The Woodlands, TX Outdoor Activities

Nestled at the southern point of Lake Conroe, Nauti-Dayz Boat Rentals facilitates fun with a fleet of nautical vessels. Outfitted with 90-horsepower Honda motors, pontoon boats welcome passengers for low-speed floats around the lake’s placid waters. MerCruiser motors send ski boats ripping across the waves, towing skiers, tubers, and wakeboarders in their frothy wakes. The shop also rents waverunners that seat up to two passengers and reproduce the high-speed thrill of riding a motorcycle across a full swimming pool. All rentals include complimentary fuel and life jackets.

In the shade of rust-red barns and tall trees, groups of llamas, goats, and ponies trot around wooden-fenced corrals, nabbing bites of feed from youngsters’ extended palms. This idyllic scene is one of many that abound at 7 Acre Wood. An old-fashioned Western fort houses a saloon and jail cell for interrogating suspicious-looking cartons of milk. Nearby, tots soar above slides and swings on the playground’s zipline or weave through the mini-golf course. The property also hosts 7 Acre Wood's Concessions, where families can refuel with coffee and snacks.

The 12 full-size and three mini courts at Huber Tennis Ranch provide an immersive environment in which tennis players can practice strokes, perfect footwork, and improve fitness through classes and open-play times. Head instructor Tony Huber leads a teaching staff certified by the Professional Tennis Registry who instruct both adults and juniors on all aspects of the game, from serves and volleys to congratulating a vanquished ball machine on a valiant effort.

Adults participate in several class styles including programs for beginners or cardio tennis, which combines cardiovascular exercise with high-intensity repetition of on-court mechanics. Juniors can rise through a number of ranks based on age and ability, ranging from introductory classes for beginners to classes that train youngsters for high-level competition. While practicing their strokes, players draw inspiration from Tony's wife, Liezel, among the top-ranked professional women's doubles players in the world and Grand Slam champion of the Australian, French, and U.S. Opens as well as Wimbledon. Huber Tennis Ranch keeps a busy schedule of classes and drills; check the calendar for upcoming times.

Gantz Management Group's golf-course packages give clubbers access to some of the finest courses in the greater Houston area. In Pearland, the newly renovated, 6,802-yard Country Place Golf Club course packs its creek-side layout with recently installed sand bunkers, grass bunkers, and sloped fairways, plus dining options that include snacks and burgers. Bermuda-grass fairways connect to form the 18-hole course at newly acquired Baytown's Goose Creek Country Club, which challenges par-seekers with daunting tree lines and water hazards that come into play on multiple holes. Rounding out the golf trifecta, Texas National Golf Club's 18-hole course pays homage to Augusta National Golf Course—the site of The Masters—with groves of dogwoods and pines, dramatically undulating terrain, and a rule that requires all golf carts to wear green jackets.

Throughout the year, Choice Tee keeps players in tiptop game shape with a fully automated driving range, golf-simulator room, and miniature-golf course. Ceiling fans rotate high above covered tees, keeping players cool as they practice driving balls further than 350 yards. The robotic tees reload after each drive, allowing players to practice without straining their backs. The facility also hosts surreal short-game practice on a 19-hole miniature-golf course. A misting fountain sits at the circuit’s epicenter, and a series of emerald corridors tests players who tap like a bugler at dawn through the labyrinth of faux-grass turf, harnessing their putt-putt prowess as they attempt to read testy breaks, outfox smooth-putting opponents, and curb cases of the yips.

At sunrise over Lake Conroe, beams of morning light scatter sparkling reflections off the water's placid surface. In the distance, a slight whine, audible only to the gulls and morning sunbathers, signals the end of a sleepy night and the beginning of an exciting day of water sports. The sound belongs to a Yamaha Waverunner VX110 Deluxe, just one of Fun Rentals' fleet of wave-taming watercraft. In addition to the zippy waverunners, their sturdy pontoons form a leisurely flotilla, welcoming guests in search of a calm trip along the lake's azure waves or a place to peaceful place to practice making aircraft carrier noises with their mouths. From the headquarters along one of the lake's private beaches, staffers also entices shore-bound guests with space for picnics and sunbathing.