I love it when I figure out a great loop for a vacation. For this week-long trip, I traveled from Austin to Fredericksburg to San Antonio to Austin.  The perfect loop trips have short travel times between stops so that I can leisurely explore along the way.  With each stop being less than two hours away from the next, I had plenty of time to hike, walk around small towns, and find surprises along the way. I will post about my time in Austin and San Antonio separately; this post is all about the places in between. 

Austin to Fredericksburg

Leaving Austin, my first planned stop was Pedernales Falls State Park; however, as I mentioned above, sometimes there are surprise stops to make and my first one was in the small town of Dripping Springs. My trip to the area was before Covid, and from what I’ve heard Dripping Springs is now a bustling Austin suburb. Still, it looks like they’ve kept the historic charm that drew me into the area. Some of the historic buildings along Mercer street date back to the late 1800s. While some stores are filled with wares for local farms and ranches – anyone want an antler dog chew? –  others offer vintage charm and unique jewelry and clothing. 

Considering most of the drive was of dry ranch land or forested areas, Pedernales Falls State Park was a beautiful shock to the system. The trail starts out in the forest, but soon opens up to the Pedernales river and the iconic rock formations.  As long as the water isn’t too high, it’s easy to walk along the smooth rocks into the middle of the river and watch the water cascade and maneuver itself from basin to basin. Over time the water has sculpted the rocks into caves, footprints, and arches.  I spent double the time I expected to spend here just walking around and taking in nature’s art. 

After a nice trek through Pedernales State Park, I was ready for a relaxing stop at a local winery. I chose Becker Vineyards for this trip, but there are over 60 wineries in Hill Country, and I probably passed a dozen during my drive.  If I had more time and had someone else driving, I would love to check out more of them in the area. Becker Vineyards was serene and the large farmhouse building set the stage for a peaceful and rustic ambiance. I enjoyed the shade of the outdoor patio and coupled my wine tasting with some small snacks from their shop. 

I was saving my appetite for lunch in the teeny tiny town of Luckenbach. “Everybody’s Somebody” in Luckenbach since the town’s largest population was 492 in 1904s, and since has been a ghost town – in 2024 the population sits at a measly 3 people. Waylon Jennings made the town a must see destination for country fans with his 1977 song, “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love),” and the town has continued to thrive around music culture. Dozens of picnic tables set under large shade oak trees give afternoon guests a comfortable place to enjoy the daily live music. The rustic large barn hosts weekly dancehall events. With all of the tourists and locals flooding into the town on a daily basis, it feels anything but a ghost town. 

My lodging for the night was in the cute German influenced town of Fredericksburg. The town has done a nice job making the main street attractive – with hanging art installations along the sidewalks and specialty stores that cater to the local wares like hot sauces and stetson hats. At one end of the street is Marktplatz park that honors the peace treaty with the local Comanche Nation.

Fredericksburg to San Antonio

(though really these places are just outside of Fredericksburg)

I got an early start the next day to make sure that I could access Enchanted Rock.  Before Covid, they were known to close the park when there were too many people; since Covid, they now require reservations on weekends. They will also close the summit trail in wet conditions, so keep those two things in mind.  The hike up the massive pink granite rock is equal to climbing 40 flights of stairs, so it’s a strenuous, but worthwhile hike. During the hike up I focused on the variety of cacti along the trail, the sun rays coloring the rocks, the vernal pools of water in the worn away divots, and of course the impressive view. Hill Country expands out in all directions from the bare summit and made me realize how vast the wilderness is around here. 

Located just outside of Fredericksburg, Wildseed Farms is more than just a farm stand. It is the nation’s largest working wildflower farm and world’s largest producer of Texas Bluebonnets. I enjoyed meandering through their 200 acre farm on their public walking paths that brought me by landscaped ponds, a butterfly garden, and all their beautiful flowers. It looks like they have opened a winery on site since my visit, so I can only imagine that would add to the relaxing experience of the farm. 

San Antonio to Austin

As I made my way back to Austin from San Antonio, my first stop was in the historic town of Gruene.  Their motto is “Gently resisting change since 1872”, so it’s no surprise that the small center feels like stepping back in time. I enjoyed taking in the classic Texan building facades and wooden interiors of the large music and dance hall. 

When I told people I was traveling to Texas, multiple people suggested that I check out the classic  barbecue joints in Lockhart.  Over the past few years, I had been trying to figure out what my favorite BBQ was – I had visited St. Louis and Memphis soon before and while I enjoyed the barbecue in both of those places, I was still on the lookout for MY BBQ style.  A few days earlier in the trip, I had tried Texas barbecue for the first time, and I had fallen in love, so I was looking forward to experiencing the classic BBQ places in Lockhart.  Unfortunately, my stomach and my time frame only allowed me to try one of the three BBQ places the town has to offer. If the other two are anything like the barbecue I had at Black’s, I would agree with my friends that Lockhart is the place to be for BBQ.  Just like Greune, Lockhart embraces its historic architecture, and Black’s Barbecue follows this same mindset; the restaurant features the family photos of the multiple generations of the Black family on the wall, and the ambiance looks like it hasn’t been updated since they opened their doors in 1932.  

After gorging myself on BBQ, finding the relaxing riverside space of Rio Vista Park was a welcome surprise. While I didn’t have time to join people tubing down the river, I did wade in the clear water to cool off.  The large roots of the trees on the banks and the cascading water over the large river rocks provided a beautiful vista for an afternoon visit.