Guide to Inks Lake State Park, Texas

Central Texas is notorious for brutally hot and dry summers.  Easily experiencing over a month or more of temperatures in the triple digits, many do not consider central Texas an ideal vacation spot.  However, there is one place in Central Texas guaranteed to give visitors precious relief from the heat and make you crave spending summers here on its shores: Inks Lake.  Inks Lake is small by Texas standards but what it lacks in size, it makes up in beauty.  One of the smallest of the Highland Lakes chain, a chain of lakes feeding off the Lower Colorado River,  Inks Lake is clearly a central Texas favorite.  And on the banks of Inks Lake, in Blanco county Texas sits Inks Lake State Park, perhaps a crown jewel of Texas State Parks.  Inks Lake State Park offers a vast array of activities that will keep young and old visitors alike occupied and happy.

Water Activities

Arguably, the most popular attractions at Inks Lake State Park are the sheer granite cliffs surrounding Devil’s Waterhole. The cliffs attract brave swimmers who climb onto the great granite cliffs, making their way to the edge at either 10, 20 or 30 feet above water level. They gather their courage and plunge into the dark lake below.  When they break the surface with huge smiles on their feet, bystandars applaud.  Meanwhile swimmers float or paddle around Devil’s Waterhole or climb upon the rocky banks for a picnic and a rest, watching the jumpers dare themselves to go higher.

Lake swimming is also popular among the smaller visitors to Inks Lake State Park. Most of the lake is banked by shallow swimming areas where toddlers and young children splash in the cool lake water.   Motorized watercraft are required to abide by no-wake rules while inside the park, protecting swimmers, canoers and kayakers from heavy and often dangerous wake and equipment.