Inks Lake State Park

Shortly after our tire trials in Marble Falls, we arrived in Burnet TX and took Hwy 29 over to Park Road 4 on our way to Inks Lake.  If you come up Hwy 281 from the south, you will see a cut-off to Longhorn Caverns State Park and Inks Lake State Park but I recommend going on to Burnet and out Hwy 29.  Arriving from the Longhorn Cavern/Inks Lake cutoff will send you across some very exciting hill country drops......great fun on a motorcycle or car but not so much in an RV.  I've done it both ways and Moby Dick (my F250 diesel) laughs at the hill but there are also a lot more branches sticking out along the road as you get closer to Inks Lake from this direction.  And we all know that branches and RV roofs are not good companions.  Last year it really needed trimming when I went that route (state cut-backs, park road, etc) so I just recommend approaching from Burnet which is also the closest town and has a decent HEB for groceries.   It rained on us a couple of times earlier in the day then cleared up.  We checked in to the park and headed to our site.  We got all backed in but were still unhooking and setting up when a huge deluge hit us.  I jumped in the truck with the kids and dogs and Steve jumped in the 5th wheel since he was closer to that door.  It really came down hard.  Once it quit, Steve and I finished setting up outside.

Inks Lake is a beautiful small lake between Buchanan Lake and Lake LBJ.  While Buchanan Lake is really impacted by the drought, they keep Inks Lake full using the dams since it is such a small lake.  It is also one of the most popular Texas State Parks so be sure you have reservations for the weekends in the summer or you won't get a spot.

We stayed Wednesday and Thursday night and had a great time swimming in the lake, walking around the park, etc.  The ranger said I could come in Friday morning at 0800 and get on a list for any cancellations for the weekend.  That was our plan until Steve talked to another camper near us.  He told Steve that people start lining up at dawn or before and 0800 is just when the office opens.  He said he had gone over once at 4AM and found people already waiting.  Obviously it was time for plan B.

They also have some small cabins with A/C for those without RVs.  Oh, and we could have gotten a spot if we had been a "primitive camper" wanting a tent site in that area.

So I made a phone call Friday morning to another place I like and we packed up and headed out after a leisurely breakfast.

We'll definitely be back here some day soon.