyond that, however, I'd love to hear more about the area and things to do there. I was in the Hill Country back in January 2015 and thoroughly enjoyed a day trip from San Antonio. I visited the LBJ ranch and historic area, but that was about it.

I also know they have the old German variation of bowling called 9-pin in local clubs, and plan on checking that out as well.

What else have others done or experienced that might be of interest to a couple of 60-somethings?
 

mcdanielpj

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I don’t have any tips for things to do, but to answer your question about “how hot?” I have to say it is hotter than Hades in Texas in August. Anything you will want to do will be indoors. We get out of here in the summer.
 

DrQ

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Devil's Backbone drive near Wimberley TX

It is a bit of a drive, but worth it - Round Top Festival Institute

There are many wineries in the area.
 
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rjwehr

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We have been going to New Braunfels and the hill country for many years. Depending on your adventure level, you can check out the following:

There is a boat rental place on Canyon Lake if you want to get out on the water. It's just around the corner from the resort. (https://canyonlakemarinastx.com/rentals/) We dragged the kids around the lake on a tube and they loved it.

Overlook park is about 4 miles from Hill Country Resort. You can park and have a picnic, fish, or walk across the dam. (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attract...-Reviews-Overlook_Park-Canyon_Lake_Texas.html)

Tubing on the Guadalupe river. What they call the horseshoe is about 5 miles south of the resort. There are a number of operators right there. (https://riversportstubes.com/shortfloat.htm, https://www.tubehaus.com/) If you want a longer tube ride, there are more operators downriver. (https://rockinr.com/guadalupe/) Just so you know, the water is cold even in August since it comes out of the bottom of the lake. Helpful hint: always get a tube with a bottom.

There is a Fossil museum about 9 miles from the resort in Sattler. (https://www.theheritagemuseum.com/) We took the kids there when they were younger. They have very well-preserved dinosaur tracks among some other artifacts. Quick & easy side trip.

The Natural Bridge Caverns and Wildlife Ranch are not too far from there. The caverns have a nice facility and well-maintained walking paths through the caverns. (https://naturalbridgecaverns.com/) The wildlife ranch is next door. (https://www.wildliferanchtexas.com/) It's a pretty typical drive-through wildlife experience, where you feed the animals as you go. We found that the animals really come out to the road when the staff put the hay out. We got there at exactly noon and followed the staff putting out hay. Got to see everything. Beware, the ostriches are aggressive.

The Gruene Historic District is down FM306 from the resort. https://www.gruenetexas.com/ They have small touristy kind of shops, occasionally live music at the Gruene Dance Hall, and a nice restaurant called The Gristmill https://gristmillrestaurant.com/ that overlooks the river and hill country.

If you like hiking, Enchanted Rock State Park is about an hour and a half from the resort. (https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/enchanted-rock) If you go, make sure you get there early. They do capacity control, and you may have to wait or not get in at all if you get there too late.

Fredericksburg is a nice side trip about an hour from the resort. They have shops and wineries in the area. (https://www.visitfredericksburgtx.com/)

If you are really feeling adventurous, Wimberley Zip lines are great. Nice long rides. A little bit of walking is required. (https://www.wimberleyzipline.com/)

My wife always ends up at the outlet malls in San Marcos. If you are looking to stimulate the economy, this is not a bad place. (https://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlet/san-marcos, https://www.tangeroutlet.com/sanmarcos) There are two malls right next to each other.

Of course, there are attractions in San Antonio: The Alamo, The Riverwalk, Sea World, Six Flags-Fiesta Texas, San Antonio Zoo, etc.

Let me know if you have any questions. Good Luck.

P.S. Hill Country Resort has three types of units. (Lodge, Presidential, and Ambassador.) The Lodge units are the oldest ones. They have rustic furnishings but overall fine, basic accommodations. The Presidential units are nicer and pretty modern. The Ambassador units are the largest and nicest. I believe the Presidential and Ambassador units are across FM 306 from the clubhouse and check-in desk. If I remember correctly, they have their own pools for those buildings. Most units at the resort are lock-off units, so depending on the size you reserved, it may be the small side, large side, or both. They actually have number of things to do at the resort. Mini golf, pools, small theatre room, game room, etc. Be aware... they will try to rope you into a sales pitch when you try to get your parking pass, or at least they used to.
 
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Timeshare Von

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Thanks for the many great suggestions!
 

rjwehr

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Thanks for the many great suggestions!
I don't know if this helps, but I used this Google map and highlighted the different areas of the resort. Blue is resort property. White are the Lodge units. These are the oldest and most basic units. Green are the Presidential units. These are nicer units. Red are the Ambassador units. These are the nicest ones they have. The Pools and Clubhouse are highlighted in Orange. (The major road that crosses the property is FM306) The check-in desk is located in the center orange area, surrounded by white. The main pools, mini-golf, arcade, snack bar, and movie room are located here, as well.
 

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Timeshare Von

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Only 4 weeks until our arrival! We are really looking forward to this trip :)

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm starting to make notes for places to visit/explore.
 

geist1223

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Remember that while Baseball Style Caps shade the eyes they do not provide protect to the ears and neck.
 

PS89

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Bookmarking this thread, lot's of great ideas! Thanks!

Will be in San Antonio at Wyndham La Cascada for a few days in mid-October and looking for things to do.
 

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Bookmarking this thread, lot's of great ideas! Thanks!

Will be in San Antonio at Wyndham La Cascada for a few days in mid-October and looking for things to do.
I've been to La Cascada many times, so feel free to message me if you want to know anything specific to the resort or immediate neighborhood.
 

Timeshare Von

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Thanks to other vintage bowling enthusiasts, I'm planning to check out this 9-pin bowling "club" that is in the general area of Canyon Lake!
 

Timeshare Von

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We're just heading home today from a fabulous week at this Canyon Lake resort. The Holiday Inn Vacation Club was a perfect oasis for our week. And I can't wait to blog about it and share a trip report with photos of everything we did and all the day trips we experienced while in the Texas Hill Country.
 

Timeshare Von

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For anyone who's on Facebook and wants to take a look at the photos and things I posted there, here's the link to my personal Facebook page which is set for public access and viewing.
 

Sandy VDH

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Since I live in Houston now, but in Austin and DFW before that, we visit TX hill country as a weekend getaway a few times a year. Lots of stuff to do and we like a lot of the wineries. Even members at a few.

Gruene is great, especially around the christmas holidays, as it is usually all decked out.

Have stayed at that HICV about a dozen times over the years. Also Stay at the Worldmarks in New Braunfels and in Marble Falls. There is also a Wymdham Worldmark shared resort in Austin. So lots of choices.

Glad you enjoyed your visit, even in our August heat.
 

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Besides going into San Antonio, we always go to Fredericksburg for German food and all the wineries there and on the way from Hill Country Resort. New Braudsfield has lots of neat shops and dining, too. When in San Antonio, be sure to ride the doubledecker bus, easy on and off. Tour all the old Mission sites by car heading south from the Alamo. Lots of good dining on the Riverwalk, be sure to take the river taxi tour, too.
 

Janann

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You saw lots of interesting places! But most importantly, it looks like you made it to Braum's for ice cream. I often forget that Braum's is only in a few states.
 

Timeshare Von

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You saw lots of interesting places! But most importantly, it looks like you made it to Braum's for ice cream. I often forget that Braum's is only in a few states.
It is a favorite of storm chasers in TX & OK, and on my recent trip with the College of DuPage we ate a late supper there several times . . . but I always avoided the yummy temptation of their ice cream. It was a treat to share it with my DH on this trip . . . midday . . . for an ice cream cone! YUMMMMMMMYYYYYY!
 

Timeshare Von

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Besides going into San Antonio, we always go to Fredericksburg for German food and all the wineries there and on the way from Hill Country Resort. New Braudsfield has lots of neat shops and dining, too. When in San Antonio, be sure to ride the doubledecker bus, easy on and off. Tour all the old Mission sites by car heading south from the Alamo. Lots of good dining on the Riverwalk, be sure to take the river taxi tour, too.
We're already back, and we didn't do much in San Antonio as we had both done the Riverwalk in the past. My sister hadn't been to the San Juan Mission so that's why we did that, plus BBQ at a local place.
 

Timeshare Von

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Since I live in Houston now, but in Austin and DFW before that, we visit TX hill country as a weekend getaway a few times a year. Lots of stuff to do and we like a lot of the wineries. Even members at a few.

Gruene is great, especially around the christmas holidays, as it is usually all decked out.

Have stayed at that HICV about a dozen times over the years. Also Stay at the Worldmarks in New Braunfels and in Marble Falls. There is also a Wymdham Worldmark shared resort in Austin. So lots of choices.

Glad you enjoyed your visit, even in our August heat.
I'd love to visit the area again . . . we thoroughly enjoyed it for sure. The resort at Canyon Lake was a delight . . . and we did see the W/M in New Braunfels. Maybe another time :)
 

Timeshare Von

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My trip report . . . just shared on Trip Advisor . . .

As an avid timeshare owner, I was excited when I was able to book a week through an RCI exchange at the Holiday Inn Vacation Club property in Canyon Lake. The Hill Country Resort was a wonderful full service location, offering many of the high end amenities a family may seek. We reserved a 2BR unit, and was upgraded to a 2BR Presidential Villa which as best I could tell only offered more space and maybe upgraded bedding (mattress & pillows) and an in-villa washer & dryer.

My sister from Tennessee flew into Austin and we picked her up at the airport as we arrived late afternoon on Saturday. I took her back to the Austin airport on Tuesday morning for her flight home. Roundtrip via American (non-stop) her flight was just under $200! What a great deal for her.

In Canyon Lake proper, we dined at three local restaurants . . .

Saturday night @ La Pasadita Cocina Mexicana (good food, slow service, but a delightful meal)

Tuesday evening @ Italian Garden (excellent food & outstanding service)

Friday morning @ Granny D's (breakfast was delish . . . pancakes are HUGE and sharable, with leftovers too)

Other local restaurants where we dined . . .

Western Edge (Fredericksburg) it was good . . . try the steak pizza. Plenty for 2 to share.

B&B's Smokehouse (San Antonio) excellent food, but it's Texas . . . they better do BBQ & brisket well!

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse (New Braunfels) we were there on burger night . . . excellent burgers, fantastic selection of beers. Be sure to try the Pizookie® . . . a cookie & ice cream dessert . . . enough to share. We did the strawberries & cream while our friends had the chocolate chip cookie variation.

Gristmill (Gruene) at 105° in the shade, the dining patio & open air "inside" was simply too hot to eat a good steak meal . . . so we had their jalapeno torpedoes as an appetizer and went looking for something really inside with AC.

Gruene River Grill (a block away in Gruene) was our back-up choice and it did not disappoint us. The food was excellent and service very good too. I had the ribeye while my hubby had the bone-in double pork chops.

Sea Island Shrimp (New Braunfels) was a bit of a surprise as we expected more of a traditional dining experience with a server taking our order, etc. That said, the food was delicious and plentiful for the price paid.

We also did the winery thing, with tastings at Becker Vineyards and Hye Meadows (both off Hwy290 between Johnson City & Fredericksburg). We enjoyed the charcuterie board at Hye Meadows as a nice compliment to our tasting . . . and the tour at Becker's was a real delight during our tasting visit. Expect to pay $25-$30 for a 5-6 flight sampling.

While out and about in the area we visited the following attractions:

San Juan Mission (a US National Park Service location in San Antonio)
LBJ Historical Park (a US National Park Service location Johnson City)
George HW Bush Presidential Library & Museum (College Station/Texas A&M Campus)
Old Blanco Courthouse (Blanco)
Gruene Historic District (including the Gruene Hall - the oldest dance hall in Texas)

And for anyone interested in bowling, do not miss checking out the 9-pin clubs found in the tri-county region. There are 17 of the old German variation of the game. We visited the local clubs in Bulverde (6 lanes) and Fischer (4 lanes). But do your homework before heading to any of them, as they are not open every day, and may not be available for "open bowling" to the general public as they are membership clubs. I found the people to be very welcoming and excited to have folks interested in bowling "the old school" way.

Back to the timeshare resort . . . their local on-site free activities include swimming pools (4 of them for folks of all ages), mini-golf (in the shade and fun in spite of the 100° temps), movie theater (capacity of 25, showing recent releases for kids and adults throughout the day) and other daily activities provided by the resort staff. There is a restaurant on-site and a poolside cantina, although we didn't use either.

We had a great time in Texas . . . we'll be back ya'all!
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