Texas Hill Country Visitor News, Articles, and Reviews
5 Things To Do In The Texas Hill Country This Winter
5 Things To Do In The Texas Hill Country This Winter: It’s that time of year again- winter has come to the Texas Hill Country, or so the calendar says. Halloween and Thanksgiving already seem like a distant memory, and Christmas and New Years have come and gone. Of course winter weather in Texas tends to be a bit unpredictable and bipolar- that is nothing new. It isn’t abnormal to experience temperature variances from lows in the teens or 20s to highs in the 80s, all in the same week, or even the same day. With that kind of variation in the weather, it can be difficult to make plans for outdoor activities too far in advance, especially if you aren’t a fan of cooler weather. That being said, winters in Texas do tend to be pretty mild, which is one of the reasons we attract so many “Winter Texans” trying to avoid the harsh weather of states further north. Winter in Texas can be one of the best times to get out and enjoy nature, absent the summer heat. It is also a great time to enjoy an abundance of activities and attractions that are less weather dependent. Here […] Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Photographing the Texas Hill Country: Winter Photography
The Texas Hill Country is one of the most ruggedly beautiful regions in the country. When traveling outside our state, I have tried to convey that point to those unfamiliar with our region on a handful of occasions, but have often met resistance. Many outside the Lone Star State don’t think of Texas as beautiful. They think of Texas as flat, barren, and boring. Certainly there are parts of our state that resemble those remarks to some degree or another, but the hill country is not one of them. The beauty may not always jump out and slap you in the face the way it will in some of the most popular scenic destinations around the world. You aren’t going to view the northern lights here, or see snow-capped mountains reflected in alpine lakes. You aren’t going to see a striking sunset on a white sand beach, or witness a downpour in a tropical rain-forest, but that is not what the hill country is about. Rolling hills, towering limestone bluffs, meandering rivers, and gorgeous sunrises and sunsets can be found here year round. Each season paints those features with a different look and feel, and each one is worth seeing […] Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Tour the Texas Hill Country: Part 1
Tour the Texas Hill Country Part 1: Bandera, Texas Our Tour the Texas Hill Country series will guide you through some of the best destinations the hill country has to offer. The beauty of this self-guided hill country tour is that it can be a series of shorter trips or weekend getaways; or you can knock it out all at once if you have the time. It can be customized entirely to suit your preferences, timeline, and starting point. We’ve set this trip series to begin in Bandera and end in Fredericksburg, but you can start on either side or hop in at any point. This trip guide will take you through some of the best scenery and most interesting towns in the hill country, hitting many of the highlights along the way. You’ll find more resources on what to do along the way, restaurants, and places to stay at the end of each series of the article, or you can stop by our Texas Hill Country Visitor home page to start planning the specifics of your trip. Bandera, Texas The first leg of our suggested tour of the Texas Hill Country will take you to Bandera. If you’re coming […] Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Texas Hill Country Bluebonnets: Spring Has Sprung
Texas Hill Country Bluebonnets: Spring Has Sprung If you’ve taken the time to blink in the last few months, you probably missed winter. We are rapidly approaching spring, and leaving the almost non-existent cooler weather squarely in the rear view mirror. Even by Texas Hill Country standards calling it “mild” would have been a bit of an understatement. Winter’s lackluster showing left a bit of room for spring to step in ahead of schedule, and step in it has. The grass is growing, weeds are shooting up, trees are budding, and spring flowers are beginning to bloom around our region. Better than average weather conditions and properly timed precipitation have resulted in the potential for a great wildflower season. The most obvious signs spring has sprung are the fields of bluebonnets popping up across Texas. At this point, the areas east of TX Hwy 16 in the hill country are popping blue at respectable levels, with peak season expected sometime in the next week to 10 days. That all means one thing: You still have time to get out and enjoy a bluebonnet sightseeing tour of the hill country. Here are a couple of the spots we recommend, with some […] Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Win Tickets: Best Of Texas Food & Wine Festival
Enter To Win- Follow The Instructions Below and you Could Win Tickets to the Best of Texas Food and Wine Festival If you live in the Texas Hill Country, and have been on Facebook at all lately, there’s a decent chance you’ve seen people talking about the Best of Texas Food & Wine Festival that is being held in Fredericksburg from Friday, March 31st thru Sunday, April 2nd. The Best of Texas is much more than just a food and wine event. The weekend long event has been created to showcase the growing number of local vineyards, breweries, distilleries, retailers, artists, local musicians, and gourmet food fares blessing the Texas Hill Country, and beyond- basically a whole lot of what makes our region incredibly special, and some great opportunities to socialize as well. This is going to be one of the best events in the hill country this year, and definitely something you should be attending if you have the ability to get to Fredericksburg that weekend. The folks at The Best of Texas Food & Wine Fest have offered us a few tickets to give away to our site fans. These are general admission passes that will give you access […] Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
The Best of Texas Food & Wine Festival: Event Review
Fredericksburg is pretty much always one of the best places to find things to do in the hill country, but last weekend was a particularly eventful weekend, even by Fredericksburg standards. Bluebonnets were at their peak, drawing many visitors from around the state. Area wineries and vineyards were celebrating the peak of wildflower season with special winery events, and a couple of festivals took place that drew thousands of visitors. We attended two of these events- the “Best of Texas Food & Wine Festival”, and “Celebrate Texas”. We had a great time at both events, and recommend them both highly for next year if you didn’t get the chance to attend this time around. We’ll talk about “Celebrate Texas” in a separate article, but for now we want to discuss the Best of Texas Food and Wine Festival, and give our overall review. This was a first-time event, but was very successful, and is likely to become an annual event going forward- at least we hope it does. A press release after the event said it drew approximately 2,700 visitors from around the country, and even a few foreign visitors. That is impressive, especially for a first-time event. The […] Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Celebrate Texas: Event Review
Fredericksburg is pretty much always one of the best places to find things to do in the hill country, but last weekend was a particularly eventful weekend, even by Fredericksburg standards. Bluebonnets were at their peak, drawing many visitors from around the state. Area wineries and vineyards were celebrating wildflower season with special winery events, and a couple of festivals took place that drew thousands of visitors. We attended two of these events- the “Best of Texas Food & Wine Festival”, and “Celebrate Texas”. We had a great time at both events, and recommend them both highly for next year if you didn’t get the chance to attend this time around. We talked about “The Best of Texas Food and Wine Festival” in a separate article (check it out in our Articles, News, and Reviews” section), but wanted to highlight Celebrate Texas here. Celebrate Texas was held at the Texas Rangers Heritage Center in Fredericksburg. This was the second time they’ve held the annual event, but the first time we’ve had the opportunity to attend, and we’re glad we did. The Texas Rangers Heritage Center is located on Hwy 290 just next door to the historic Fort […] Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Tour The Texas Hill Country: Part 2
Part 2: Kerrville, Texas Our Tour the Texas Hill Country series will guide you through some of the best destinations the hill country has to offer. The beauty of this self-guided hill country tour is that it can be a series of shorter trips or weekend getaways; or you can knock it out all at once if you have the time. It can be customized entirely to suit your preferences, timeline, and starting point. You’ll find more resources on what to do along the way, restaurants, and places to stay at the end of each series of the article, or you can stop by our Texas Hill Country Visitor home page to start planning the specifics of your trip. The first leg of our trip was a stop in Bandera TX. If you stayed in Bandera for a night or two, I recommend leaving town just a bit before lunch time and heading toward Kerrville. This will give you the opportunity to grab lunch on the way to Kerrville, or something in town once you arrive. Before you leave Bandera you’ll have to make a choice. You can take Hwy 173 to Kerrville or stay on 16 to go the […] Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)