A day at the 22,000-acre Lake Conroe offers a host of activities for families. Spend your day exploring the lake on a boat, canoe, jet ski or kayak that you can rent from the Conroe Yacht Club (conroeyc.com) or rent a boat, jet ski or pontoon from the April Plaza Marina (no website; 17742 Highway 105; W. Montgomery; 936-588-1144). The marina has a public boat launch, as do Inland Discount Marina (inlandmarina.com), Lakeview Marina (lakeview-marina.com) and Scott's Ridge Boat Ramp (no website; 2 miles North of Farm to Market Road 1097; Forest Service Road 212). Activities in the 13-acre Lake Conroe Park (co.montgomery.tx.us) include fishing and swimming in the lake and playing volleyball and softball. The park also has a playground for families with young children and a picnic pavilion.
Hiking, biking, fishing, camping in primitive or developed sites, horseback riding and wildlife viewing are the activities your family can experience in 161,508-acre Sam Houston National Forest (tpwd.state.tx.us). The forest, with 47,609 acres in Montgomery County, is open to visitors year-round.
Spend the day with your family in the 1,722-acre W. Goodrich Jones State Forest (texasforestservice.tamu.edu) and enjoy activities such as bird watching, hiking, horseback riding, picnicking, wildlife viewing and biking. The forest, which is open year-round during daylight hours, also has two small lakes for fishing and areas throughout the forest where you can see forest management demonstrations.
For a cultural experience, take your family to watch a performance in one of the historic downtown theaters. Buy tickets to see live entertainment in Crighton Theatre (crightontheatre.org) or Owen Theatre (crightonplayers.org). Both theaters present family-friendly shows such as "A Christmas Story," "Cinderella" and the "Cowboy Christmas Show" in the Crighton Theatre, and dance and musical performances by the The Crighton Kidz in the Owen Theatre.
Cheer on your children ages 12 and under who join Conroe YMCA's (ymcahouston.org) and South Montgomery County YMCA's (ymcahouston.org) annual "YMCA Trail Run" in May. The run trails through Conroe Family YMCA Camp Owen, which is located on 100 wooded acres, and is followed by a 3K walk.
Take your family to the three-day "Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival," which takes place each year in October. The event features arts and crafts exhibitors, a kids' area with rides, a petting zoo, pony rides and a stage for performers from local dance and art schools. Try all of the different foods served at the fair in addition to catfish such as shrimp, gumbo, frog legs, alligator and red beans and rice.
