Inks Lake State Park is an incredible place that I had never heard about before my trip. I needed a place to stay close to Enchanted Rock SNA and Pedernales Falls SP and Inks Lake had cabins. I did not know anything about the Texas hill country also but now I know the three parts of the hill country. This is an Austin area park located in Burnet, TX in what I call the central hill country. This post is about my first trip to the park. Since I did not have a plan for this park I really did not know what trails lead to what part of the park. I also found out that this is a park in which the trail map is not as accurate as most other maps. I did get off trail several times but quickly found my back. One of the most distinctive things at this park is the rock formations, they are fascinating.
Also the trails crossed creeks, dirt paths and rocky hills, everywhere I looked I found something interesting. 
After all the hiking I was rewarded with great views of Colorado River Inks Lake. The sun was going down and I wanted to get a couple of quick pictures before I was hiking back in the dark. The trails were not clearly marked and I did not want to try to use the map because I got lost using the map also. I actually got back to the trailhead when a stargazing guided night hike was heading out.
This park is a true gem of the hill country. I did return to this park to see the park’s highlight, the Devil’s Waterhole. I did not know it was there until I left and was so impressed I wanted to return and see what else the park had to offer. I did some research and planned it out a bit better. I did get a picture of it on the way out. It is just a taste of the second visit.
After this great hike I was really excited to go to the next two state parks. These were the better known state parks in the central hill country and the reason I was in the region.
Big Guy Hiking 