Hill Country/Explore

A Hill Country river running over a dam
Photo: Backroads Hill Country

Explore

Explore the Hill Country

Three hundred and eighty places across sixty-one towns — sorted by what they are, what you want to do, and where they are.

380 places 61 towns

By category

The 380 places in the directory, cut by what they are.

Parks & natural areas106 placesState parks, city parks, preserves and natural areas across the Hill Country.Open → Attractions195 placesMuseums, markers, courthouses and the places worth stopping for.Open → Experiences42 placesDrives, districts, and things you do rather than look at.Open → Rivers & crossings37 placesCrossings, access points and river parks. Check conditions before you go.Open →

By what you want to do

Same places, cut by what you are after.

Free to visit93 placesPlaces across the Hill Country that cost nothing to walk into.Open → Good with small kids53 placesPlaygrounds, splash pads, short trails and places built for short legs.Open → Hiking & trails89 placesTrails, summits and the walks worth the drive.Open → Wheelchair accessible33 placesPlaces that document accessible parking, paths or facilities. Call ahead to confirm.Open → Wildlife & nature centres52 placesRefuges, nature centres and the places to see what lives here.Open → Frontier & Texas Rangers22 placesForts, camps, crossings and the markers that record how this country was settled.Open → German & Alsatian heritage22 placesSunday houses, freethinker settlements, and the towns the settlers built.Open → Museums53 placesCounty museums, western art, aviation and the small collections worth an hour.Open → Picnic spots51 placesTables, pavilions and shade — the places to stop and eat what you brought.Open → Camping24 placesCampgrounds, primitive sites and the parks that let you stay the night.Open → Most recommended56 townsA heat map of where people who know the Hill Country send you.Open →Scenic drives19 placesLoops, byways and the roads that are the destination.Open → Caves & caverns12 placesShow caves, sinkholes and what the limestone hides.Open → Historical markers61 placesState markers, monuments and roadside history. Read from the right-of-way.Open → Courthouses & town squares22 placesThe limestone courthouses and the squares built around them.Open → Art & sculpture14 placesGalleries, sculpture gardens, murals and arts centres.Open → Swimming holes61 placesBlue holes, spring-fed pools and the places people have swum for a hundred years.Open → Tubing & floating16 placesChutes, put-ins and the stretches worth an afternoon on the water.Open → Paddling & boat ramps51 placesKayak and canoe access, boat ramps and open water.Open →

Rivers, live

Ten rivers with current USGS gauge readings.

Medinalive gaugeBandera, Medina, Pipe CreekOpen → Guadalupelive gaugeKerrville, Comfort, Canyon LakeOpen → Friolive gaugeConcan, Leakey, GarnerOpen → Comallive gaugeNew BraunfelsOpen → Pedernaleslive gaugeStonewall, Johnson CityOpen → Llanolive gaugeLlano, Kingsland, CastellOpen → Blancolive gaugeWimberleyOpen → San Marcoslive gaugeSan Marcos, MartindaleOpen → Sabinallive gaugeUtopia, Vanderpool, SabinalOpen → Nueceslive gaugeCamp Wood, BarksdaleOpen →

By region

Eleven regions, each with its own towns and guide.

Cowboy CountryHorses, honky-tonks, the MedinaOpen → Texas Wine CountryWine, peaches, German main streetsOpen → German Hill CountryLimestone towns, creeks, antique shopsOpen → Frio CanyonCold water, canyon roads, cypressOpen → Guadalupe HighlandsCypress rivers, river parks, western artOpen → Wimberley & the SpringsSwimming holes, cypress, spring waterOpen → Comal CountryTubing, dance halls, German heritageOpen → Highland LakesGranite, open water, lake townsOpen → Llano River CountryGranite, barbecue, wildflowersOpen → Lake TravisMarinas, limestone cliffs, open waterOpen → Southern Hill CountryAlsatian villages, brick, the SabinalOpen →