All road trips

3-day road trip · ≈ 250 miles · Best April–October

Hill Country Wine & Swimming Holes

Spring-fed water, granite domes and dance halls.

Visitor tip

Reserve Hamilton Pool and Enchanted Rock before you leave — both cap daily visitors.

  1. Day 1: Austin to Dripping Springs

    • 1
      Austin Live Music & South Congress

      Austin · The Live Music Capital, with honky-tonks, food trucks and the Congress Avenue bats at sunset.

    • 2
      Hamilton Pool Preserve

      Dripping Springs · A collapsed grotto with a 50-foot waterfall spilling into a jade-green pool, a short walk from the trailhead.

      ≈ 30 mi, 0.6 hrs from previous stop

    Eat: Jester King BrewerySleep: Dripping Springs B&B

  2. Day 2: Fredericksburg & the rock

    • 3
      Fredericksburg

      Fredericksburg · German heritage, peach stands, Main Street shops and a wine trail that stretches down Highway 290.

      ≈ 58 mi, 1.1 hrs from previous stop

    • 4
      Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

      Fredericksburg · A pink granite dome rising 425 feet above the Hill Country — an easy summit with a sky that goes on forever.

      ≈ 21 mi, 0.4 hrs from previous stop

    Eat: Alamo Springs CaféSleep: A Fredericksburg Sunday house

  3. Day 3: Down to Gruene

    • 5
      Gruene Hall

      New Braunfels · Texas's oldest continually operating dance hall, with worn wood floors and live music most nights.

      ≈ 89 mi, 1.6 hrs from previous stop

    Eat: Gristmill River RestaurantSleep: Gruene Mansion Inn

Drive times are estimates. Check hours and reservations before you go.

Ask the Texan