"northside of town I-45 and Beltway 8" - unequivocally Lake Houston if you are a serious rider. If your the party cove type then Conroe for sure.
In this ridiculous drought its hard tell you Lake Houston since no one is able to ride the river. But essentially we ride the Upper San Jacinto that feeds L. Houston. You can find a house on the water that is about a 4-5min motor up the lake to the river (see
map)
USJ is undeveloped and has natural dispersing banks. Its shallow in spots, and stumpy in spots, you have to know where to drive it. But besides the Trinity river (in Huntsville) its the only decent spot on the north side. And FYI the Trinity river is the best spot in Texas, if you can swing it.
I dont know anything about Thousand Oaks. And the only thing i know about Indigo is its short, shallow, and bulk headed