Texas Hill Country

[Highlander]

Here are few pictures of the Texas Hill Country.  The Hill Country is kind of hit and miss in terms of finding something picturesque and interesting.  I would say mostly miss, but there are a few interesting places such as Gruene and Fredericksburg along with the bigger towns of San Marcos and New Braunfels.  Some small towns in the Austin area are interesting but things start getting congested the nearer to Austin one goes. The area is not all that picturesque but there are some spots worth seeing like Enchanted Rock, LBJ Ranch, Pedernal Falls and Lost Maples State Park (I don't recommend the last two in the summer though).  Here are some pictures beginning with Gruene, an old German town just outside of New Braunsfels.  It's pretty touristy and packed but has a bit of charm.


The Gruene dancehall is a popular music venue.  A lot of Lyle Lovett/Chris Isaak types got there start here.  Just down the road from Austin.  






Pottery shop in Gruene.  Nice place.   This part of Texas has a lot of stately Live Oak trees.  

Fredericksburg

This town is the heart of the Hill Country and the only town that's really a worthy destination on its own.  There are a surprising number of things to do here with Live Music venues (and Lukenbak is just a few miles away), Enchanted Rock St Park, tons of shops, Good German restaurants, the Nimitz and War in the Pacific Museum (impressive), wineries and breweries, etc...   Some nice B&B's too.  

War in Pacific Museum



Japanese Peace Garden at War in Pacific Museum


Main drag in Fredericksburg





Nimitz Home (above)




One of many German Restaurants (above)

Nimitz Museum



(One place even has Boulevard IPA on the beer menu)

Enchanted Rock  (half hour or so north of Fredericksburg)






Texas white house....LBJ Ranch.  The ranch is a state park but the House was donated by Johnson's wife to the National Park Service when she died in 2007.  It's definately worth seeing.  There is a jetport there too.



Pedernals Falls



Pedernals Falls is getting back towards Austin and is within the exurban influence.  You see a lot of McMansions starting to dot the hills not too far from here.  

Austin itself (not many pictures)



Overall, I was a little disappointed with the Hill Country.  Not all that hilly and the decent scenery is limited to a few spots (Enchanted Rock being the most compelling); and certainly not as scenic as the Ozarks.  But, Texas doesn't have much scenery so people tend to come in droves so it can get crowded, particularly in the spring and fall.  Nonetheless, the Fredericksburg area is definitaly worth doing once.  We were actually pleasantly surprised with that town.    

[Roanoker]

Wonderful pics! The geology alone will be of interest to my son. (Me, too, as he explains what I am looking at.) I hope we can go there sometime.

Thanks for posting!

[warwickland]

nice overview, thanks for sharing. the hill country looks even drier, at least around enchanted rock, than i thought it would. granted, texas is in a horrendous drought, i'm used to seeing the area a little greener.

[Highlander]

nice overview, thanks for sharing. the hill country looks even drier, at least around enchanted rock, than i thought it would. granted, texas is in a horrendous drought, i'm used to seeing the area a little greener.

The Enchanted Rocks area is essentially scrubland vegetation but you can see even the grasses are stressed and there have been lots of wildfires in the state over spring and summer.  The drought has been really unusual with no appreciable rainfall for the last 9 months and various burbs in western Houston are under mandatory watering restrictions.  Wildfires have been an issue too. 

[LyndeyT]

I've always loved Austin and the area around there. I definitely prefer it to Houston or Dallas. I do like the old towns outside the big cities like Austin and Dallas.

[bebe]

A very nice view overall

beautiful pics...

thanks for posting it..love it

[Highlander]

A very nice view overall

beautiful pics...

thanks for posting it..love it

Thanks!