spent a Sunday afternoon visiting this resort overlooking lake Buchanan.Enjoyed a delicious lunch followed by spectacular desserts large enough to feed the table. Lake Buchanan is low so water activities are limited. Hiking the 14 miles of designated natural trails for all ages is an adventure !Staff very friendly and knowledgeable.
This is our third trip to the park and will be our last during hot summer months as RV'ers can no longer use the swimming pool. The pool is now for the exclusive use of the cabin renters. We had two RV's (2 couples) and one couple in our group renting a cabin and we were still prohibited from pool use as cabin renters cannot have guests at the pool. (Note: the book in the cabins had not been updated to reflect new rule). The signs at the pool that stated pool use is for overnight guests were updated the day after we arrived with paper signs that said "pool for cabin guests only". Needless to say the customer service was awful. We understand rules, but the way it was handled was not appropriate. There were other couples with children who had been there before and were not aware of new rule. The bar charges $8.50 for a margarita and $2.00 for a bag of popcorn. By the way we did spend $ there.Restrooms were very dirty and some out of toilet paper.Restaurant service very slow (restaurant was not busy for Thursday am breakfast) and order was still incorrect.We were informed the park is under new managment. Mangement needs to review their new rules as there are plenty of RV Parks in the Hill Country to go to for the fee of $44/night that allow pool use and have access to lakes/rivers.
We had a great science teacher's conference at this location a few years back. Rustic looking, but neat and clean.
If you go for the park you may find it desserted. There were many people at the resort but the park was largely abandoned when we went which was fine by us. During the week it is pretty lightly attended from what I can tell. The trails are pretty well marked - there is plenty of available parking. Pack water - even though there are some water fountains at the resort I didn't see any in the inward areas of the park.
There is always something to do, everyday for everyone. Don't like live music, then go look at the stars. Got kids, sign up for one of the learning hikes. Wanna be still and watch the nature, open your back door and find a rocking chair to sit in and be quiet. I can not say enough about this place with the exception that mother nature has been cruel here last year by withholding the rain, but that has gotten better I hear. Drive slowly on the road up there and enjoy the view.
We just got back from a 2 night stay at Canyon of the Eagles. We stayed in a campsite (Tanner), so this is just based on the sites, not the hotel. The good:- The site was very spacious and we could hardly even hear or see our neighbors. At night you could only hear the tree frogs and the wind (and that's with neighbors all around). We could walk to a port-a-potty, and drive to the showers. 2 adults, 3 children (8, 5, 3 years old). Great breeze throughout the entire day, very shaded. About 100 yards or more to the water, so you can't fish from site.- picnic table, grill over the campfire ring- The observatory was open a couple of nights while we were there. They had 2 of the largest telescopes we had ever seen and there was an astronomer there to guide and teach everyone. It was come and go, so no set time you had to be there. We saw the surface of the moon from one telescope, and Saturn form the other (rings and all). Impressive, and the kids loved it.- The trails were very nice. 7 of the 14 trails were open. Some were closed due to eagles nesting I think. We went one maybe 3 trails and they were lined with yellow wildflowers and cactus. The trails are wide and are made with pea gravel, so you could take a stroller. A couple of folks we passed had seen a rattlesnake and showed us a picture of it. We didn't see any, but I've heard they are plentiful here.- not crowded at all on Memorial Day weekend (there may be reason for that though)- showers and bathrooms were very clean, the cleanest I've seen at a campsite- port-a-potty's are cleaned every 7 days, but bring your own toilet paper as they only stock it with 3 rolls and that ran out the day after they cleaned it.The not-so-good:- I reserved a spot online, then called to see whatt time we should arrive to ensure we could pick a good spot. She said to come early, as it was first come, first served. So I took the kids out of school early to get there and when we drove up to the site, we had already been assigned a spot (no changing). So, we didn't have to get there early at all, as you are supposedly assigned a spot upon reserving. We ended up with a great spot (and most of them are), but we were led to believe we could pick one.- I also called before we left to ask about fishing, as I know the lakes are low. They said, sure we have bass, catfish, etc. They said kids didn't need fishing licenses. I asked about a pier,as I read about it online. They said "yes, we have a pier and you can buy your bait at the park store". What they failed to mention was that you can't fish from the pier, as the lake is so low that there's not water anywhere near the pier. In fact, the only way to fish is the rent a kayak and go out on the lake, unless you brought your boat. I'n not sure if there would be a boat dock though, considering the level of the lake. We walked out past the pier to try and fish, but it's too low and you can't even cast far enough to get out of the brush and low water.- customer service upon check-in was very poor. If you want to know anything about the place, then you better ask, because all they do is take your money/reservation and say thank you. They didn't tell us one thing (rules, times to check-out, activities, etc). I finally asked about a piece of paper that was sitting there with activities and she said "yeah, we have things to do listed on the sheet". It so happens they have Movies in the Dark, a nature demo at the amphitheater, a band that plays several times a week, and they even had a Memorial Day barbeque for 6 hours on the Sunday we were there and they didn't think any of that was worth mentioning. She didn't elaborate on anything...just really disconnected. And there were 3 ladies there, all just going about their business and not friendly at all.We left 2 days early, as the kids were bored with the trails and a campfire after 2 days. There are no play areas, and without fishing, there just wasn't much else to do with kids. This would be a great place for couples or a group of adults to just sit around and play games,etc I'm glad we went, but I am very disappointed in the customer service and the fact that they led us to believe we could fish when we couldn't. Had we known this, we would have gone somewhere else so the kids could have had more fun. This was one thing they really wanted to do. So we'll come back if the lake levels rise.
Been here several times and always enjoyed it for the camping and the Stars. Great observatory..The staff and the restaurant and nice. Great menu and food prepared really nicely.
The Butterfly Trail was beautiful this time of the year. The wildflowers were abundant and just gorgeous. It's not a very long trail, so is easy to walk. The flowers & cactus and all the greenery were just beautiful. Great for taking pictures.
When I think of resort I think of something with a little more to offer than Canyon of the Eagles. Our room had two queen beds, microwave and refrigerator. The bathroom and beds were good. However there was not a closet and VERY limited drawers to store clothes. There was no TV and no WiFi in the room. You could get WiFi in the restaurant or lounge area, but not in the rooms. I tried to download a movie for my daughter to watch on my tablet and I could not get enough of signal for this in the lounge area. The restaurant was priced like a resort...roast chicken $17 and hamburger $11. Except for the hamburger, the selections are what you would expect to see at a fancy restaurant. There were lots of families there.....but I did not find the menu very family friendly. Breakfast buffet was 8.95 per person and did not include a drink. The observatory was neat...it was cloudy the night we went so we did not get to see much. I think this would have been the highlight of the trip. The staff was very friendly and attentive. The hiking was ok. There were definitely lots of birds. Overall we were disappointed with our visit.
We went when all the wild flowers were out and it was very pretty. Great easy level walk with lovely outlooks