Hill Country of Texas Guide
AND INFORMATION on TEXAS HILL COUNTRY

If you are looking for attractions, nobody compares with the activities, recreational areas and natural beauty of the Texas Hill Country combined with good old Texas hospitality. The hills, lakes, streams and rivers offer the perfect place for camping, fishing, hunting, canoeing, kayaking, tubing, rafting, swimming, boating, skiing, climbing, riding, hiking, walking, bird watching, climbing, bicycling, motorcycling, driving, or just touring in the country. No matter if you're cruising in a sports car, truck, RV, hot rod, or antique collector car, bicycle or motorcycle, you will love our scenic routes. Did we mention hunting? There is no better hunting than the Hill Country hunting experience, from white tail deer to exotic animals, we fill the hunter needs. Then each town offers vacation recreation like western museums, art shops, music festivals, country fairs, gift shopping, wine tasting, dancing events, live theaters, opera, symphony orchestra, unique bands and craft shows. There are plenty of antique shops, jewelry galleries, indoor markets, relaxing retreats, day spas, church camps, golf courses, fitness centers, outdoor malls, fine restaurants, dinner shows, wineries, theme parks, book stores, libraries and so much more that you will literally never run out of places to go or things to do. We are renowned for our summer camps, dude ranches, hunting spots, golf courses, country resorts, and overall scenery, but we also have world class vineyards, art galleries, live theatre and unique museums. There are bus tours, art tours, craft tours, wine tours, antique tours, food tours, Motorcycle and bicycle tours, hiking trails, river runs, and scenic automobile drives to get a breath of country fresh air. We have caves, natural caverns, castles, aquariums, Enchanted Rocks, Bat shows, Lazy Rivers, Exotic game, Wurstfest, Schlitterbahn, Stonehenge II, San Antonio Spurs, Alamodome, and the historic Alamo. Of course we cannot forget Six Flags, Sea World and Fiesta Texas for children and retirees alike. Students will have plenty of choices in colleges like the University of Texas, Texas State University, Trinity College, Incarnate Word, Schreiner University and others that fill the need for education.

When you live, work and play here, you will plan on retiring here because we have become the #1 retirement spot in the world. Senior living here is good living, with great retirement communities, recreation facilities, and retiree activities. We have more than our fair share of radio stations, television stations, newspapers and other forms of media and information to keep you entertained and informed about the rest of the world as it passes by. For business folks, farmers, ranchers, hunters, students, teachers, builders, artists, musicians, craftsmen, and realtors this is home. Engineers, lawyers, bankers, accountants, financial consultants, millionaires, celebrities and superstars have made this their last stop. Our crime and cost of living is low, while our morals and spirits are high. The Hill Country of Texas has more Texas Rangers coming home and being buried here rather than anywhere else for a reason, we are Texas.

Our real estate values on residential or commercial property, houses, homes, condos, vacation cabins, ranches, hunting land, development property, business locations and other realty have remained steady while other areas have suffered. Our home builders, house designers, construction architects and building contractors can build it green, efficient, modest or rich and luxurious because it all fits in the Hill Country.

By John Hallowell   The brave souls who finally tamed this wild valley were rewarded with a beautiful "Land of Living Waters." Junction sits at the confluence of the North and South Llano Rivers, where the Hill Country meets the wide open spaces of West Texas. Easy I-10 access is the clincher. You MUST explore Junction and Kimble County! The Land of Living Waters by John Hallowell        Junction is named for its location at the meeting of the North and South Llano Rivers, and the abundance of springs and streams among the hills around Junction gave rise to the area's nickname, "The Land of Living Waters." At the same time, the rugged terrain and the vast expanses to the west of Junction have led many to call Junction "The Front Porch of the West." This is the place where the Hill Country meets West Texas, and the town's name seems doubly appropriate.        Before modern roads were carved through the steep hills that surround the town, Kimble County was quite a forbidding place, and only the most courageous... [read more]

Hill Country Travels

As you enter the Texas Hill Country there are a few rules of etiquette you might want to follow. Approaching drivers that wave are just being friendly, so wave back. If you open a gate, close it. If you're enjoying the peaceful scenery and cars stack up behind you it's technically illegal to pull on the shoulder to let them pass, but we do it anyway. Never honk your horn at someone on horseback, just wave. Deer, particularly at dawn and dusk, have the right-of-way. If you see fenceposts or trees with purple paint it means, "No Trespassing." The Legislature thought that last one up.

Speaking of our representatives, they meet just up IH 35 in Austin. However, we only let them get together for 140 days every two years. If you want to visit your senator he'll be there about the middle of January through about the middle of March of odd-numbered years. Other than that he'll be at home, working at a real job.

Austin is a city that takes diversity to a whole new level. If you see a pickup with a Texas Concealed Handgun Association sticker the owner could be in the Capitol Building with his sidearm. Yup, that's legal. But the car next to the Ford truck will likely be a Prius with a "Keep Austin Weird" bumper sticker, and the two drivers are probably best friends. Get to know them at the uber-green Old Pecan Street arts festival, any of the activities at the University of Texas, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, down in the more adult entertainment of Sixth Street, or the many performances and venues that make Austin the Live Music Capital of the World.

Down IH 35 from Austin New Braunfels is home to The Natural Bridge Caverns/Wildlife Ranch and the country's number one waterpark, Schlitterbahn. San Marcos was founded on the banks of the San Marcos River, considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited site in the Northern Hemisphere. It's home to Texas State University-San Marcos, and the Aquarena Center.

San Antonio is the south gate to the Texas Hill Country. The seventh largest city in the U.S. has a rich history and vibrant present. The four churches built as part of Spanish missions from 1718 to 1731 are still active parishes. The center of downtown is the Alamo, cradle of Texas independence. Over in the Alamodome the San Antonio Spurs win national basketball championships. Southwest Research Institute is the cutting edge of science, and the UT Health Sciences Center holds the front line on medicine.

And that's just the beginning of the Texas Hill Country. Leave Austin and head west, on Texas 29, and you'll find Burnet. (Not Burnet. It's Burnet, durnit.) It looks like a typical small town of 7,000. Who would expect the annual Burnet Poetry Festival? Drive to Llano, the deer hunting capitol of Texas and home of Enchanted Rock, a 425-foot dome of pink granite that has awed visitors for at least 11,000 years. Mason is down the road a bit. It's the Gem of the Hill Country, so look for blue topaz or find evidence of German, English, Irish, Mexican, and American immigrants that settled there before Texas was a state. Continue down U.S. 377 to Junction, the Land of the Living Waters, where hundreds of crystal-clear natural springs feed the Llano River. Drop down U.S. 83 to Uvalde, and check out the Aviation Museum at Garner Field, which has displays of World War II aircraft, or watch live theater at the Janey Slaughter Briscoe Grand Opera House.

In between you'll find a whole bunch of towns, just as diverse and interesting. Kerrville is home to the hymn-singing Cowboy Camp Meeting, the hippie Kerrville Folk Festival, and the creative Texas Arts and Crafts Fair. Follow the Guadalupe River from Comfort to Mountain Home and find dozens of summer camps. In Center Point the oldest Civil War monument in Texas, the Treue der Union, commemorates a group of Hill County Union sympathizers, mostly German immigrants, killed trying to make their way to Mexico rather than fight against their adopted homeland.

Don't miss the Apple Festival in Medina, the Lavender Festival in Blanco, Willie Nelson's July 4th picnic in Luckenbach, or the turning of the Lost Maples in Vanderpool. Bandera is the Cowboy Capital of the World. Texas Hill Country wineries and vineyards are gaining recognition, along with game ranches and dude ranches. Come to Fredericksburg for German cuisine, peaches, and antiques. Bring your boat and your fishing pole to enjoy the five lakes along the Colorado River between Tow and Austin.

So whether you're looking for a place to retire, a place to work, a place to visit, or just a place to drive through, check out the Texas Hill Country. And don't forget to wave back.

Larry Arnold

Early Hill Country Settlers

Jack Newcomer Settled at Pipe Creek - Uncle Jack Newcomer came to Bandera County in 1874, with his widowed mother, Mrs Matilda Newcomer, when he was 14 years old. His two brothers, John and Felix Newcomer also settled there. Jack Newcomer was born in Goliad County, Texas, September 10 1857. He married Miss Lura Belle Stokes, November 29, 1879, and to them two children were born: Emmett and Elmo Newcomer. Mrs. Jack Newcomer passed away June 29, 1900 at the age of 41 years and Mr. Newcomer died July 30, 1928 aged 69 years. He was an sturdy pioneer who had the esteem and respect of everyone who knew him and did well his part in the development of this area.

Gene Mathis

Texas Hill Country is THE HILL COUNTRY.

When people talk about the Hill Country, they seem to always mean the Texas Hill Country. Even on the Internet, if you Google, Bing or Yahoo "Hill Country" the majority of your results are about the "Texas" Hill Country. When you search for something specific in the Hill Country, like Hill Country lodging, apartments, houses, ranches or lots to build on, acreage on a farm or hunting property, almost any kind of Hill Country realty or home, and you end up with Texas results. Look for Hill Country flower shops, wedding decor, Christmas lights, a calendar or a book, a job, a photo, fun activities or a garden pool and you end up with Texas on the internet brain. From a HC storage building, mortgage home loan, sporting goods to internet marketing and you will find Texas results. It doesn't seem to matter if you are searching from the North, South, East or West, summer, winter, spring or fall. It's all about the Texas Hill Country. Check the weather, a shooting range, or golf classic, a road trip or a horseback riding trail and they want to show you the hills of Texas.

Ever since we were voted the #1 retirement location and traveler vacation spot by the New York Times, our marketing has become easier and our tourists have become more plentiful. Snowbirds are flocking in and "wannabe" Texans are wearing "scootin" boots. We have been recognized as the Hill Country with things to do and places to go, more so than Colorado, Arkansas, Virginia, or even the Galilean Hill Country. Yes we have our Kerrville, Fredericksburg, and Bandera, plus the well known cities of San Antonio and Austin, but many folks are even familiar with Luckenbach, Welfare, or Sisterdale because of good old country songs.

I'm sure that there are pictures and images of many other Hill Country areas, but ours competes well as the most beautiful and scenic, overall. A now famous NY BBQ (barbeque) restaurant is taking advantage of this popularity, as well as many local businesses that all claim the Hill Country. Wiki articles, blogs or directories are talking about them, like a nationally, well known jewelry creator, but we all know it's in Texas. Yes, Texas is big, and these hills are its muscle, the streams and rivers its life blood, and the people are the heart, with the bluebonnets and kids making it picture perfect. The natural areas, safari tours, wildlife and general outdoors make a landscape picture that is enhanced by the wineries, golf courses, scenic drives, tourist attractions and amusement parks that rival California and Florida. It seems to all be here.

Here in the Texas Hill Country we have some of the finest and most reputable hospitals and hospital facilities for whatever ails you. If you are in need of a hospital or just curious about some of the hospitals in the hill country check them here Texas Hill Country Hospitals. Antique stores, art studios or furniture stores that make beds from cedar post, a place to unwind, go hunting or shopping, this seems to be the people's choice. If you seek a country drive, a motorcycle rally, a bicycle ride or a running track we have some of the best. Driving a Texas Trail or walking on a hiking trail, a wine trail, or a deer trail are all perfectly acceptable daily activities. Some extracurricular activities like Folk Festivals, Music Jams, high school sports events and county fairs are mainstays for Texans. Come for a visit and you have plenty of lodging choices from your basic or upscale hotels and motels to Texas style inns, luxury resorts and dude ranches. Plenty of comfortable cabins, B&B (Bed and Breakfast), timeshares, RV parks or camp sites can offer that country feel with a dip in the gazebo or spa to wash away the worldly cares.

If you decide to stay, our realtors have the most beautiful lots and land, small parcels or large acreage, ranch property and retirement realty in the USA. The house builders, home designers and property developers know how to make it home. We have been told that more millionaires live here per capita than anywhere else in the world. And with the wealth management teams, investment advisor groups, retirement planning experts and other financial services focusing on this area, your investment and planning is assured. Our churches and places of worship are many and our problems are few. So remember that the Texas Hill Country is the only Hill Country that most folks are really talking about. The TexasHillCountry.com site hopes to become your internet resource, telephone directory, event calendar, map provider and general information reference guide to the best Hill Country in the world. Thanks for visiting and y'all come back soon, ya hear.