Explore cities in the Texas Hill County Trail Region
Hill Country Trail Region
Austin
BEAUTY, HEALTH AND PROSPERITY In 1839 a site-selection committee, appointed by the Texas Congress, chose a special location for the Republic’s new capital and, in fact, the characteristics influencing the committee’s decision…
Hill Country Trail Region
Bandera
COWBOY CAPITAL Despite its ideal location along the banks of a cypress-lined bend of the Medina River, Bandera has managed to maintain a small town cowboy charm reminiscent of its founding days…
Hill Country Trail Region
Blanco
LAVENDER CAPITAL This picturesque spot along the banks of the Blanco River grew into its role as ranching and farming trade center, acquiring a pastoral rural character that it continues to express…
Hill Country Trail Region
Boerne
BUCOLIC TOWN, VINTAGE BASEBALL Boerne hosts many celebrations year-around, including Berges Fest in June and The Boerne Village Band's summer Abendkonzerte. Most days it’s a treat to peruse the antiques stores, art…
Hill Country Trail Region
Buda
Humble Beginnings Buda's roots can be traced to the International and Great Northern Railroad back in 1880. The expansion of railroad track between Austin and San Antonio gave landowner Mrs. Cornelia A…
Hill Country Trail Region
Burnet
FLOWERS, A FORT AND A HIDDEN FORTUNE Burnet, “The Bluebonnet Capital of Texas,” claims a colorful past and abundant natural beauty. In April, the Texas Bluebonnet Festival celebrates the state flower with…
Hill Country Trail Region
Canyon Lake
WATER RECREATION CAPITAL OF TEXAS Canyon Lake, completed by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in 1966, was created to control annual floodwaters along the Guadalupe River. Naturally, a recreational community of…
Hill Country Trail Region
Castroville
THE LITTLE ALSACE OF TEXAS Castroville, a First Lady’s Texas Treasures Award winner, is often considered the only remaining Alsatian community in Texas. But that’s not the only factor putting this Hill…
Hill Country Trail Region
Cedar Park
Welcome to the heart of Texas charm and community spirit—Cedar Park, Texas! Nestled cozily on the northern frontier of bustling Austin and a mere stone's throw, 17 delightful miles from its downtown…
Hill Country Trail Region
Comfort
TREUE DER UNION This Hill Country community is like a time capsule of Central Texas German immigrant history. In 1852, a group of German “freethinkers” settled along the banks of Cypress Creek…
Hill Country Trail Region
Concan
A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT A resort area since the 1920s, today visitors come to Concan to float the cool, clear waters of the Frio River in tubes or kayaks; to enjoy…
Hill Country Trail Region
Crystal City
SPINACH AND A VESTIGE OF WAR Known as the “Spinach Capital of the World,” Crystal City is located in the Winter Garden area of Texas, which stretches from south of San Antonio…
Hill Country Trail Region
D’Hanis
ONE NAME, TWO TOWNS Established in 1847, D’Hanis was the fourth colony founded by empresario Henri Castro in Medina County and is named for a Castro company official. D’Hanis pioneers were mostly…
Hill Country Trail Region
Dripping Springs
DAY TRIPPIN’ IN DRIPPIN’ The community of Dripping Springs received an early start courtesy of Dr. Joseph McKegg Pound and family, settlers who arrived in the 1850s and made this pleasant region…
Hill Country Trail Region
Fischer
Fischer’s Store was once the largest mercantile store in Texas, with 16 clerks helping customers find everything from pickles to threshers. The store and town were founded by the Fischer family, the…
Hill Country Trail Region
Fredericksburg
WILLKOMMEN The Texas Hill Country Trails town of Fredericksburg, established in 1846 as a German colony, served as one community in a planned series of German settlements meant to extend from the…
Brazos Trail Region
Georgetown
RED POPPY CAPITAL The mid-1800s saw two groups attracted to the future site of Georgetown with its abundance of timber and clean water: pioneering settlers, both American and European, and the Tonkawa…
Hill Country Trail Region
Gruene
THE SOUND OF MUSIC Bougainvillea and blooming cacti burst from wooden barrels along the streets of Gruene, a tiny community in Comal County that’s long on history, music and charm. Downtown Gruene…
Hill Country Trail Region
Helotes
SMALL TOWN IN A BIG CITY Today Helotes finds itself surrounded by the ever-expanding reach of the big city San Antonio. But thanks to surviving places like the Gugger Homestead, built by…
Hill Country Trail Region
Hondo
“GOD’S COUNTRY” Spanish explorers, a gang of brothers, and the world’s largest air navigation school all are part of Hondo’s heritage. So are the “Welcome” signs at either end of town along…
Hill Country Trail Region
Hunt
Hunt, Texas is located where the North and South forks of the Guadalupe River meet, just outside Kerrville in central Kerr County. This area was settled as early as the 1850s by…
Brazos Trail Region
Hutto
History of Hutto Establishment of Hutto In 1848, the year of Williamson County's founding, Nelson Morey and Josiah Taylor both opened stores in Shiloh. There was a school and a church. Residents…
Hill Country Trail Region
Ingram
ROCK TOWN The natural surroundings of Ingram have always provided benefits to Texans who settled along this segment of the Guadalupe River. In the 1800s, early settlers grew crops in the rich…
Hill Country Trail Region
Johnson City
A LEGACY OF LANDS Johnson City was named Blanco County seat in 1890, a title formerly claimed by neighboring community Blanco, with the help of businessman James Polk Johnson whose efforts to…
Hill Country Trail Region
Jourdanton
COURTING CONTROVERSY A Texas Historical Marker on the Atascosa County courthouse grounds states, “As early as 1722 El Camino Real (The King's Highway) from the Rio Grande to San Antonio was well…
Hill Country Trail Region
Kerrville
FOLKTOWN WITH A COWTOWN PAST Kerrville’s establishment above the Guadalupe River in the mid-1800s came as no surprise; human habitation had already occurred across the surrounding wooded, limestone bluffs for the last…
Hill Country Trail Region
Kingsland
Kingsland sits along the junction of the Llano and Colorado Rivers, approximately half way between Marble Falls and Llano. It is primarily in east central Llano County, however, a sizeable portion…
Hill Country Trail Region
Kyle
Kyle was founded in 1880 by David E. Moore and Fergus Kyle, for whom the town was named. The townsite was founded due to its proximity to the International Great-Northern Railroad, and…
Hill Country Trail Region
Lago Vista
Lago Vista, TX is located on the North Shore of Lake Travis just outside the City of Austin. The first known inhabitants of the North Shore can be traced back 10,000-15,000 years…
Hill Country Trail Region
Lampasas
“TAKING THE WATERS” It’s a tall order to be called the “Saratoga of the South,” but the mineral springs along the Sulphur Creek branch of the Lampasas River have attracted health-seekers from…
Hill Country Trail Region
Leakey
AN ELEVATING EXPERIENCE It may be a stretch, but the Leakey area is known as the “The Swiss Alps of Texas,” with elevations ranging from 1,500 to 2,400 feet and deep canyons…
Hill Country Trail Region
Llano
A FOUNDATION OF GRANITE The Texas Main Street City of Llano graces the banks of the clear running Llano River in a pleasant blend of historic preservation and green, leafy landscapes. This…
Hill Country Trail Region
Luckenbach
LET’S GO TO LUCKENBACH, TEXAS The moment in April of 1977 that country music star Waylon Jennings sang “…let’s go to Luckenbach, Texas with Waylon and Willlie and the boys…”, the small…
Hill Country Trail Region
Marble Falls
FALLING WATER Early 19th Century travelers marveled at the Colorado River cascading 20 feet over ledges that look like marble but actually were formed of granite and limestone. Locals donated rock quarried…
Hill Country Trail Region
New Braunfels
Texans of Teutonic ancestry feel a special kinship with the community of New Braunfels. Perhaps it’s the Germanic roots, the likes of which can still be seen throughout the region. Or perhaps…
Hill Country Trail Region
Pearsall
The International-Great Northern Railroad laid lines to a landmark water well in 1882. There the company platted a town named for Thomas W. Pearsall, railroad vice president. The new railroad town drew…
Hill Country Trail Region
Pflugerville
THE SILENT “P”… “Pflugerville” is an oddly spelled name for a community unless your roots lie in the Hill Country’s influx of German immigrants who arrived in the mid-1800s. Then you’ve got…
Hill Country Trail Region
Pleasanton
Pleasanton was originally the county seat in 1858, when settlers, afraid of Native American attacks, relocated the first seat from Amphion (now a ghost town). Named after early settler John Pleasant, the…
Hill Country Trail Region
Point Venture
Point Venture is a resort community located on Lake Travis about eighteen miles northwest of Austin in western Travis County. This lakeside development began in early 1969 when Houston oil man and…
Hill Country Trail Region
Poteet
Poteet was named for Francis Poteet, who operated an 1880s post office and blacksmith shop. The discovery in 1904 of the area’s artesian wells drew the Artesian Belt Railroad, along with farmers…
Brazos Trail Region
Round Rock
CATFISH TO FRISBEES A curious story surrounds the naming of Round Rock, established along the northern banks of Brushy Creek and first known as “Brushy Creek”. At the behest of postal officials…
Hill Country Trail Region
San Antonio
CULTURAL TOUCHSTONE Home of the Alamo and the Riverwalk, San Antonio serves as one of the state’s richest cultural touchstones and popular heritage travel destinations. Just how rich? Check out the Institute…
Hill Country Trail Region
San Marcos
THE EDUCATION OF A PRESIDENT A spring-fed river, the only university in Texas to graduate a U.S. president, and downtown and residential historic districts are just a few of the diverse attractions…
Hill Country Trail Region
Sisterdale Valley District
In 1848, seismic changes shook the very foundations of German society. Students and intellectuals take to the streets: they demand a constitution by – and for – the people; democratic reforms; freedom…
Hill Country Trail Region
Spring Branch
Spring Branch is home to Anhalt Hall, one of the regions historic dance halls. Perhaps the best-known Hill Country dancehalls are Gruene Hall near New Braunfels and Luckenbach Dance Hall near Fredericksburg…
Hill Country Trail Region
St. Hedwig
East of San Antonio is the community of St. Hedwig. The Gothic spire of the 1868 Annunciation Church testifies to European immigrants who settled here and named the town for the patron…
Hill Country Trail Region
Stonewall
“ALL THE WORLD IS WELCOME HERE” Peaches and vineyards are part of this Gillespie County town’s agricultural heritage. Each June, visitors come for the annual Peach JAMboree & Rodeo, a longtime celebration…
Brazos Trail Region
Taylor
BULLDOGGING AND BARBECUE The smoky aroma of barbecue drifts through downtown Taylor, where second-generation masters turn out nationally recognized brisket, ribs and sausage each day. In August, individuals and teams compete at…
