Inks Lake State Park

Every October we hitch up the camper and head out to Inks Lake. This Texas State Park is located near Burnet, TX, about an hour's drive northwest of Austin. It is an absolutely beautiful park with most campsites located right on the lake. You can't beat waking up in the morning to a lakefront view!

I typically reserve 5 or 6 campsites a few months earlier and then spread the word to any friends or family who want to join us. This is a very popular park so you need to make reservations several months in advance. We love to camp here in the Fall because the summer heat has finally started to cool down and it's perfect camping weather.  If you're lucky, it'll be cool enough to wear jeans and a sweateshirt in the early morning hours. But don't be surprised if it warms up enough to swim in the lake by afternoon!

I love the camp store at Inks Lake. It's small, but they sell everything you may have forgotten to bring from home.  And my kids love to stop by every afternoon to buy popsicles and ice cream. The store has a large deck out back with a beautiful view of the lake. You can stay awhile and enjoy your ice cream while playing checkers or chess at one of the picnic tables. Or reserve one of the canoes or paddle boats for the day. They're tied up along the pier behind the store.

Don't forget to bring your bicycles to Inks Lake. You'll see people, young and old, biking throughout the park. Although take it from me, don't try riding up the big hill to Devil's Waterhole without stretching! One year I tore my calf muscle trying to keep up with the kids and ended up on crutches for a month.

Devil's Waterhole is the popular swimming hole at Inks Lake. Many daredevils swim across the lake here, climb to the top of the rocky hill and jump into the lake. I have my fun just by watching them!  If it's too cool to swim, you'll find several hiking trails around Devil's Waterhole. And if you're into Geocaching, there are several caches hidden in the park.

If you don't have a camper or tent for camping, Inks Lake has some mini-cabins that you can reserve. These are small cinderblock buildings, each with two sets of bunkbeds and a table inside. Definitely utilitarian conditions, but they do have air conditioning! And most of them have lakefront views. Every campsite has a grill, picnic table and fire ring.

Photo from TPWD

If you like to fish, be sure to bring your fishing poles. And you don't need a fishing license if you're fishing in a State Park.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/inks/

Garner State Park

Texas has some really great State Parks. But one stands out above the rest for being the kind of place where families return, generation after generation. I first went to Garner State Park as a young girl in 1975, but my great-grandmother went there with her family long before I was born.  And today my sisters and I, along with our mom, try to make at least one trip together every summer with our families.

Garner State Park is located 90 miles west of San Antonio in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. Situated down in a valley beneath the famous "Old Baldy" mountain you'll find one of Garner's main attractions -- the clear, cold waters of the Frio River. This is the same river immortalized in George Strait's song "All My Ex's Live in Texas".  I remember that old Frio River where I learned to swim...

Camping at Garner in the summertime usually means daytime temperatures of 100+ degrees fahrenheit. So we pretty much stay in the river until dusk.  You can rent paddle boats near the dam for cruising up and down the river, but most people enjoy just tubing along the Frio for hours on end.  And Garner has several rope swings where kids line up for the chance to jump into the water.  But one of the main attractions is parking yourself on a float or tube in the middle of the river and watching the daredevils who jump and do back flips off the top of the giant tree!  BTW, I've told my kids a million times that I don't care how old they are ... they will NEVER have my permission to jump off this tree!

After spending the day in the river, there's still plenty left to do at Garner. A private organization, Friends of Garner, hosts a hayride around the park several nights a week. There's a small fee for the hayride, but the money goes toward preserving the park.  The hayride takes you, literally, over the river and through the woods. There's usually plenty of wildlife to be seen on the hayride, as well as some beautiful views of the hill country.

And halfway through the trip, the hayride stops at a spot by the river for a watermelon and lemonade break.

When the sun finally sets for the day, the outdoor pavillion at Garner comes to life.  There's a snack bar and gift shop at the pavillion, but the real money maker is the old jukebox that cranks out country-n-western songs for dancing under the stars.  Many summer romances began on this dance floor. You'll find dancers of all ages -- toddlers to grandparents.  And a variety of dance styles, too.  Everything from Line Dancing to the Bunny Hop to the traditional Texas Two Step.

Dancing at the Pavillion Today

Old Family Photo of the Pavillion circa 1950s

And for those who don't like to dance and people watch at the Pavillion, there's a nearby miniature golf course.

The dance ends every night at 11:00pm with the jukebox being unplugged. The Park Rangers come out to disperse the crowds and direct traffic back to the campsites.  Speaking of campsites, at Garner you have a few different options available.  You can rent a water/electricity site and pitch a tent or hook up a camper. Or you can reserve a screened shelter or a cabin. But just know that none of the shelters or cabins are air conditioned. So bring your fans because the summer heat can be unbearable without them.

Once back at your campsite for the evening, it's time to roast marshmallows and tell stories around the campfire. This is the favorite time of day for my kids and their cousins.

This is what eating one-too-many S'mores will do to children!

If you do decide to go to Garner, you need to know that they stay booked throughout the summer. So make your reservations months before. I think you can reserve a campsite online up to a year in advance. And I would also suggest that you avoid going during a holiday. The day crowds (people who visit just for the day and don't camp overnight) are unbelievable and it's so crowded that it stops being fun. And although I've only visited Garner in the summer, I hear that the Fall is a beautiful time to go and rent one of the cabins with a fireplace.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/garner/