HOOVER’S VALLEY — With its nine hiking trails, many of them interconnecting, Inks Lake State Park has a number of places where you can stretch your legs. Or, you can just go for a walk around the park via its road system.
For something rugged and challenging or a nice stroll hand in hand with your significant other, you’ll find it at Inks Lake State Park.
That’s why The Picayune readers and KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune listeners picked the state park as the 2018 Locals Love Us favorite outdoor activity (hiking) in the Burnet area.
The staff and volunteers have created quite a plethora of hiking opportunities at Inks Lake State Park.
You can just stroll through the park using its network of roads and circles while enjoying the setting sun as it dips below the horizon or the first rays of morning light as they creep over the lake from the east.
If you’re looking for more “traditional” trails, check out these:
• Pecan Flats Trail is a 1.8-mile hike that’s rated moderate and takes about an hour and a half to complete. It will lead you to the highest elevation in the Inks Lake State Park trail system.
• Woodland Trail is the big one with its 2.2-mile jaunt. It’s a moderate trail, but you’ll enjoy some of the best scenic overlooks of Hoover’s Valley.
• Connecting Trail is just that: a trail that connects Pecan Flats and Woodland trails.
• Fisherman’s Trail takes you along the Inks Lake shoreline for about a third of a mile. It’s not long, but you can walk it to find some nice fishing holes.
• Green Trail is an easy five-minute walk from the main park camp to Fisherman’s Trail.
• Lake Trail starts from the Pecan Flats Trailhead and takes you about a mile and a quarter through Stumpy Hollow to a rocky hill overlooking the lake.
• Valley Spring Creek Trail is just under a mile and juts off from the Devil’s Waterhole.
• Devil’s Backbone Nature Trail takes you on a 45-minute hike (average) from the Valley Spring Creek Trail to the Wildlife Viewing Station. You’ll experience several nice vistas on this hike.
• Devil’s Waterhole Nature Trail is quite a bit shorter than its nature trail cousin, but it’s how you get to the waterhole itself.
There you have it: a number of reasons Inks Lake State Park tops the list of favorite outdoor activity in this year’s Locals Love Us contest.
The park is located at 3630 Park Road 4 in Burnet County.
daniel@thepicayune.com
2018 LOCALS LOVE US: Hiking at Inks Lake State Park Voted Favorite Outdoor Activity
Wear proper attire and follow the below tips to stay cool when hiking Highland Lakes trails in the summer heat. Pictured is Inks Lake State Park in Burnet County. File photo