Texas Hill Country
Located West of Austin and North West of San Antonio you will find the picturesque Texas Hill Country. It consists of cities such as Fredericksburg, Kerrville, Boerne, New Braunfels , San Marcos and others. The area is home to nice cities with a German heritage, rivers for floating, shops, caves to tour, vineyards, museums and plenty of parks. Its a great weekend trip from any of the major cities in Texas and will give you a chance to relax and be away from the stresses of the big city and give you a chance to see a different side of Texas. Most Texans have visited the Texas Hill country but there is so much to see many have missed of the sites in the area. We have been several times and see something different each visit.
Getting to the Hill Country and transportation
If you live out side of Texas you could fly into San Antonio or Austin and rent a car and drive into the Hill Country. Otherwise your best bet is driving your own car into the area as there is no public transportation in this large and mostly rural area. The sites are spread out in the different cities in the area so you will need to drive to get to the sites.
Fredericksburg, TX
Located in the center of Hill country you will fine the nice city of Fredericksburg. Its one of many former German settlements that are in the area. There is a lot to do in Fredericksburg. On the main street there are many shops, restaurants, and wine and beer tasting. One of our favorite shops on main street is The Christmas Store. Just outside of Fredericksburg is the growing Texas wine business. You can find many vineyards throughout the hill country where you can stop for some wine tasting. There is also the Fredericksburg Trade Days where you can shop at vendors in a flea market type setting. The food is also great in Fredericksburg with many German food restaurants, ice cream shops and many other types of food. Beyond shopping and eating there are quite a few museums, historic sites and parks to visit in the area.
The National Museum of the Pacific War
Located a couple blocks from main street in Fredericksburg is the outstanding National Museum of the Pacific War. Fredericksburg was the home town of Admiral Chester Nimitz who was the commander of Naval Forces in the Pacific during World War II. Instead of a museum dedicated to himself he wanted a museum dedicated to all those who fought in the Pacific theater. The museum goes over from when the United States first encountered the Japanese to the final days of World War II. The museum has many rare artifacts such as a Japanese Midget Submarine used at Pearl Harbor, A Japanese float plane called “Rex”, a B-25 bomber, a atomic bomb and so much more. There are many interactive exhibits and videos that tell the story of the war and the people who fought so bravely in the Pacific. The main museum is only one part of the museum complex. There is a Japanese Garden given as a gift from Japan, in the former Nimitz hotel on main street there is a museum dedicated to Admiral Nimitz. A few blocks away you can see the Pacific Combat Zone that has a TBM Avenger torpedo bomber, a PT Boat, and many different tanks from both sides. They have reenactments on certain dates so you can see WWII come alive. This is a must see if you are in Fredericksburg and will take you a few hours to tour the entire museum if you go through it quickly.
Fort Martin Scott Historic Site
Also in Fredericksburg you can visit a Frontier fort that operated in the 1840s and 1850s to protect settlers. At the Fort you can go into the buildings and see what life was like at a Frontier Fort in Texas before the Civil War. This is a city owned historic site. It will take you about an hour to go through the site and to learn about the old frontier days. Its another nice museum in the area to see.
Texas Ranger Heritage Center
Also in Fredericksburg you can visit the Texas Ranger Heritage. Its a nice facility dedicated to the Texas Rangers. At the moment the museum portion of the facility has not been completed but there is an open air pavilion where there were some people there to talk about the Texas Rangers and its a nice walk around the facility. At the moment it will not take very long to visit but its still a nice place to stop. Its near Fort Martin Scott.
Enchanted Rock State Park
Located about 20 minutes North of Fredericksburg you will find the impressive over 400 foot tall Enchanted Rock. Its a huge pink granite dome that is located in a large state park. You have the opportunity to walk up to the top of the dome while in the park. There are also many other hiking trails and camping opportunities at the park. The view is wonderful from the top. Just a note it can be pretty steep in areas as you get closer to the top so be careful if you want to try to walk to the top and take breaks as you head up. The view though as I mentioned is worth the effort to get up to the top. There is also a historic aspect as a small battle with a Native American tribe occurred at the rock. It will take a few hours at the park at a minimum depending on what you want to do. Its another great place to visit while in Fredericksburg!
Boerne, TX
Located just North West of San Antonio is another German heritage city that also has a lot to do. Boerne like Fredericksburg has ample shops, beer and wine tasting and restaurants to chose from. Its a pretty city and has some great hotel options. The hotel costs are usually a little cheaper in Boerne than it is in Fredericksburg so we usually stay in Boerne and the other sites are not a far drive. The top attractions in Boerne are the caves you can tour in the area. The are tow unique caves not too far from Boerne that you can visit. If you are looking for a nice hotel we enjoyed staying at The Bevy Hotel that is a Doubletree by Hilton Hotel. We visited the Boerne Brewery while there and its a nice place to try some local beers.
Cave Without a Name
Around 10 miles from Boerne you can visit the Cave Without a Name. Its a living cave with many growing stalactite, stalagmite and flowstone formations. In this cave there is a very large room that has great acoustics. The Cave Without a Name has concerts in the large room from time to time so it would be a great place to hear some music. You can check their website for dates
Cascade Caverns
Located very close to Boerne you can also visit Cascade Caverns and take a one hour guided tour of this nice cave. This case has a decent amount of water in it and can flood so call ahead if there has been any large amount of rain. We really enjoyed both caves in Boerne and recommend them both as they have their differences. Both caves will take over an hour to tour with a guide.
New Braunfels
Located in between Austin and San Antonio in once again another nice German heritage city in the Hill Country area. Its a favorite city for Texans to visit as there are once again quite a few things to do in the area. There in the Gruene Historic district that has some great restaurants like the famous Gristmill that serves country cooking and the historic Gruene Hall which is the oldest dance hall in Texas. You can also tube the Comal River, and visit one of the best water parks in the world at Schlitterbahn. The beautiful Canyon Lake is not too far a drive from New Braunsfels. Another great site not too far from New Braunsfels is Natural Bridge Caverns. Its another live and deep caves with many impressive formations. If you really like sausage and German food you can go to the Wurstfest festival to enjoy the German music and food. Its a nice place to spend a few days and relax and explore!
San Marcos
Just North of New Braunfels you can visit another favorite tubing and shopping city. You can tube on the San Marcos River if you enjoy tubing. One of the big attractions in the city are the huge outlet malls where you can get some great deals on a variety of things. Our favorite place to visit is the Wonder Cave in San Marcos. It is a completely different cave from the other caves in the area. Instead of a cave that was formed by water like the other caves in the hill country, this cave was formed by an ancient earthquake. So the cave is not living like the other so it is quite a bit different to tour. There is also a wildlife tour you can take at the cave.
Kerrville
Located around 30 minutes West of Boerne on I-10 you will find the city of Kerrville. There is a little shopping in the downtown area but not quite as much as Boerne and Fredericksburg. Kerrville has some other great sites to see and many of them are free. You can visit the Museum of Western Art that has some very nice Western Paintings and Sculptures to see. Its not a large museum but will take maybe an hour or so to tour. Another great site to visit is The Coming King Sculpture Prayer Garden. Its high on a hill in Kerrville and have many great sculptures depicting scenes of Jesus Christ. There is a very large cross on the hill and there are many scriptures you can read as you walk. You are invited to leave a rock with a prayer written on it at the site. You can also participate in a Bible study or leave a prayer request in a box. The site is free to visit and the views are very nice as well. Another free site is in nearby Ingram is Stonehenge II. At the site there is a smaller replica (not quite a big as the original in England) of Stonehenge. There are also some replicas of Easter Island Moai (heads) at the site. Its an interesting site to see for a few minutes. The Hill Country Arts Foundation is at the Stonehenge II site so you could also catch a play while you are in the area.
Other areas of the Hill Country and Tips
There are quite a few other small towns and beautiful areas throughout the Hill Country. Its a large area of land that is not surprising in such a large state as Texas. Johnson City near Fredericksburg is home of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Site. It was President LBJs ranch that is home to his boyhood home and the Texas White House. LBJ is buried at the site. We have not visited the site just yet but we will visit on another time to the Hill Country. Just West of Austin you can visit Longhorn Cavern State Park. This cavern is also a different cavern from some of the others in the area. This cave was formed by a river flowing through a sinkhole. Much of the walls are smooth from the fast flowing water through the cave. Its one of the few caves I’ve been to with walls of crystals. You can also find some of the smallest bats in Texas in the cave. There are quite a few interesting stories in this cave that your tour guide will tell you. The cave also includes a natural rock that looks like a dog. Above ground there is a great observation tour built by the CCC in the 1930s that give a great view of Inks Lake State Park, and a Texas Castle (not open for tours). There are many other great places to visit and adventures in the Hill Country. The area is vast so you will need to either visit a few times to see much of the area or take a long trip. We usually pick a city like Boerne as a base of operations and then branch out from there. Cities like Fredericksburg can be crowded at times so I recommend getting there early before the big crowds arrive. Go check out the Hill country and try something new and have your own adventure!
