LBJ National Historical Park
Drive the ranch where LBJ was born, lived, and is buried, and tour the Texas White House and the show herd of Hereford cattle. Free; pick up a permit at the visitor center.
Blanco County
Johnson City & the LBJ Ranch
Boyhood home of a president, the “Texas White House,” a growing wine scene, and a Christmas-lights tradition that lights up the whole town.
The place
Johnson City is named for the family of Lyndon B. Johnson, and the LBJ National and State parks just outside town preserve his boyhood home, the working Johnson Settlement, and the Texas White House at the LBJ Ranch on the Pedernales River.
The town itself has quietly become a wine-and-food stop, with tasting rooms and restaurants in restored buildings. Come spring, the surrounding Blanco County back roads are some of the best wildflower drives anywhere; come December, the Hill Country Regional Christmas Lights wrap the courthouse and town in millions of bulbs.
Don't miss
- Tour the LBJ Ranch & Texas White House
- Wine tasting rooms in town
- Spring wildflower back roads
- Hill Country Regional Christmas Lights
Things to do
How to spend your time
Pedernales Falls
A short drive east, the Pedernales River spills over tilted limestone slabs at Pedernales Falls State Park — great for hiking, wading, and photos.
Town wine & lights
Sip at tasting rooms downtown, then come back in December for the Lights Spectacular, a Hill Country holiday institution.
Plan it properly
Official sources for Johnson City & the LBJ Ranch
Hours, fees, and closures change. These are the people who set them.
- LBJ National Historical Park (NPS)
Free ranch drive; pick up the permit at the state park visitor center.
- Explore Johnson City
The town’s own guide to tasting rooms, food, and the lights.
- Lights Spectacular
Two million-plus lights on the Blanco County courthouse square, Thanksgiving through New Year.
- Pedernales Falls State Park
The limestone slabs east of town — check flood status before you go.
Pair it with
Experiences here
Trips through here
Ready-made itineraries
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
7 days · The whole region The Grand Tour
A week-long horseshoe from Boerne to Llano and back — caves, cowboys, wine, granite, barbecue, water, and a dance hall to finish.
- Boerne
- Bandera
- Kerrville
- Fredericksburg
- Llano
- Marble Falls
- Gruene
Nearby
More destinations close by
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.
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.
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