Inks Lake State Park
3630 Park Road 4 West
Burnet TX 78611
(512) 793-2223
Google Map!
Brief Description/Location of Park
Inks Lake SP is located located 98 miles north of San Antonio, 61 miles West of Austin and about 197 miles South of DFW. It is one of the 7 (and the smallest) of the Highland Lake chain and sits between the Massive Lake Buchanan and Lake LB. Inks Lake is a “constant level lake” in that it is engineered to be maintained and a specific level all the time and does not fluctuate more than a foot even in times of sever drought. This fact alone makes Inks Lake a very popular destination during extremely dry years when other lakes and rivers have lost much of their water.
Main Attraction
The main attraction is Inks Lake and there are many activities to keep you busy. Swimming is popular at both the day use areas and Devils Water hole (be aware of many submerged rocks). Canoeing and kayaking is very popular as much of the lake area that the park borders is a no wake zone. The park has miles of trails and paved roads for both hiking and biking. There are 2 fishing piers (north and south) where you can try your luck at catching Bass, Catfish and Sunfish. Playgrounds for the little ones dot the entire park with the largest near the camp store and features a beach volleyball court and Chris's Landing where you can order from a menu of grilled items. There is no shortage of things to do at Inks Lake!
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| Buchanan Damn far in the distance over the waters of Inks Lake. |
The Day use area sits across a small finger of the lake from the camp store near the North fishing pier and has plenty of picnic tables, BBQ pits and a small playground. Just up from the day use area is one of the many clean restroom facilities (more below on these). Considering Inks Lakes relative distance from all the major metro areas (no offense Marble Falls) most folks will probably be there for the camping.
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| Quiet winter morning at the day use area. |
Camping Facilities
Inks Lake has a lot of camping pads (I would count them but it would be easier to just vist their page and view the map). These are broken up into small cabins (about 20), 30/50/water sites that occupy the NE portion of the park and water only sites that occupy the SW side of the park. All vehicle pads we encountered where level and paved and all sites have a picnic table and a fire pit. Some of the campsites on the NE side of the park are some what close to Park Rd 4 and this could lead to some unwanted noise in the morning or afternoon but these sites are limited to a few sites in the low to mid 200 range of site numbers. Its hard to pick any favorite or best sites but if you want to be close to the camp store look for sites numbered between 41 and 94 and if you want to be close the Devils Water Hole try sites 240 through 256. In truth with so many camp sites its hard to pick that perfect spot. |
| Our site beneath Oaks and Elms. |
Restroom/Shower Facilities
Restroom and shower facilities are excellent, so good in fact that I rate all other State parks based on how close they come to Inks Lake in quality and cleanliness. I have never run out of hot water while I take a shower and speaking of the shower they are adequately private either being in a closed stall or a private room. All showers we encountered have a wet and a dry side with some sort of bench to sit on (the exception is the ADA facilities remove the dividing wall and give those with disabilities more room to move about). The only complaint we had from this recent trip was that there was no soap or means to dry our hands in our particular restroom building. There are no campsites that are far away from a restroom facility at Inks Lake as the park has 9 restroom/bathhouses spread through the park. Since Inks Lake is the standard I use (on the high end) for rating other state park restrooms it gets a 5 out of 5.
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| Showers located on the opposite side each with a private lockable door. |
Conclusion
Overall an excellent park that is good to visit any time of the year. One of my personal favorites because I can never run out of things to do. If you have never been to Inks Lake its about time you planned a trip.
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| Camp store has ice, food, souvenirs, boat rentals (and even can openers). |
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| A view of campsites across the lake. |
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| North fishing pier. |
