Visit Us
Recreational opportunities abound at the Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery including walking, hiking, fishing, wildlife and bird-viewing, and picnicking. Wildlife abounds around the facility’s 30 production ponds and it is always surprising to what shows up.
Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery is just one of the many field stations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service whose mission is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
Activities
Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery provides many exciting visitor opportunities for a up close view of the fish production process from egg collecting to pond harvest. The facility has approximately 200 acres to explore so it’s easy to find an activity that will appeal to you.
Trails
Title: Riverwalk Trail
Open: Year Round
Length: 0.42 mile
Difficulty: Easy
The Riverwalk Trail is paved and parallels the Upper Colorado arm of Lake Lyndon B. Johnson. Hikers can double back from end of paved road or walk one of the roads through hatchery ponds.
Title: Pecan Grove Trail
Open: Year Round
Length: 1.26 mile
Difficulty: Moderate
The Pecan Grove Trail is an easy walk with some rocks at creek crossing. This trail passes hatchery ponds and crosses Peters Creek before looping through the pecan grove.
Title: Overlook Trail
Open: Year Round
Length: 0.24 mile
Difficulty: Difficult
Trail is short, steep, rocky and ends at the highest point on the property. The view at the top is spectacular.
Title: Ashe Juniper Trail
Open: Year Round
Length: 0.18 mile
Difficulty: Easy
A short trail through mixed trees and other native plants. The trail passes the Bird Blind and a Chimney Swift tower.
Title: Meadows Trail
Open: Year Round
Length: 0.27 mile
Difficulty: Easy
This trail passes by several foundation structures of buildings that were part of a National Youth Administration (NYA) camp in the 1930’s. Young men and women were taught job skills during the depression years.
Title: Crosscreek Trail
Open: Year Round
Length: 0.32 mile
Difficulty: Moderate
A walk through the woods passing through a quartzite field and crossing several wet weather creeks and washes
Locations
The phone lines at Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery can be unreliable. If you'd like to contact that hatchery, please email Project Leader Jeffrey W. Conway at jeff_conway@fws.gov.
Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery is located approximately 60 miles Northwest of Austin, Texas in the beautiful Texas hill country. The facility borders the Colorado River below Inks Lake and is nestled between Inks Lake State Park and Longhorn Caverns State Park. The hatchery is reached by traveling State Highway 29 West from Burnet, Texas for nine miles, and then Park Road 4 for four miles to the hatchery entrance.
The facility can also be reached by traveling approximately nine miles North of Marble Falls on State Highway 281 and turning West onto Park Road 4 and following that for eleven miles to the hatchery entrance