The Texas Hill Country
Texas, with the windows down
Wildflower drives, spring-fed swimming holes, honky-tonk Saturdays, and fifty wineries between the live oaks — across the rolling back roads of Central Texas.
What is the Hill Country?
A region the size of a small state, stitched together by limestone, water, and wildflowers.
West of Austin and north of San Antonio, the land buckles into the rolling, oak-studded hills of the Edwards Plateau. Cold springs surface as jade-green rivers. German and Czech settlers left dance halls and Sunday houses. And every spring, the roadsides erupt in blue.
It is, in short, the Texas of the imagination — only closer, friendlier, and easier to get to than you think.
Read the full story →
Destinations
Where to point the truck
Fredericksburg
30.275°N 98.872°WGillespie County
German roots, a Main Street of biergartens and shops, and the gateway to Texas wine country. The unofficial capital of the Hill Country.
Enchanted Rock
30.507°N 98.820°WLlano & Gillespie
A massive pink granite batholith that hums and ticks as it cools at night. Climb it by day, then stay for some of the darkest skies in Texas.
Wimberley
29.997°N 98.099°WHays County
An arts town built around water — Jacob’s Well, Blue Hole, and the Cypress Creek. Market days, galleries, and the bluest swimming in Texas.
Gruene & New Braunfels
29.738°N 98.104°WComal County
A 19th-century river town wrapped around the oldest dance hall in Texas, with the Guadalupe and the spring-fed Comal running right past the door.
Bandera
29.726°N 99.074°WBandera County
The self-proclaimed Cowboy Capital of the World — dude ranches, honky-tonks, and trail rides along the Medina River.
Marble Falls & the Highland Lakes
30.578°N 98.273°WBurnet County
A chain of dammed Colorado-River lakes ringed by granite hills — boating, lakeside dining, and the spring carpet of bluebonnets at Muleshoe Bend.
Johnson City & the LBJ Ranch
30.277°N 98.412°WBlanco County
Boyhood home of a president and the Texas White House. In December the whole town lights up; in spring the roadsides run blue with wildflowers.
Hamilton Pool & the Pedernales
30.342°N 98.126°WTravis County
A collapsed grotto where a 50-foot waterfall spills into a jade-green pool. Reserve ahead — this is the most-photographed swimming hole in Texas.
Ways to wander
Pick your kind of trip
However you like to travel the Hill Country — by tasting room, river bend, two-step, or telescope — there's a thread to follow.
Swimming Holes & Spring Rivers
Cold, clear, and limestone-blue all summer — from Hamilton Pool to the Comal.
Explore
Wine Country
Fifty-plus wineries along the US-290 corridor and the back roads of Gillespie County.
Explore Wildflower Drives
Bluebonnets and paintbrush set the roadsides on fire every March and April.
Explore Dance Halls & Live Music
Two-step under century-old rafters at Gruene Hall, Luckenbach, and beyond.
Explore
Smoke & Barbecue
Post-oak smoke, brisket by the pound, and pit lines worth the wait.
Explore
Dark Skies & Stargazing
Some of the darkest skies in the eastern U.S. — bring a blanket and look up.
ExploreItineraries
Trips, already mapped
3 days · Weekend The Fredericksburg Wine Weekend
Tasting rooms on US-290, a climb up Enchanted Rock to earn your dinner, and a beer at Luckenbach where everybody’s somebody.
- Fredericksburg Main St.
- US-290 Wine Road
- Enchanted Rock
- Luckenbach
4 days · Road trip The Swimming Holes Loop
Chase the cold, clear water from Jacob’s Well to Hamilton Pool to a lazy tube down the Guadalupe. Pack a towel and a reservation.
- Jacob’s Well
- Blue Hole, Wimberley
- Hamilton Pool
- Guadalupe River
2 days · Weekend Honky-Tonk & Smoke
A long weekend of brisket, two-step, and back-road dance halls — Gruene to Luckenbach with a barbecue stop in between.
- Gruene Hall
- Smoke break, Driftwood
- Luckenbach
- Bandera
Right now · Summer
Find the cold water
When the heat sets in, the spring-fed rivers and swimming holes stay cool — and the peach stands are full.
- River tubing & swimming holes
- Fredericksburg peach stands
- Late-night dance halls
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Seasonal trip ideas, wildflower reports, festival picks, and the swimming holes worth the drive — about twice a month. No spam, just back roads.
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