KL Ranch Camp On The River

4th year camping at KL in New Braunfels. Nice clean,quiet and just 15 minutes outside of town. Great place to tube.

The place is cool. People seem a little cold sometimes. Restrooms are always clean. Water was low but they can't control that. It's a beautiful spot.

I'm breaking up my review into three parts. the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The good: This is THE spot for camping next to the river. I got spot 105 was RIGHT next to the rapids, and sleeping with that sound was amazing.

I also felt the staff were extremely kind, cooperative, and informative. They helped direct me to a tubing spot, inflated my air mattress, and overall kept my trip pleasant.

I was a woman camping alone, and felt very safe my whole trip. It help that there are staff around very close, and town is just a few minutes away. People mention its crowded but I actually quite liked how many people were there, should I need to holler for help due to men/bears/aliens/my tent catching aflame because I dropped a flaming marshmallow. In other words, i felt very secure.

The bad: this campsite is micromanagement city. The signs everywhere saying "don't do xyz" and the little wristbands they make you wear took me out lol. I popped it off and lost it, and nobody ever questioned me, so I assume it's not actually something they use to monitor campers, and is just security theatre.

Then again, I don't manage a campsite. So maybe these measures are actually needed from experience. My biggest gripe comes next...

The ugly: AI, AI everywhere. So many AI signs, AI on their website, AI merch advertised, ugh. I get it, AI can be really useful but when you know there are vulnerable populations like older generations, you should refrain from plastering AI photos on your website and use it VERY SPARINGLY.

I was also really disappointed to notice they were selling fake gemstone necklaces and pendants next to seemingly real ones. They appeared to be resin and from the "NO REFUNDS" sign, I assume anyone wanting to get their money back would be refused. I can only imagine what would happen if you bought faulty swim/camp gear.

There was also just a ton of penny pinching sore spots in general. Having to pay for showers, pay for early check in (even if your campsite is empty!) high prices for extra people/cars, etc.

Also of note, despite their strict rules about lighting, my neighbors had neon-bright lights on their shade tent on all night. I woke up early hoping to catch some stars. NOPE! light pollution!

VERDICT:

It's a great place to camp, provided you anticipate the above. Highly recommend for single campers, especially if you get annoyed at children hollering at night like at other campgrounds. Bring a solar shower, river shoes, and your own river tube/toys.

Went to spend time with my son who had purchased a two night stay. We were charged $42.00 for myself and my wife. I told the employee we were only going to stay only a few hours and she said it doesn't matter. On the Web site it said $10.00 per person. Just think it was a little steep for just a 4 hrs visit.

We had a great time at the KL "on the River." We camped in sites 68 and 69, which was a perfect combination of tent camping (68) and a SMALL travel trailer (69). The camp store was very conveniently located. The showers are a bit far from these sites, but plumbed restrooms are a short walk. These sites are more private than the sites near the showers. Be sure to bring trash bags. There are no individual trash cans on the sites. All trash is carried to the dumpster.

We had a phone signal, so we were able to use our hotspot to watch the Astros game.

They 100% mean "lights out" at 11PM, but we stayed up and visited well beyond this time. Just without loud music or bright lights.

This would be a great location for snorkeling! Calm water with a bit of depth (waist deep at the most). Access to the water was perfect, and an easy place to set a pop-up shade if needed.

We will visit again!