Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SCENIC DRIVE: WILDFLOWER TRAILS
You know spring has arrived in Texas when you see cars pulling up roadside and families climbing out to take the
requisite picture of their kids surrounded by bluebonnets - Texas' state flower. From March to April in Hill Coun-
try, orange Indian paintbrushes, deep-purple wine-cups and white-to-blue bluebonnets are at their peak.
To see vast cultivated fields of color, there's
Wildseed Farms
(
www.wildseedfarms.com
; 100 Legacy Dr;
9:30am-6:30pm) , which is 7 miles east of Fredericksburg on US 290.
For a more do-it-yourself experience, check with TXDOT's
Wildflower Hotline
( 800-452-9292) to find
out what's blooming where. Taking Rte 16 and FM 1323, north from Fredericksburg and east to Willow City, is
usually a good route. Then again you might just set to wandering - most back roads host their own shows daily.
Activities
Peach Picking
Fredericksburg is known throughout the state for its peaches, and for good reason.
They're fat, juicy and nothing like the fruit you'll find in your local produce department.
Mid-May through June is peach-picking season around town. You can get peaches straight
from the area's farms; some farms will let you pick your own. For a list of more than 20
local peach farms, visit
www.texaspeaches.com
.
OUTDOORS
Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area
( 866-978-2287;
www.tpwd.state.tx.us
; 10619 Old San Antonio Rd; sunrise-sunset)
Right around dusk
from May to October, you can watch a colony of bats emerging from an abandoned rail-
road tunnel for their nightly meal. Over three million Mexican free-tailed bats make their
home here.
The upper-deck viewing area is open daily and it's free, but the
lower viewing area
(per person
$5)
, which is open Thursday to Sunday, affords an up-close view that is decidedly more
impactful.
WILDLIFE WATCHING
