Lake Marble Falls
The smallest of the six Highland Lakes, a narrow, LCRA-managed pass-through reservoir on the Colorado River with a tighter dock setback than any other lake in the chain -- and a genuinely different governance model than a nearby storage lake like Travis or Buchanan.
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Submit a Photo →The Lake at a Glance
Lake Marble Falls was created by Max Starcke Dam, originally named Marble Falls Dam, built by the Lower Colorado River Authority between November 1949 and October 1951 and renamed in 1962 for LCRA's second general manager. It is the smallest of LCRA's six Highland Lakes, covering roughly 608 to 613 acres and holding roughly 7,486 to 7,597 acre-feet, entirely within Burnet County.
LCRA classifies Marble Falls as a "pass-through" lake rather than a true constant-level lake in its own official terminology, alongside Lake LBJ and Inks Lake. In practice, LCRA times releases from Max Starcke Dam to roughly match inflow arriving from Lake LBJ upstream, keeping the lake within about a foot of its 737-foot target elevation under normal conditions -- a genuinely different management approach than Lake Travis or Lake Buchanan, which are engineered to absorb large seasonal swings as active flood-control and water-supply reservoirs.
Despite this general stability, LCRA periodically schedules a roughly 7-foot drawdown lasting two to three months, about every three to four years, specifically so waterfront owners can repair docks and retaining walls -- most recently from October 2021 into February 2023, extended past its original December 2022 target due to intake-structure repairs at the dam.
What Buyers Need to Know First
The single most important fact for buyers: Lake Marble Falls carries a maximum dock extension of just 35 feet from shore, tied with Inks Lake for the tightest limit among all six Highland Lakes, meaningfully more restrictive than Lake LBJ's 50 feet or Lake Travis's 100 feet.
The second piece: there is no full-service marina on Lake Marble Falls itself, a genuine gap compared with a more developed lake like LBJ, though free public boat ramps at Lakeside Park and Johnson Park provide reliable access.
The third piece: Burnet County experienced real, fatal flash flooding in July 2025 on Hamilton Creek and Cow Creek near Marble Falls, separate from but concurrent with the broader Central Texas flood disaster, and the region remains genuinely flood-prone during Hill Country storm events.
Everything We Cover on Lake Marble Falls
Independent research across every topic Lake Marble Falls buyers ask about -- Burnet County tax math, LCRA's tightest dock setback in the Highland Lakes, and which nearby town actually fits you.
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