Inks Lake State Park
Inks Lake State Park is one of the more popular Texas State Parks with over 228,000 visitors estimated in 2023. The park has plenty of accommodations for visitors with about 200 campsites and 22 cabins. Its located in the Texas Hill country near the Austin area in Burnet, TX. Inks Lake has something for everyone whether you are wanting to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery, get out on the lake, or spend the day hiking.
Our first time visiting Inks Lake State Park in August of 2020. It was also our very first time camping!
Vibes
Enjoy a Day at the Lake
It’s no secret that the best thing to do at Inks Lake is to use the LAKE. Inks Lake is fairly large with plenty of room for boaters, kayakers, paddle-boarders, and swimmers to all enjoy. For a Texas lake, the water isn’t too bad to swim in. I’m kind of picky about lake water, and I didn’t crawl out of my skin when taking a dip after falling from my paddle-board. There are actually quite a few campsites with lake access so that’s ideal. We were able to launch our paddle-boards from site 90, and we saw some people that were even able to launch jet skis and smaller boats from their sites. Of course, there is also a boat ramp to utilize in the day-use area.
Additionally, there are canoes, paddle-boats, kayaks, and paddle-boards available to rent at the park. All of the rentals are $20 for the first hour and $10 for every additional hour. You can rent from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily and all rentals are due back by 4:00 p.m. If the weather isn’t cooperating, then they may close rentals. We have seen a big storm roll in and people have to be turned away, but I don’t think that’s a bad policy to have for safety.
If you're able, it's definitely worth it to snag a lake-side campsite, especially at sunset.
Trails
There are 9 miles of trails at Inks Lake State Park, so you could probably get most of your hiking done in a weekend trip. There is a good variety of trails, scenic spots, and plenty of plant-life to see along the way. We haven’t done a ton of hiking at the park because during the times we’ve visited we were either busy learning how to camp (our very first camping trip was to Inks Lake) or enjoying our time paddle-boarding on the lake.
Hiking to Devil's Waterhole at night in 2020
Devil’s Waterhole and Waterfalls
Devil’s Waterhole is a popular spot for adventurous folks. It wasn’t something I was willing to try out, but we did spend one evening watching brave souls jump from the rocks down to the deep waters below. The cliffs range from 10 to 30 feet with several places to jump down from. If you’re interested in going for a swim but not an adrenaline filled dive, some bring floating inner-tubes and enjoy watching divers from the water. You can also see waterfalls near the area when Valley Spring Creek is running.
Longhorn Cavern State Park
You can go from a day on the lake to exploring underground in a matter of 10 minutes with Longhorn Cavern State Park being literally right down the road! It is a good idea to book your reservation and tour ahead of time if you plan on visiting. We plan to check it out the next time we visit Inks Lake State Park.
Additional Inks Lake Need-to-Knows
There is a well-stocked park store at the boat ramp area.
Bring your water toys, it’s more fun that way!
It gets pretty busy, so we recommend reserving your campsite or day-pass ahead of time.
Burnet is a pretty small town but does have some places to eat and places to shop for essentials if forgotten.