It was my first time camping with my girlfriend and I really enjoyed Inks Lake State Park!

Definitely a top 5 park of mine. Plenty of hiking and swiming. They have kayak and canoe rentals. They have a boat ramp and hundreds of campsites. Newly renovated bathrooms are also a nice touch.

We were able to get a camp site side by side with our son and family. This was an awesome camp site and camp grounds! We saw a few deer also rented a double kayak and canoe to paddle to the Devils waterhole. This is a must do if you camp there. It was July in Texas so hit was extremely hot, but still had a great time!

Great shade and easy walk 2 minute walk to facilities.   On a horseshoe loop with privacy from other sites.  Electricity and water at site and facilities are very clean.  The site backs up to a small creek so I can see mosquito issues when raining but it was dry when we camped with no real issues.

What could be better than camping lakeside during the summer?

Maybe camping lakeside in a teepee! I'll get to that later. 

Campground Review:

Some friends and I decided to go on a little camping trip this summer. 

I've found that it's always beneficial to camp near shade and water in the summer when temperatures are at a peak. I searched TheDyrt.com for a suitable campground. Once I found Inks Lake State Park, I realized that we could camp near the lake and have easy access to the water. I searched around a little bit until I found what I thought might be the perfect campsite - site #304. Unfortunately #304 was reserved, but #303 was available. The site offered shade and access to the water. Done.

We set out for the park after work on a Friday. We stopped along the way to have dinner in the town of Burnet at a cool little cafe called Bill's Burgers, Wings and Things. The food was great and the atmosphere was festive. If you need to pick up supplies or groceries, there are supermarkets in the town of Burnet.

We arrived at our campsite somewhat late at 7:30pm, so we quickly set up camp. 

Inks Lake State Park is a nice park nestled in the hill country of Texas. It is a short one hour drive from Austin. The park has a variety of facilities and activities for just about everyone. The main attractions of this park are the lake, the hiking trails and the Devil's Waterhole. From our campsite we could access the lake for paddling or fishing. We could also access the hiking trail that passes around the lake. There were brand new bathroom facilities at the park and they were some of the nicest bathrooms that I've ever seen at a campground. 

We went for a hike on one of the trails. There are some unique rock formations in the park called gneiss. While hiking among the gneiss it feels like you're on another planet. 

One of the highlights of the trip was visiting the cove within the park called the Devil's Waterhole. We brought tubes to float in and chill in the water. I’ve always found that this is the best way to beat the heat in the summer. There is one side of the cove in which people climb the banks up to a rock outcropping to jump into the water below. There are some outcroppings 10 feet above the water, 20 feet and 30 feet. I jumped off the 20 foot high cliff and touched the bottom, so I didn't jump off the 30 feet cliff. It is fun jumping and it is entertaining watching others jump.

There's a little of something for everyone at Inks Lake State Park.

Product Review of Wenzel's Shenanigan 5 Teepee Tent 

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, from time to time I am provided products to test. For this outing I was provided a Wenzel Shenanigan 5 Teepee Tent. Weeeeeee!

For more info: https://wenzelco.com/shenanigan-5/

We arrived at our campground somewhat late in the evening at 7:30pm. Luckily we were able to quickly and easily set up our new Wenzel Shenanigan teepee tent. 

Basically, all we had to do was to find a flat clear area, spread out the tent, stake in the 6 stakes and then place on end of the included pole into the top of the tent and the bottom of the pole into a fastener in the bottom of the tent. And the tent was ready. 

I'd say that this is one of the best features of this tent - it is so easy to setup. 

Another benefit is that it is so fun. Weeeeee. Who wouldn't want to hangout in a teepee tent? The tent is available in your choice of two color patterns - blue or red. I chose the blue. It makes we want to smile every time that I see it.

The tent is a single wall tent. I believe that the material is treated for weather protection, but I wouldn't say that it is built for extreme rain or weather. It does have some nice ventilation options with a vented door, 3 windows, 2 ceiling vents and 2 floor vents. 

In the middle of summer in the middle of the day, this is a cool and fun place to chill.

The Shenanigan 5 tent is specified as a 5 person tent. However, like most tents the specified number is probably optimistic. Perhaps 2 adults and 3 children would fit inside. We found that there was plenty of room for 3 adults and gear.

I'd say that the pros of this tent are: 1. it is just so much fun. 2. it is easy to setup. 3. it is reasonably priced. 4. the color patterns are cool. 5. even tall people can stand up in this tent. 6. kids of all ages will love it.

I'd say the cons of this tent are: 1. not designed for extreme weather. 2. the side walls do limit shoulder space. 3. I prefer door entrances with one continuous zipper instead of three separate zippers. 

In summary, I'm pretty happy with the tent. I plan to use it for car camping weekends, as a shade tent for day outings and maybe even for fun times in the backyard.

We stayed at Inks Lake State Park Primitive campsites. We could hear our camping neighbors on both sides and the road traffic more than we would have liked. But I still gave it 4 stars because the campsites were huge and perfect for multi-tent camping. It was a fun little hike out there. We actually used our mt. bikes to move back and fourth, which isn't forbidden but just advised against, so its fair game. Another bummer on the hike is you have to cross a MAJOR road…I find this odd and dangerous. So in the morning we just parked in the small day lot to pack up our stuff instead of trekking it all the way out. The main part of the lake was so crowded but our primitive campsite was wayyy less crowds and at moments completely still! There has been a somewhat recent fire in the field across from the campsites which means all the trees are gone and makes for a beautiful meadow filled with flowers and honeybees. It was gorgeous we watched the sky turn to night there. I would recommend this site but probably not in late may, better in winter or fall.

This is an absolute gem of a find in campgrounds.  The campground is spread out and large. All of the sites are separated by trees and foliage, so you get a sense of privacy.   The campground itself is extremely well-maintained and clean. The public restrooms and showers were all clean and nice. Talk about things to do, there are so many activities at Inks Lake State park!!  From fishing (from the many piers or the banks) canoeing (they have nice rentals, very reasonably priced)  hiking, boating, stand up paddle boarding, swimming, or simply chilling out in the lake on a tube.  The camper sites were really nice with all the hook-ups and a picnic table and a barbecue pit at each site.   Lots of hiking trails and this would be a birdwatchers dream.   The Texas wild flowers were blooming when we were there which made the hikes beautiful and the hikes are easy enough for small children to do without any problems.   The lake itself is clean  and it is partially rock bottom so the water is extremely clear. There is also a place called Devils hole at One end of the lake and it is a huge rock formation that people jump off of into the water because it is extremely deep in the area, even scuba divers dive down it is so clear.   I believe the park post told us it was an underground cave, which would make sense because the water was so clear.   You can’t go wrong with this campground but I would suggest booking early because it is extremely popular because of it’s many attractions. It didn’t disappoint!!  We will definitely be back many times.

Had a great time, but when we went spring of 2018 there was a lot of construction for new bathrooms. I would assume the new bathrooms are complete now and very nice!

This state park, although not too big was great! There’s lots to do and see. Most importantly the staff here is great! They are very helpful and happy to be. The drive up campsites are awesome and come with two grills; one low to the ground for firewood and another for charcoal. There’s a park store with lots of things in case you forgot something, and the bathroom/showers are super clean! Highly recommend!

The hiking trails are wonderful and easy to follow, with a few challenging ones. But the place has it all! Canoes, paddle boats, kayaks, fishing,swimming. Great park for beginner or amateur campers. As well as seasoned ones looking to relax.

My favorite place in the world. I've been camping there since before I can remember.