A waterfront community that’s seen new growth
Located where the Colorado and Llano rivers meet to form Lake Lyndon B. Johnson, Kingsland has grown into a popular lakefront community in the Texas Hill Country, 60 miles from Austin. “I always feel better driving over the mountain into Kingsland than driving out of Kingsland someplace else. Kingsland just spoke to me,” says Lydia Miller, broker/owner of Lake It Easy Realty and Kingsland resident since 2013. “Other people want that planned community, finer amenities, and that’s important to them. But I just want the lake, the boat and let’s go.” As new homes have been built, new restaurants and businesses have come to Kingsland, serving both longtime homeowners and new residents who come to live on the water.
Boating and other waterfront activities in Kingsland
Locals enjoy wakeboarding, jet skiing and boating on the water in Kingsland. Businesses like Waterworks and Wakes2u have equipment rentals, and Kingsland Community Park has a public boat ramp and fishing pier. Lake LBJ is a constant level lake. This means residents don’t have to worry about drought conditions causing the lake's water levels to decrease significantly, as has occurred on nearby Lake Travis. A dam system helps moderate water levels as the lake generates electricity for the region. For more recreation, Lighthouse Country Club is a semi-private golf course with 18 holes, and Inks Lake State Park has 1,200 acres of wilderness 9 miles away along the Colorado River.
A major flood prompted the development of more luxury builds in Kingsland
In 2018, the community experienced catastrophic flooding that destroyed hundreds of homes and the RM 2900 bridge across the Llano River. “It wiped us all out. It destroyed our homes,” says Katie Simon, Realtor with the Lake Life Team at eXp Realty and Kingsland native. The bridge has since been rebuilt, but this flood had a significant impact on the community. “For your longtime homeowners who are in their 70s and 80s, that hit was too much, so they started to get rid of their properties,” Simon says. This sell-off prompted developers to rebuild larger, more expensive homes on the waterfront.
Older homes that survived the flood tend to be smaller, with small cottages and ranches selling for between $160,000 and $500,000. Luxury homes with private waterfronts can span between $1 million and $4.5 million. Kingsland is unincorporated, so development rules are largely lax. “We don’t have anybody enforcing rules. The downfall here is you go to a $2 million house and have a trailer next door,” Simon says. Some property owners associations do, however, enforce development restrictions, depending on the subdivision.
Quirky new restaurants have waterfront entertainment
New businesses have moved into Kingsland in recent years. Hooper’s, a Southern restaurant serving breakfast platters, fried chicken and sandwiches, opened in 2023. Named after director Tobe Hooper, the restaurant is located in the actual set house of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and decorated with memorabilia. Across the street, The Antlers Inn is a historic hotel from 1901 that hosts guests in traditional rooms and furnished train cars.
Other neighborhood haunts include Boat Town Burger Bar, a waterfront marina serving drinks and pub grub on its spacious deck, and Wakepoint. Wakepoint is a gas station and convenience store on the water that doubles as an entertainment venue, bar and restaurant. “It’s a hangout place for the out-of-towners, and some of us locals,” Simon says. “Before, waterfront entertainment for this town was lacking; there’s something to do now besides the old rope swing on the lake.” For groceries, H-E-B is off Ranch Road.
Llano Independent School District and a public charter
Students are zoned for Packsaddle Elementary School, which is located in Kingsland and has a C-plus rating from Niche. Public school students attend B-plus-rated Llano Junior High School and B-rated Llano High School. These schools are about 20 miles from Kingsland. Students also have the option to attend Kingsland School, a public charter school that serves kindergarten through 12th grade and has an A-minus rating from Niche. Kingsland School offers several specialized learning programs, including project-based learning and dual credit opportunities with the University of Texas Permian Basin.
Getting to major facilities and Austin from Kingsland
Kingsland is about 60 miles west of Austin. Public transportation options are limited, but drivers can get into the city via Texas State Highway 71. Austin is also home to the closest major airport, Austin-Bergstrom International. Baylor Scott & White Medical Center’s Marble Falls location and Ascension Seton High Lakes are two nearby hospitals, each about 20 miles away.
Written By
Faith Wakefield
