Texas Hill Country is a vast expanse of undulating landscape in south-central Texas, renowned for picturesque towns, scenic grandeur, sun-drenched skies, and glorious springtime wildflowers.

My favorite part, the Highland Lakes region, has all that to offer and much more — namely water. The Highland Lakes is a chain of seven freshwater lakes formed by damming Texas’s Colorado River between the late 1930s and 1960 to manage floods and produce hydroelectric power. The chain traverses a twisty 100 or so miles northwest, from Lady Bird Lake in Austin to Lake Buchanan in Burnet, where it adjoins the river.

In addition to performing the civic tasks for which they were designed, the lakes give rise to cooling breezes, wildlife habitats, and leisurely and active aquatic recreation.

My several visits to Texas Hill Country and the Highland Lakes region were sponsored, but I am reporting on the sites and activities I found most thrilling, informative, and delicious. They are focused on Burnet County at the northern end of the lakes. (That’s BURN-it, like DURN-it.)

Things To Do In The Highland Lakes

1. Canyon Of The Eagles

I anchored my visits at Canyon of the Eagles, a 940-acre nature lodge and resort perched high above Lake Buchanan. Named for the American bald eagles that nest nearby each year, it is located about an hour northwest of Austin and 90 minutes northwest of San Antonio.

The resort’s 61 guest rooms are scattered through 16 low-slung cabins, each appointed in rustic decor and deluxe comforts. Campsites are also available. Fill your time with 16 miles of groomed hiking and biking trails, a swimming pool, a boat dock, top-flight dining, and a retinue of rocking chairs.

The daily activities agenda will have you feeling like you’re at summer camp: guided hikes, birding tours, an educational snake program with real snakes that you can touch, outdoor movies, s’mores around a fire pit, and live music. After dark, the resident astronomer guides you through the heavens at the on-site observatory with research-quality telescopes and high-tech computers.

You can spend your entire vacay at Canyon Of The Eagles and find plenty of fascinations, but I had more to see and do.