We planned a trip with friends over the New Year break to Inks Lake State Park. My husband and I rented a camper from RVShare.com (We absolutely love using this site!) and had it delivered there. Booking the site through the ReserveAmerica.com app was super easy and we also used it to book our day passes to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. The first 2 days of our trip was super wet and cold, even had snow flurries one night, so we spent it inside the camper hanging out in the warmth! Once the weather cleared on the 3rd day, it was still cold but sunny and beautiful! We ventured out around the lake taking pictures and scouting out the trails. We made it over to the Devil’s Waterhole which is a“can’t miss” feature at ILSP!!! What a gorgeous place! This is where some of our goofy family members decided to take the“polar bear plunge” into the frigid(54 degree) waters below. Clear water and beautiful scenery everywhere we went. The park was super clean and the staff and park rangers were very friendly and polite. We used the shower/restroom facilities on-site instead of our trailer for our longer showers and“longer” restroom breaks. They were really clean and spacious; nicely heated with abundant hot water. The lake is gorgeous with clear water and wildlife everywhere. We were able to get firewood, ice, and odds and ends from the general store on-site. We even decided to purchase/pickup our Texas State Parks pass here! We can’t wait to visit again in warmer weather!

Inks Lake state park is a beautiful picturesque park with amazing fews and some of the best campsites in the area. The sites are well spaced with vegetation between most. There is developed tent pads and tables on slabs at each site. Ours also had water. We were lucky enough to get a site right at the waters edge with a nice personal small beach with clean waters all the way to the shore. The bath houses were well maintained and they have firewood vending machines at several stations throughout the campgrounds. They also have small concrete cabins to rent. The area around the devils watering hole is beautiful with high cliffs and a beautiful calm lake below. Several people were jumping off cliffs and scuba diving in the area. It is a no wake zone for any boaters. The trails in the area also provide more amazing views. The staff in the store were very polite and helpful. They have canoe rentals but, we were unable to do so due to covid. Overall highly recommended we will be visiting more in the future.

Catching up on my reviews…Inks Lake SP is a superb park about 40 minutes from Austin in the Texas Hill Country.  Great lake with a large no wake zone in one area that makes it very family friendly and paddler friendly.  There are sites away from the NWZ that allow you to ski/tube right from your campsite.  Great choice of flat, easy access spots.  Tent-only spots with only water are available as-well.   Decent hiking and easy biking around the park is available.  The area around Devil's Hole is great for floating about and jumping from the rocks.  Just wish that folks would clean up after themselves better.  Great camp store with lots of products.  Lake was lowered in 2019 to update the docks and boat ramps (very nice now), lake is back to normal seasonal levels.  ILSP is close to Austin, so it stays busy during the season, so reserve well ahead of time.  No Wifi at the campsites, but decent mobile reception (ATT).  30/50 amp and water at most sites.  Fire ring and table on concrete pads at all sites.  Tables are not covered, however.  I've been told that there is Wifi available at the camp store, but I cannot personally verify that.

If you are looking for a campground to stay where you can enjoy some time in the water, then Inks Lake is perfect. Watch the video I posted and it will give you an idea of the activities this park has to offer. This is a great park to visit during the summer months because of all the water activities available at the lake. 

They have kayaks and canoes for rent(except during COVID), and there is also cliff jumping at Devils Waterhole. Of course, if you don’t want to jump you can always float in a tube and just watch other people do belly flops. 

There are SOOO many campsites available. From tent sites to RV sites and even some lakefront cabins you can rent. This campground has a lot of sites that back up to the lake. But even if you don’t get one of those sites, all the sites have easy access to the lake. 

We stayed at site number 42. The campsites on this loop are pretty well spaced, but there aren’t many trees separating the sites so you can see everything your neighbor is doing. So, not the most private of sites. I’m not sure about the privacy of other loops, but the lack of barriers didn’t bother us too much. This loop worked well for us because it is within walking distance of the bathrooms, a playground as well as the park store where you go for rentals. They also have a fishing pier on the backside of the rental shop.***BTW, the bathrooms were recently renovated so they are super nice and clean. 

And as an added bonus...you get 2 state parks in one. What I mean is that Longhorn Cavern State Park is also nearby. There’s no camping there, but they have guided tours that teach you all about how the caves were formed by the river and constructed by the CCC. Since we are a homeschooling family, we appreciate any chance to get hands-on learning during our camping trips. There is no park entrance fee, but the guided tour is$18 for 12& up and$10 for kids. 

We had a great time at this park, and we would probably put in our top 10 in Texas simply because we like all the lake activities.

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.