Highland Lakes Loop: Marble Falls, Burnet & Inks Lake

The original Marble Falls were a series of travertine waterfalls on the Colorado River inundated by Max Starcke Dam in 1951 — the granite cliffs across the water from the Marble Falls waterfront park give a hint of what the falls must have looked like. The downtown park, the historic Main Street, and the boat ramps onto Lake LBJ make Marble Falls the most complete Highland Lakes town.

A hilltop winery near Marble Falls with a tasting room overlooking Lake LBJ and the Highland Lakes corridor near Marble Falls — the most dramatic wine tasting view in the upper Highland Lakes. The Blanc du Bois and the Cabernet Sauvignon use Texas estate fruit; the sunset patio hours make it an ideal late-afternoon stop.

The constant-level Lake LBJ (maintained by the Lower Colorado River Authority) is the most reliable of the Highland Lakes for swimming and paddling — the limestone shoreline, the clear water, and the absence of large motorboat traffic in the upper lake arms make it the most pleasant of the chain for non-motorized recreation.

The closest designated International Dark Sky Park to Austin — Reveille Peak Ranch south of Burnet offers some of the darkest skies in Central Texas, with the Milky Way visible to the naked eye on clear nights from spring through fall. Star parties are hosted most Saturday nights from March through November with telescope access and guided tours of the night sky.

A Marble Falls waterfront restaurant with deck seating over Lake Marble Falls, serving Texas comfort food — chicken fried steak, Gulf shrimp, and peach cobbler — with views of the dam spillway at sunset.

A solution cave in the Edwards Limestone carved by a subterranean river that ran for 3 million years before the water table dropped. The cavern is naturally air-conditioned at 64 degrees year-round — the cave was used as a Confederate gunpowder factory during the Civil War and as a speakeasy and ballroom during Prohibition. The guided tour is 1.5 miles through chambers with Cathedral Room formations and cave pearl deposits.

A narrated boat tour departing from Canyon of the Eagles on Lake Buchanan — during winter months (November through March) the cruise visits the largest concentration of American bald eagles in Texas, with up to 30 eagles counted in a single outing. The same route in summer covers the dramatic canyon walls and waterfall access on the upper lake. The cruise dock is at the Canyon of the Eagles LCRA lodge on the lake's north shore.

The LCRA resort on Lake Buchanan's north shore with a restaurant, boat rentals, and a hiking trail system through the cedar-juniper Hill Country above the lake. The lakeside dining room serves Texas plates at lunch — fried catfish, brisket, and chicken-fried steak with standard sides.

Falls Creek Falls is the only waterfall in Texas accessible only by boat — a 100-foot drop on a seasonal creek that feeds into the upper arm of Lake Buchanan, visible from the water during high-flow periods. The surrounding canyon walls and the remote upper lake provide the most isolated feeling available in the Highland Lakes system.

A relaxed Burnet wine bar and taproom serving Texas wines and craft beers alongside simple food in a historic Main Street building. The outdoor patio is the gathering point for Burnet's evening crowd; the wine list emphasizes Texas Hill Country and High Plains producers.

Inks Lake is a constant-level Highland Lakes reservoir on pink Precambrian granite — the oldest exposed rock in Texas. The Blue Hole swimming area is set among massive rounded granite boulders at the park's south end; the water is clear enough to count the granite pebbles on the bottom. The 7.2-mile park trail circuits the lake through cedar woodland with granite outcrop views.

Use the afternoon to explore a different trail, cool off at a swimming hole, or find a scenic spot to watch the sunset.