3 days · Autumn
The Fall Color Run
A three-day loop through the western canyons timed to the one stretch of the year when the Hill Country turns red.
The trip
Fall color in Texas is a real thing and a narrow window. Uvalde bigtooth maples in the Sabinal Canyon, bald cypress along the Frio and the upper Guadalupe, and flameleaf sumac on every roadcut — usually peaking somewhere in the first three weeks of November, but moving a fortnight either way depending on rain and cold.
This loop strings the best of it together with real towns at either end, so you are not eating gas-station sandwiches for three days. Watch the TPWD foliage report, book the Lost Maples pass the moment you commit, and go midweek if your life allows it.
Best for Hikers, photographers, and anyone who misses autumn.
A schematic of the route — 4 stops, roughly 210 miles.
Day by day
The plan
- 1
Day 1
Into Kerrville
Drive in and settle on the upper Guadalupe. Walk the river trail through Louise Hays Park, spend an hour at the Museum of Western Art, and take TX‑39 west toward Hunt in the late-afternoon light — cypress turning the whole way.
- Louise Hays Park
- Museum of Western Art
- TX‑39 river drive
- 2
Day 2
Lost Maples, early
Be at the gate when it opens. Hike the East Trail loop through the maple bottoms and up to the canyon overlook — about 4.6 miles, steep in the middle. Back down for a late lunch in Utopia, then on toward Vanderpool and Medina.
- Lost Maples East Trail
- Canyon overlook
- Utopia
- 3
Day 3
The Frio & Bandera
South to Garner State Park for cypress color on the Frio and the Old Baldy climb, then east through the ranch country into Bandera for a steak, a honky-tonk, and the drive home.
- Garner State Park
- Old Baldy
- Bandera
Before you roll out
Trip tips
- Read the Lost Maples foliage report before you lock in dates — it goes up weekly from mid-October.
- Reserve the Lost Maples day pass early. November weekends fill and the park closes at capacity, often by 9 a.m.
- Fill the tank in Kerrville or Bandera. There is no fuel out on RR 187.
- Cell service in the canyons is patchy to nonexistent — download offline maps.
- Canyon mornings are cold in November and the afternoons are not. Layers.
Plan it properly
Book the trip
Reserve the passes and check the calendars before you set off — several of these sell out weeks ahead.
- Lost Maples foliage reports
The single most useful page for timing this trip.
- Lost Maples day passes
Book the moment you pick a date.
- Garner State Park
Frio River access and the Old Baldy trail.
- Kerrville CVB
Lodging and dinner at the start of the loop.
- Bandera CVB
Guest ranches and live music at the end of it.
On this route
Destinations you'll hit
Lost Maples & the Sabinal Canyon
29.816°N 99.570°WBandera & Real Counties
A relict stand of bigtooth maples in a steep canyon on the Sabinal River — and the best fall color in Texas, for about three weeks a year.
Kerrville & the Upper Guadalupe
30.047°N 99.140°WKerr County
The river town at the top of the Guadalupe — a mile-long riverside park, a Western art museum, and a community rebuilding after two hard summers.
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.
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