Inks Lake State Park caught my attention due to the existence of Valley Spring Creek Waterfall.
I’d been wandering around state parks in Texas hiking around and this place, even though it is lake themed, actually ended up feeling the most “Texas like” to me. To reach Valley Spring Creek Waterfall I’d have to jump on the Valley Spring Creek Trail which is a really awesome trail full of Gneiss rocks. The start of it goes up a slope that you wouldn’t even think is a trail, filled with cactus and just hard core rocks. Loved it.
On the north side of that is Spring Creek, wherein Valley Spring Creek Waterfall is hiding. This is a very literally name for the fall since it is in a valley, on a creek, presumably the water is coming from a spring somewhere upstream, and it is a waterfall. I was able to wander down to the falls easily enough.
Then I carried on beyond that point because a cool sounding trail spurred off from the Valley Spring Creek Trail. That trail is the Devil’s Backbone trail. I mean, who wouldn’t want to hike it with a name like that? It was full of prickly pear cactus, cholla pencil cactus, one very obnoxious woodpecker, and ultimately a good view of a park feature known as the Devil’s Waterhole from a scenic viewpoint midway.
There was more to this park, so I’ll cover a few things here:
- There are several random trails in the park. Without doing the math it looks like someone could maybe cobble together about 10 miles of hiking. You can get a decent trail map at the office.
- Inks “Lake” is actually a reservoir along Texas’s Colorado River. A lot of the state park is set up for people to enjoy it.
- The facilities looked fantastic. If I’d have been camping here there wouldn’t have been any complaints about the showers or bathrooms most likely.
- Just past their dam at the edge of the park is the Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery Pavilion. I did not have time to stop in and visit, but I wanted too, and the park staff assured me that it is something you can go visit.
- The park identifies with skunks apparently and has merchandise that says, “When Life Sticks, I Go To Inks.” If I’d encountered a skunk I’d have bought some stuff. No skunks this visit though.
- I really can’t say enough about how pretty it was or the vibe, but what really stands out is the red color in all the rocks. Maybe that’s where the “Inks” name comes from? I don’t know.
Address: 3630 Park Rd 4 W, Burney, TX 78611
