Inks Lake State Park & Longhorn Caverns State park! A TX GEM!!

DFW Rusty · 02-13-2017, 12:26 PM

This place is like a hidden gem here in Texas!

We just went there this past weekend! We made it kind of my Birthday weekend/ family weekend and invited my parents to go with us. We wore ourselves out trying to pack it all in in such a short time! They don't offer full hookups, but we didn't mind, over the years we have transitioned to only using our camper utilities when we couldn't make it to the public showers/ restrooms so our tanks don't fill up very fast.
The camp sites are very spacious, and decently shaded.

However all the camping is a side not to what the place has to offer!

I forgot to take a picture of our campsite, but my dad didn't forget to take on of his.

They have 2 very beautiful fishing piers that are open 24hrs! We had to take advantage of this and do some fishing Friday night!

Then Saturday morning after breakfast we went to Longhorn Caverns SP which is only 3.5 miles from Inks Lake SP. LCSP is such a beautiful place with a lot of history, during the cold war scare president Johnson had a secret office hidden in this cavern.

After getting back from LHCSP we ate lunch and our oldest daughter and my mom rented a paddle boat while we took our new raft out for a spin. By the way, the SP rents canoes, kayaks, and paddle boats... Behind my mom and daughter is my wife, toddler and me in our new raft.

We took our raft up to Devils waterhole which is absolutely stunning! So much so that after taking our boat up there, we went back left the boat at camp got our oldest daughter and went back to play in the water!

From the boat:

DFW Rusty · 02-13-2017, 12:27 PM

From hiking back there:

DFW Rusty · 02-13-2017, 12:29 PM

In conclusion; I would highly recommend this trip for anyone looking for a Texas Hill country trip. It's great for all ages, lots of activities, nice facilities and just a beautiful piece of Texas! We will be back hopefully sooner than later!

kfd82 · 02-13-2017, 01:58 PM

Beautiful area! I love going there.

bthaler · 02-14-2017, 01:47 PM

This is our favorite park. When both of us were working, (now retired) we would have to go during the summer, or weekends. This park will fill up during these times. You also will need reservations in advance. We went this past fall, and it was perfect! If you like smaller crowds, and peace and quiet, this is the time to go. We have a few sites that we choose from. They are water front. We have kayaks and SUP's. On one of our paddle days, we were the only ones on the lake! It was great!
Lifelong Texan, this is one our Gems for sure! Texas has some great SP's. See as many as you can.

Dorrie · 02-14-2017, 03:33 PM

Since there was hills the SP is located West TX? Son and his family live in Kingsville (NE of Corpus Christi), so we would pass them to go to that CG? TX is SUCH a BIG STATE I don't want to travel all over, lol.

bthaler · 02-14-2017, 04:27 PM

It is located in the hill country. It is off of hwy 29 and park rd 4. Between Austin and Georgetown. About 40 miles west of I35.

**Mr. Dan** · 02-14-2017, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dorrie

Since there was hills the SP is located West TX? Son and his family live in Kingsville (NE of Corpus Christi), so we would pass them to go to that CG? TX is SUCH a BIG STATE I don't want to travel all over, lol.

If you think the only hills in Texas are in west Texas, maybe you should come to the Hill Country (roughly center of the state) and see for yourself!

**Mr. Dan** · 02-14-2017, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFW Rusty

In conclusion; I would highly recommend this trip for anyone looking for a Texas Hill country trip. It's great for all ages, lots of activities, nice facilities and just a beautiful piece of Texas! We will be back hopefully sooner than later!

... and you're saying that water wasn't COLD?

chuckyb9876 · 02-14-2017, 08:05 PM

Read your post. It is a great place. We bragged on it once and a couple at work went for a visit. Upon arrival back I asked him how it went and he said it went good but....at a certain time each year they drain the lake to clean out the weeds. You might want to call ahead.
I'm not a native Texan and I do believe Texas has an awesome Sate Park system.
Try Buescher SP as it has a lake for fishing, rentals and hiking. You can take a ride on a connecting backroad to Bastrop SP where the big fire was several years ago. They have new parking pads with amenities.

Dorrie · 02-14-2017, 08:39 PM

If you think the only hills in Texas are in west Texas, maybe you should come to the Hill Country (roughly center of the state) and see for yourself!
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DH and I would love to do some camping in TX. BUT good Lord, just going to see our Son and his family takes forever, lol. Maybe things will be different once we RV for good and do not have to travel there in a certain time limit.

david_reaves · 02-14-2017, 09:43 PM

Inks Lake is really nice, but go in the winter if you like solitude. During spring, summer, and fall it is very busy.

papasqms · 02-15-2017, 08:05 AM

We agree, it is a beautiful park, but we only go in late fall and winter. I was told by one of the camp hosts, it is the second busiest park in the state. I believe it, try getting a site in the summer. We like Fairfield Lake state park. My only negative is that they just did a massive remodeling, but did not upgrade the electric from 30 amp to 50 amp. Puts a little pressure on the AC during the summer.

HyperCamp · 02-22-2017, 09:01 PM

Just west of Fort Worth is Lake Mineral Wells State Park, and it is truly a gem in the D/FW, North Texas area. Some of the best rock climbing anywhere! Long, wooded hiking trails and a big beautiful lake make it a great park.

papasqms · 02-23-2017, 08:15 AM

I just reread my post and it was not clear. It is Fairfield Lake that did not upgrade to the 50 amp outlets during remodeling. When we went to Inks we had a 30amp so I am not sure what they have there. I am planning a return to Inks in the Fall with our new 50 amp trailer. I do have to find another route as I am not doing I-35 again with the construction south of Waco.

DFW Rusty · 02-27-2017, 04:43 PM

To the comments that it's a busy park..... YES, it was jam packed. When we reserved our site(just after Christmas) there was about 17 sites left then 2 weeks before we went my parents said they wanted to go and we scooped up the very last rv site in the park for them...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

... and you're saying that water wasn't COLD?

The water was about 68 degrees... Chilly, but tolerable!

DFW Rusty · 02-27-2017, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HyperCamp

Just west of Fort Worth is Lake Mineral Wells State Park, and it is truly a gem in the D/FW, North Texas area. Some of the best rock climbing anywhere! Long, wooded hiking trails and a big beautiful lake make it a great park.

We are going to Colorado Bend SP for our next sp trip and then were taking the kids to Mineral Wells SP. Mineral Wells SP is an old stomping ground of mine, we used to go rappelling, hiking and bicycling out there a lot.

Here is a vid of me rappelling out at Mineral Wells SP from years ago. Go easy on my for my decent, it was the first time rappelling in 2 years (broke an arm and doctor said I couldn't go for a few years).
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7dozJVUXpwM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Incase the imbedded doesn't work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dozJVUXpwM

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