Frommer’s EasyGuide to Texas Hill Country

By Edie Jarolim

Your adventure in one of the most appealing regions of the United States starts right here. Frommer’s EasyGuide to Texas Hill Country  goes deep in the heart of Texas to give you clear, succinct, up-to-date, and honest advice for getting the most from this region of vineyards, wildflowers, history, culture, and much more. Your guide for the journey is author Edie Jarolim, a longtime expert on the region, whose travel tips and tricks are frank, useful, and, above all else, reliable.
Inside the guide:
• Detailed maps
• Full color photos throughout
• Exact pricing, opening hours, and other important details to remove the stress from planning
• Star ratings to help you scan quickly to pick out the highlights and hidden gems
• An insider’s take on what’s worth your time and what can be skipped, as well as insights on the culture, history and natural history of this delightful region

• Language: English
• Publisher: FrommerMedia
• Release date: Jun 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781628875379

Book preview

1

Trips from San Antonio

San Antonio sits at the southern edge of one of Texas’s prettiest regions, the rising and falling dreamscape of lakes, rivers, and limestone caverns called the Hill Country. In the 19th century, Germans and Czechs, fleeing social upheavals in Europe and lured by the promise of free land, established several small towns here; other settlements go back to the region’s cattle-ranching past. Eventually, the Hill Country’s mild climate and abundant springs gave rise to health spas, summer camps, and guest ranches. Modern tourism, in turn, brought restaurants, shops, lodgings, and a resurgent wine industry.

Any of these towns makes an easy day trip from San Antonio; you might even be able to do two in one trip (stopping in Boerne, for example, on the way to Bandera). Fredericksburg has the most accommodations and things to see and do; it also makes a good base for touring the other towns and attractions, including LBJ country. For a full listing of Hill Country events, see the Travel Texas website: www.traveltexas.com/cities-regions/hill-country/events.

Most of the towns covered here lie northwest of San Antonio, but if you head northeast via I-35, you can also visit New Braunfels, Gruene, San Marcos, Wimberley, and other destinations detailed as day trips from Austin in Chapter 17.

Boerne

32 miles NW of San Antonio

From downtown San Antonio, it’s a straight shot north on I-10 to Boerne (rhymes with journey), located on the banks of Cibolo Creek. The little (2¼ miles long) town was founded in 1849 by freedom-seeking German intellectuals, including Jewish-German political writer and satirist Ludwig Börne (1786–1837), for whom the town was named. In the 1880s, Boerne became a popular health resort. It’s now the seat of Kendall County, with more than 16,000 residents. The Boerne Visitors Center, 108 Oak Park Dr., off Main Street (www.visitboerne.org;

 

888/842-8080

or 830/249-7277) is open 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday, 10am to 2pm on Saturday (it’s closed Sun).

Day Trips from San Antonio

Exploring Boerne

Close enough to San Antonio to be almost a suburb, Boerne is working hard to retain its small-town atmosphere—and its heritage. One of the things it’s known for is the Boerne Village Band, which occasionally holds concerts in the gazebo on the main plaza; it first oompahed in 1860, and bills itself as the world’s oldest continuously operating German band outside of Germany. A number of 19th-century limestone buildings cluster in the city’s historic district, called the Hill Country Mile; a free self-guided tour pamphlet is available at the visitor center.

Boerne’s biggest draw, however, is the antiques shops, art galleries, crafts shops, and clothing boutiques that line Main Street. The second weekend of each month, Boerne Market Days (www.boernemarketdays.com/boerne.html;

 

210/844-8193

) draws artists, crafters, and musicians to the town’s main plaza. One of the best places anywhere to buy Mexican folk art is just 2½ miles north of Boerne; take exit 537 off I-10 W. to Cosas, 39360 I-10 W. (www.cosasonline;

 

830/249-1500

). The store does most of its business online, but if you’re in town Friday or Saturday from 11am to 5pm, you can browse a warehouse full of south-of-the border treasures. Alternatively, call ahead to make an appointment.

Those who want to spend their time outdoors can explore four distinct ecosystems—grassland, marshland, woodland, and river bottom—at the Cibolo Nature Center, 140 City Park Rd., next to the Kendall County Fairgrounds (www.cibolo.org,

 

830/249-4616

). Behind it, on 33 Herff Rd., restored Herff Farm is open to the public on Saturday mornings, when it hosts a bustling farmers market.

A Taste of alsace in Texas

Just 20 miles west of San Antonio (via U.S. 90 W.), Castroville has become something of a bedroom community for San Antonio, but the center of town retains its heritage as an old Alsatian community. It was founded in 1842, on a scenic bend of the Medina River, by Henri Castro, a Portuguese-born Jewish Frenchman who had received a 1.25-million-acre land grant from the Republic of Texas in exchange for his commitment to colonize the land. Second only to Stephen F. Austin in the number of settlers he brought over, Castro recruited 2,134 immigrants, mostly from the Rhine Valley, especially from the French province of Alsace. A few of the oldest citizens still can speak Alsatian, a dialect of German, though the language is likely to die out in the area when they do.

For insight into the town’s history, visit the Landmark Inn State Historic Site, 402 E. Florence St. (www.thc.texas.gov/historic-sites/landmark-inn-state-historic-site;

 

830/931-2133

), which counts among its attractions a nature trail along the river, an old gristmill, and a stone dam. The on-site History Store, open daily 10am to 5pm (opens at noon on Sun), which also serves as an informal visitor center to the town, leads guided tours through the buildings ($4 adults, $3 children and seniors). The park’s centerpiece Landmark Inn has eight simple but well-equipped rooms decorated with early Texas pieces dating up until the 1940s (rates are $120–$140 per night including breakfast). They’re only available Wednesday through Saturday nights and Sundays before Monday holidays.

For a delicious taste of the Alsace, visit Haby’s Alsatian Bakery, 207 U.S. 90 E. (www.habysbakery.com;

 

830/538-2118

), which sells fresh-baked apple fritters, strudels, stollens, breads, and coffeecakes. It’s open Monday to Saturday, 5am to 7pm.

For additional information, contact the Castroville Chamber of Commerce, 1115 Angelo St. (www.castroville.com;

 

800/778-6775

or 830/538-3142), where you can pick up a walking-tour booklet of the town’s historic buildings, as well as a map that details local boutiques and antiques shops around town. It’s open 9am to 3pm Monday through Friday. Note: Downtown Castroville tends to close down on Monday and Tuesday, and some places are shuttered on Wednesday and Sunday as well. If you want to find most things open, come on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.

Guadalupe River State Park, 13 miles east of Boerne via Hwy. 46 to 3350 P.R. 31 (www.tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/guadalupe-river;

 

830/438-2656

), features 4 miles of river frontage at