Montgomery Co. closes Lake Conroe Park indefinitely

Montgomery County has terminated its lease agreement with the San Jacinto River Authority and closed the Lake Conroe Park off Texas 105.

The park on the lake’s west shore opened in the 1990s and was a partnership between Montgomery County, the river authority and Texas Parks and Wildlife.

The property is owned by the river authority.

“SJRA has been in a longterm lease with Montgomery County for Lake Conroe Park. Once the termination agreement is finalized, we will explore future operational partnerships,” said San Jacinto River Authority Acting General Manager Ed Shackleford.

The 13-acre park featured barbecue pits, picnic facilities and restrooms as well as swimming areas and fishing piers. The park also included two covered pavilions available for rent, a softball field and volleyball areas.

While the park was a popular destination for families, county officials said in the last several years, most of the visitors have been from out of Montgomery County.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Robert Walker said the park has been costly to maintain.

In March of 2021, Montgomery County commissioners raised the fee from $2 to $5 for the park, the first increase since the park’s inception.

“We’ve raised that to $5 for various reasons,” Walker said previously. “There is a lot of maintenance at the park.”

In 2019, the county closed the park to replace the 27-year-old well that served the park facilities.

In 2018, former Precinct 1 Commissioner Mike Meador closed the park for several days to have crews remove nails protruding from bulkheads along Lake Conroe Park after two children were impaled by nails trapping them in the water.