Exploring Lake LBJ

This weekend, we visited Lake LBJ, primarily to look for lake front property for a friend. They drug us around for 8 hours a day in the drizzle and freezing cold, looking for the ideal party house on the lake. Wow – lake front property is expensive but we did see a lot of very nice houses in the $400,000 to $1,100,000 range on all sides of the lake –“ from Kingsland to Horseshoe Bay.

There are plenty of properties for sale right on the lake with boat docks, 60 to 160 feet of waterfront, and great views. Prices seem to range from $250 to $350 per square foot depending on the location on the lake (open water versus canal), area, and age of the house. Our friends finally fell in love with a zero lot line house in Horseshoe Bay.

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Horseshoe Bay on Lake LBJ

Horseshoe Bay is a great area with restaurants, mini golf, 3 excellent golf courses, Horseshoe Bay Resort & Spa, and other amenities – what a great place to visit or buy property (if you can afford it!). We stayed at Rio Vista Resort (three stars) in a very nice and clean two bedrooms, two bath Villa that was 50 yards from the water. Rio Vista is a combination of Villas (2 and 3 bedroom), RV and mobile home park, plus a nice rental lake house. The unit we stayed in was very clean and equipped with all the basics (silverware, microwave, coffee maker, plates, stove and refrigerator).

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Rio Vista

Rio Vista has a recreation room with a pool table, a swimming pool, boat ramp and guest boat slips. For one dinner, we ate at Club Pocahontas (2.5 stars out of 5) in Buchanan Dam which serves steaks, fried seafood, and a few other items including a small salad bar – at reasonable prices. They have a very friendly staff and live country music in the bar on the weekends.After diner we went next door to a couple of lively nightspots –“ Partners and The Ranch. Partners seems to be for the younger crowd and The Ranch has live music, a great dance floor, and a diverse crowd of locals from Llano to Lampasas. You can have some serious fun at either one.

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On The Water

Lake LBJ is a Texas Outside favorite because it is a constant level lake (watch your depth finder or you’ll end up with some nasty prop dings) with some good cruising spots (the canals through Applehead Island with huge beautiful million dollar plus homes) , a couple places to eat on the water (Storms in Kingsland, Tropical Hideaway, and Horseshoe Bay), and a fun place to drop anchor on a sandy beach and play volleyball (down the Sunrise Beach arm). Read a review of Lake LBJ.

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Things To Do Around Lake LBJ

Here are lists of other activities within 30 miles of Lake LBJ to explore…

Golf Near Lake LBJ

• Horseshoe Bay –“Apple Rock, Ram Rock, and Slick Rock Golf Courses are some of the toughest, priciest, and best in Texas
• Blue Lake Golf Course –““ we haven’t played it yet but it looks fun with trees and rolling hills and nine holes
• Delaware Springs –““a fun course and excellent value –“ to see the Texas Outside rating and review, click here
• Inks Lake Golf Course –“ nine holes alone the lake and the last time we were there was over 5 years ago and it was in pretty rough shape but it did have a couple fun holes, great views of the lake, and was very cheap
• Legends on Lake LBJ –“ I understand that in late 2005 the Legends went bankrupt – click here to see the rating and review
• Meadow Lakes Country Club –“ haven’t seen or played this one, so I can’t help you
• Lighthouse Country Club –“ heard that it was undergoing some major renovations and has a new pro and will be dynamite in the later part of 2006
• Llano –“ nice course along the Llano River

Restaurants Near Lake LBJ

• Blue Bonnet Café – over 25 years old and still getting excellent ratings and reviews
• River City Grill – same owner as the Blue Bonnet and overlooks Lake Marble Falls
• Chili’s Grill and Bar– overlooking Lake Marble Falls
• Lucky Buffet — pretty good Chinese buffet with a lot of choices
• Santa Fe House
• 909

Things To Do Near Lake LBJ

• Shopping –“ historic Main Street with quaint antique stores, specialty boutiques, art galleries, and more
• Bars and music –“ Patton’s On Main is a bar with live music
• Champ Champions – excellent girls and boy’s camp
• Adam Johnson Park
• Lakeside Park
• Fall Creek Park

Nearby Cities For Some Day Trips

• Burnet
• Buchanan Dam
• Johnson City
• Llano

Fun Things To Do Nearby

Inks Lake State Park – Very nice park with sites on the water, boat ramps, and some limited hiking trails. Inks Lake is small but pretty and very clean

Wineries – click on wineries for a list and map of wineries nearby, two of the closest include

Alamosa Wine Cellars – Bend, 325 628-3313

Lost Creek – Sunrise Beach, 325 388-3753

Lake Buchanan and Vanishing Texas River Cruise – an ecological tour of spectacular waterfalls and cliffs on Lake Buchanan

Longhorn Caverns – an hour and 25 minute guided tour through Longhorn Cavern

Austin Steam Train – tour the scenic Texas Hill Country by train

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area – a Texas Outside favorite for hiking and climbing (face climbs and crack climbing). Bottom line is, spend a few days anywhere around Lake LBJ and you’ll find plenty of fun things to do. Have fun!