The island was formerly a deer park of the Dukes of Montrose, who had a hunting lodge built in 1793 and maintained a gamekeeper and his family there.

[5] The castle was probably a hunting lodge for the deer park established on the island by King Robert I of Scotland in the early 14th century.

[5] Sir John Colquhoun of Luss, governor of Dumbarton Castle, was murdered at Inchmurrin in 1439, during a raid led by Lachlan MacLean.

The Duke of Lennox wrote to the custodian of the island on 23 July 1617, asking for food to be prepared for "a good nombre of sharpe stomaches", probably a reference to the hunting trip.

At one point, his men came to control all the boats on the River Endrick and Loch Lomond, which were later used to remove cattle from Inchmurrin.

[15] As well as offering self catered accommodation in the form of 3 flats and an 8-person cottage, the island has its own bar and restaurant, open from Easter to October.