Things to Do in Burnet County

• Boat, fish, and swim the Highland Lakes: Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, and Lake LBJ anchor daily recreation in Burnet County. Lake Buchanan, the largest of the Highland Lakes at 22,333 acres with more than 120 miles of shoreline, is managed by the LCRA and known for striped bass and catfish. Lake LBJ (6,432 acres) is known for stable year-round water levels that make it popular for boating and waterskiing.
• Explore Inks Lake State Park: Inks Lake State Park covers 1,201 acres along Inks Lake on the Colorado River in Burnet County. The park has been open since 1950 under the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and offers swimming at Devil's Waterhole, camping, fishing, paddling, and miles of hiking over pink granite outcrops.
• Tour Longhorn Cavern State Park: Longhorn Cavern State Park is a 645-acre state park near Burnet featuring a 1.1-mile guided walking tour of an underground river-carved cavern, lasting about 90 minutes. The park was developed between 1934 and 1942 by Company 854 of the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the stone entry building and observation tower remain part of its National Park Service Rustic architecture.
• Ride the Hill Country Flyer vintage train: The Austin Steam Train Association has run the Hill Country Flyer excursion train since 1992. The train departs the Cedar Park Depot for a 66-mile round trip that includes a two-hour layover at the historic Burnet depot — enough time to explore the downtown square and have lunch before the return trip. Passenger cars date from the late 1930s through the 1950s.
• Chase bluebonnets and visit the Burnet Bluebonnet Festival: Burnet County shares the "Bluebonnet Co-Capital of Texas" designation with Llano County, established by the 67th Texas Legislature in 1981. Each April the Burnet Bluebonnet Festival fills the downtown square with parades, live music, arts and crafts, and scenic drives along Highway 281 and Park Road 4 during the peak of bluebonnet season.
• Play the Robert Trent Jones Sr. courses at Horseshoe Bay Resort: Horseshoe Bay Resort sits on Lake LBJ on the Burnet/Llano county line and features three championship golf courses — Slick Rock, Apple Rock, and Ram Rock — all designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. Horseshoe Bay is the only resort in the continental United States with three courses designed by Jones Sr.

Major Employers in Burnet County

• Marble Falls ISD (Education): Marble Falls Independent School District serves roughly 4,000 students across Marble Falls, Horseshoe Bay, Cottonwood Shores, Meadowlakes, and Granite Shoals. The 4A district employs teachers, administrators, and support staff across its elementary, middle, and high school campuses.
• Burnet Consolidated ISD (Education): Burnet CISD covers Burnet, Bertram, and the rural portion of the county — more than 700 square miles — serving roughly 3,300 students across six campuses, including Burnet High School, Burnet Middle School, and multiple elementary schools.
• Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Marble Falls (Healthcare): A 46-bed hospital that opened in August 2015 as the main hospital for the Baylor Scott & White Hill Country region, with an adjacent 66,000-square-foot specialty clinic housing multiple specialties. The medical center serves patients across Burnet, Llano, Blanco, and surrounding counties.
• Horseshoe Bay Resort (Hospitality & Tourism): A Hill Country resort on Lake LBJ featuring three Robert Trent Jones Sr. golf courses, a marina, a spa, and hotel operations. Horseshoe Bay is the only resort in the continental United States with three courses by Jones Sr., and it employs hospitality, grounds, and food service staff across its Lake LBJ campus.
• Burnet County government (Public administration): County offices, law enforcement, courts, and public works positions based primarily at the Burnet County courthouse complex in the city of Burnet, with additional facilities across the county.
• Granite quarrying industry (Mining & materials): Granite quarrying has been a signature Burnet County industry since the 19th century. Granite Mountain in Marble Falls — an 866-foot dome of pink granite covering 180 acres — supplied the Sunset Red granite for the Texas State Capitol after its owners donated the stone in 1882, and area quarries continue to anchor the county's stone industry.

Burnet County Schools

Burnet County is served by two public school districts — Marble Falls ISD on the Lake LBJ side of the county (approximately 4,000 students) and Burnet Consolidated ISD in the county seat and rural areas (approximately 3,300 students) — which together cover the entire county. Higher-education access in Burnet County runs through a shared Central Texas College and Texas Tech University at Highland Lakes campus in Marble Falls.

School District: Marble Falls ISD & Burnet CISD

Public Schools

• Marble Falls ISD - Serves Marble Falls, Horseshoe Bay, Cottonwood Shores, Meadowlakes, and Granite Shoals with approximately 4,000 students (2023-24) across elementary, middle, and high school campuses. Marble Falls ISD is a 4A district, and Marble Falls High School is the district's sole comprehensive high school.
• Burnet Consolidated ISD - Covers the county seat of Burnet, the town of Bertram, and more than 700 square miles of rural Burnet County with approximately 3,300 students across six campuses, including Burnet High School, Burnet Middle School, and multiple elementary schools.

Higher Education

• Central Texas College – Hill Country (Marble Falls) - Central Texas College operates its Hill Country office in Marble Falls at 806 Steve Hawkins Parkway, offering coursework in business, criminal justice, education, and nursing program prerequisites. The office provides student support across Burnet, Gillespie, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, and San Saba counties.
• Texas Tech University at Highland Lakes - A collaborative Texas Tech program hosted at the Marble Falls / Burnet campus offering bachelor's and master's degrees in selected fields, operated in partnership with Central Texas College.

Frequently Asked Questions