Park Road 4 Texas Parks and Highways Things To Do In Highland Lakes Burnet TX Hill Country TX Castle Bluebonnets photos

Texas is famous for the Blue Bonnets that adorn our state highways. As a child it was a family tradition to load up the car, pack a picnic, and take the preverbal “Sunday Drive”. Of course this tradition has passed down to my family and this past weekend we packed our lunches and explored the winding roads of the Texas Hill Country.

With all the rain we received this past year (2010) we knew that the Blue Bonnets would be a spectacular sight to see and Park Road 4 is one of my favorite scenic drives. Photography is my passion and was excited to grab my Nikon and capture and share the fantastic landscape photos. There are so many things to see and do, and I wanted to share some of the reasons why you should take the time to explore this area if you are in our part of the world.

Park Road 4 is located off of Highway 281, between Burnet and Marble Falls, Texas.www.maps.google.com search for Park Road 4 S, Burnet, Texas

As you enter Park Road 4 you are greeted by the Longhorn Cavern State Park. The Longhorn Cavern is one of the few river-formed caverns in Texas and the fossil remains prove that several Ice Age animals once occupied this cave. The state park features a picnic area, hiking trails, exhibit center, a grill and a snack bar. Tours include wild a cave tour, geology tour, photography tour and paranormal tours. www.longhorncaverns.com

As you continue to travel down the Park Road you will be pleasantly surprised by the sight of a magnificent castle appearing majestically on a hill top as you drive around a bend in the road. Yes, there is a Castle hidden in Central Texas located on Park Road 4 in Burnet County, approximately 50 miles west of Austin, Texas.

Falkenstein® Castle can be reserved for that special wedding and is rated #3 among the best wedding castles in America. This castle was modeled after the Neuschwanstein castle in Germany and encompasses over 174,000 square feet. www.falkensteincastle.com

Travel a few more miles and enter the public picnic area. Enjoy the fantastic views of the High Land Lakes Texas Hill country.

Park Road 4 will wind down the hill and if you go to left on FM 2342 this will lead to the community of Kingsland which is a lake resort community, and if you stay to the right and continue down Park Road 4, this will lead you to Inks Lake, be sure to visit the Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery. The Hatchery is dedicated to restoring the Gulf Coast Striped Bass population as well as restoring paddlefish in the Mississippi River, as well as largemouth bass and channel catfish for sport fishing. http://www.fws.gov/southwest/fisheries/inksdam.html

Inks Lake is another tourist attraction is one of the most popular state parks in Texas. There are so many things to do and see that if you are just visiting you may find that you will want to stay awhile. (As we Texan’s say “take off your boots and stay awhile”.). http://www.inkslake.com

Article and photos by Brigitte Thompson