There's no shortage of visitors at Inks Lake State Park in Burnet. Located in the heart of Texas Hill Country, the 1,200-acre park offers swimming and fishing in the Colorado River, hiking along a 7-mile trail, a 9-hole golf course and 22 rustic cabins for campers.
While the recreational opportunities at Inks Lake are abundant, the amenities are not. The park cabins don't have bathrooms or kitchens. They're cinder block structures with a metal roof and concrete floors. The bunk beds sleep up to eight people, but you supply your own linens. The public showers and restrooms nearby are badly in need of repair.
"The tile work in the showers is broken and it looks like it has been broken for some time, just nobody's ever went in and fixed it," camper James Hart said.
It's not that park employees don't care, it's that there's no funding for maintenance.
"It tears me up for a park visitor to see some of the deplorable conditions that we have," ranger Roger Shelton said.
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First impressions
News 8 Austin's Catie Beck goes behind the scenes at Inks Lake State Park.
 
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Texas ranks 49th in per capita spending on state parks. It's a fact many people don't know but one that park employees understand better than anyone. That's why they want the Texas Legislature to pass HB 12, which would increase funding for state parks by $80 million.
"More parks are going to close down and the conditions will continue to deteriorate," Chris Hall of Texas Parks and Wildlife said.
Right now, the entrance fee at Inks Lake is $5 a person, plus $8 - $18 for outdoor camping and $45 for the cabins. Park rangers don't want the public to have to pay more for something everyone should be able to enjoy.
Roger and Jerry Hullum have been visiting parks for years. They're essentially paying a second mortgage on an enormous RV and now worry they may not have nice parks to stay at once they retire.
"We've got quite an investment here. We've built up over the years and planned for retirement," Roger said.
Inks Lake is one of the most visited parks in Texas, but as their budget has gotten smaller, operating costs have gone up. Electricity costs have doubled and fuel costs have tripled.
The state blames Texas Parks and Wildlife for some of its problems. A report released in March by the State Auditor's Office states parks overestimated visitation by more than 40 percent and lost $16 million last year by inconsistently collecting entrance fees.
Regardless of fault, park employees do their best to mask the conditions of the facilities. Sometimes they are just too obvious to hide, especially for avid park goers who have seen things get worse as funding is stretched.
"They're really getting worn and I'm sure that's all due to the funding, this stuff costs money and somebody's got to pay for it," Roger Hullum said.
The remaining question is, will it be the state parks or the people who visit them?
