Texas Hill Country like a local
October 15, 2014 9:03 AM Subscribe
I am surprising my spouse with a trip to the Hill Country. Difficulty: I know nothing about the Hill Country. And the Hill Country is, like, bigger than my home state. Texans of MeFi, can you help me out?
I'd like to find a small town to stay in, ideally one where we can spend the day out on a long hike then retire to a cool inn or guesthouse for amazing food, a good bar, and some music. We're bookish and kid-less. The official sites all list Fredericksburg, Kerrville, Greune, etc. but they seem very touristy and more geared towards families. I just can't tell what's an interesting small town and what's an slickly-packaged vacation spot. Where do the locals go to eat good, sleep tight, and see some beautiful scenery?
I'd like to find a small town to stay in, ideally one where we can spend the day out on a long hike then retire to a cool inn or guesthouse for amazing food, a good bar, and some music. We're bookish and kid-less. The official sites all list Fredericksburg, Kerrville, Greune, etc. but they seem very touristy and more geared towards families. I just can't tell what's an interesting small town and what's an slickly-packaged vacation spot. Where do the locals go to eat good, sleep tight, and see some beautiful scenery?
Everyone I know (40ish and under, generally not taking kids if they have them) goes to those places or Wimberley or Canyon Lake, finds a great-reviewed B&B, and uses that as their base of operations for driving around, hiking, antiquing, seeing bands etc - usually in the other towns.
Don't mistake good amenities and services for tourist traps. Hill Country does what it does really well, and it may eventually jump the shark but it's resisted for an awfully long time. You're likely to be very happy as long as you read reviews and pick a place to stay that suits your style. There's lots of boutiques, B&Bs and Inns that are not really offering anything for kids, so look for those if you're wanting to avoid big families.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:26 AM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
Don't mistake good amenities and services for tourist traps. Hill Country does what it does really well, and it may eventually jump the shark but it's resisted for an awfully long time. You're likely to be very happy as long as you read reviews and pick a place to stay that suits your style. There's lots of boutiques, B&Bs and Inns that are not really offering anything for kids, so look for those if you're wanting to avoid big families.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:26 AM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
You might also consider Comfort or Johnson City. Hiking would be at Enchanted Rock, Pedernales, and Johnson state parks. The towns you mentioned are touristy, but not in any overwhelming way. They are still very much small towns.
posted by megancita at 9:33 AM on October 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by megancita at 9:33 AM on October 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
You're right about Fredricksburg, et. al. being touristy, but they're still pretty nice. Wimberly is definitely also cool, with lots of art galleries and some good restaurants. However, when I want the "real" Hill Country experience, I go further west. There are a lot of cool little towns out there, and there are a ton of rental cabins available, with varying degrees of privacy and availability.
I've camped near Utopia, at Four Sisters ranch (http://backroadstexas.net/four-sisters.htm), and that is some of the most beautiful hill country I've ever seen. I haven't stayed in the Four Sisters cabin, but they run a classy establishment, so I'm sure it's nice.
I have stayed at Bend o' the River, in Utopia, and that is definitely very nice. http://backroadstexas.net/bend-river.htm. The owners are very friendly and accommodating. However, it's not really walking distance to much; you need to drive about 15-20 miles to go into town for a restaurant.
Hunt is a cool little town that I've passed through repeatedly and always thought it would be a really nice place to stay, but I haven't stayed there. Both of those are near Lost Maples -- which is beautiful any time of year, but is particularly spectacular (and crowded) around November -- and the Frio River, which is where a lot of people vacation in the summer. Concan / Garner state park is the main area for that, but that area is going to be a bit more touristy.
A little closer in to the Austin / S.A. area is Comfort, Texas, which is a very cute, quaint little town that isn't quite as touristy as Fredricksburg.
posted by crookedgrin at 9:43 AM on October 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
I've camped near Utopia, at Four Sisters ranch (http://backroadstexas.net/four-sisters.htm), and that is some of the most beautiful hill country I've ever seen. I haven't stayed in the Four Sisters cabin, but they run a classy establishment, so I'm sure it's nice.
I have stayed at Bend o' the River, in Utopia, and that is definitely very nice. http://backroadstexas.net/bend-river.htm. The owners are very friendly and accommodating. However, it's not really walking distance to much; you need to drive about 15-20 miles to go into town for a restaurant.
Hunt is a cool little town that I've passed through repeatedly and always thought it would be a really nice place to stay, but I haven't stayed there. Both of those are near Lost Maples -- which is beautiful any time of year, but is particularly spectacular (and crowded) around November -- and the Frio River, which is where a lot of people vacation in the summer. Concan / Garner state park is the main area for that, but that area is going to be a bit more touristy.
A little closer in to the Austin / S.A. area is Comfort, Texas, which is a very cute, quaint little town that isn't quite as touristy as Fredricksburg.
posted by crookedgrin at 9:43 AM on October 15, 2014 [2 favorites]
We've got family in Wimberley and usually stay at the Wimberley Inn when there, as it's a five-minute drive from them. It's in a rural-ish setting, but still very close to downtown Wimberley, which is full of little boutiquey places, and near various outdoor activities. Wimberley's got a lot of tourists, but also a lot of locals hanging out there.
posted by telophase at 9:46 AM on October 15, 2014
posted by telophase at 9:46 AM on October 15, 2014
The lake areas around Marble Falls are nice and has a ton of rentals at Inks and LBJ lakes. It is also in close poximity to Balcones Canyon National Wildlife Refuge for hiking, etc. For a more laid back hill country experience I'd personally go with Wimberly by way of Buda.
Fredricksburg is the typical destination for people unfamiliar with the hill country, but my experience has been that it is too commercial and geared for tourists unfamiliar with the area.
posted by Benway at 9:50 AM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
Fredricksburg is the typical destination for people unfamiliar with the hill country, but my experience has been that it is too commercial and geared for tourists unfamiliar with the area.
posted by Benway at 9:50 AM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
Fredericksburg is a sort of Disneyfied version of a quaint small town. I would avoid it. It is on the way to Enchanted Rock, which is a great place to go clambering around. The Hill Top Cafe is not far, and has great Greek/Cajun food, but limited hours.
Kerrville is much more of a real town unto itself, much less touristy, and is near Kerrville Schreiner Park, which is a good place to go camping. The area around Kerrville, including Ingram and Hunt, is some of the prettiest country in Texas IMO.
A little further west is Lost Maples State Park and the town of Leakey. Very pretty, very rugged, remote (limited cellular coverage). There's one fancy restaurant in the area a little south of Vanderpool, I think, only open weekends. Pretty nice. Other dining options are limited. There are cabins you can rent out in the countryside.
posted by adamrice at 9:54 AM on October 15, 2014
Kerrville is much more of a real town unto itself, much less touristy, and is near Kerrville Schreiner Park, which is a good place to go camping. The area around Kerrville, including Ingram and Hunt, is some of the prettiest country in Texas IMO.
A little further west is Lost Maples State Park and the town of Leakey. Very pretty, very rugged, remote (limited cellular coverage). There's one fancy restaurant in the area a little south of Vanderpool, I think, only open weekends. Pretty nice. Other dining options are limited. There are cabins you can rent out in the countryside.
posted by adamrice at 9:54 AM on October 15, 2014
The next month is the busy season at Lost Maples but if you can manage to find a campsite or lodging in a town relatively nearby (Vanderpool, Utopia, etc.) it's really hard to beat. It's not a huge park but every square foot is about as pretty as it gets in these parts.
posted by slow graffiti at 10:22 AM on October 15, 2014
posted by slow graffiti at 10:22 AM on October 15, 2014
Love Gruene. It's a really special place to Mrs. Thistledown and I, and really nice, relaxed place to see bands, eat and play on the river.
posted by Thistledown at 11:11 AM on October 15, 2014
posted by Thistledown at 11:11 AM on October 15, 2014
If you use Google street maps to check out a few of these recommendations, you will probably prefer Fredericksburg over the other choices.
posted by Beholder at 12:37 AM on October 16, 2014
posted by Beholder at 12:37 AM on October 16, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
I quite like Wimberley, TX. It's quite a bit smaller, and I don't know about inns as I usually rent a private cabin. But there's lots of hiking and some good restaurants in the area.
posted by muddgirl at 9:17 AM on October 15, 2014 [5 favorites]