Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HILL COUNTRY
New York has the Hamptons, San Francisco has the wine country, and Texas has the Hill
Country. Just an hour or two's drive from both Austin and San Antonio, the area is an easy
day trip or weekend getaway, and its natural beauty paired with the locals' easygoing
nature has inspired more than a few early retirements.
Thanks to former First Lady Claudia Taylor Johnson - 'round here everyone calls her
Lady Bird - each spring the highways are lined with eye-popping wildflowers that stretch
for miles and miles, planted as part of her Highway Beautification Act.
In addition to the bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes and black-eyed Susans that blanket
the roads, the Hill Country contests Texas' reputation as being dry and flat, with its rolling
hills, giant oak trees, spring-fed creeks and flowing rivers.
Orientation
Ask 10 people the boundaries of the Hill Country and you'll get 11 different answers but,
generally speaking, the Hill Country is an area west of the I-35 corridor between Austin
and San Antonio, with Fredericksburg and Kerrville being the westernmost points and
largest towns. Some people consider San Marcos, New Braunfels and Gruene to be part of
the Hill Country, but you really have to leave the interstate to get the effect.
Information
You can spend an entire vacation in the Hill Country and not see it all. The best time to vis-
it is spring when temperatures are mild and the wildflowers are in full bloom, but many
people also enjoy visiting in December when the towns light up for the holiday season. Vis-
it
www.hill-country-visitor.com
for information on special events, accommodations, out-
door recreation and other Hill Country destinations.
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Johnson City & Stonewall
POP 1660
You might assume Johnson City was named after President Lyndon Baines Johnson, who
lived here as a child and spent most of his life at a ranch nearby. But the bragging rights go
