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When you plan a visit to Boerne this weekend, I have a list of things to do in town that will make everyone has a great time. Originally I planned for a one day trip with my family when we went there during Memorial Day Weekend, but after reading Tori’s suggestions – from Boerne CVB – I knew a day was not enough.

Boerne (pronounced: Bur-nee) is another German heritage town in the Texas Hill Country. The city is named for Ludwig Borne, who inspired a lot of people to leave Germany in the 1840s to travel to the new world. These German immigrants brought with them their own language, customs and music, that even after 160 years are still very much alive.

The town is located around 31 miles to the northwest of San Antonio and 98 miles to the southwest of Austin. It makes an easy day trip from both cities to Boerne. From Houston and Dallas is a bit far. It is 200 miles to the west direction from Houston and 291 miles to the southwest direction from Dallas. I would say two-day trips, or weekend, will be perfect for visitors from these cities.

Now let’s move to what kind of activities that you can do in Boerne while visiting with family in the weekend. (Also perfect for couples or girls weekend getaway.)

Things To Do In Boerne, Texas: A Family Weekend Guide

First thing we did is stopping at the Visitor Center for information. I found three different brochures of self-guided tours in the city to add to the itinerary suggested by Tori. Boerne is a small town, so I imagine we would do lots of walking.

The first guide is the Hill Country Mile, which is the 1.1 mile stretch of Main St. (Hauptstrasse) that runs the length of the downtown historic district of Boerne. From Oak Park Dr. (which is just south of the Cibolo Creek Bridge) extending north to Schleicher St. (which is just past the City Hall Campus). The brochure contains information of unique shopping, dining and lodging opportunities in quaint and often historic buildings. 

The second one is Art Al Fresco, Boerne’s outdoor art gallery. This is where you can get an up close and personal with large-scale sculptures placed throughout the historic Hill Country Mile, Boerne’s trail system, library, and a few other locations. 

The third one is Historic Walking Tour that will take you to historic buildings, houses, and churches through downtown Boerne.

Later I found some of the structures are on the same street, or even on the same buildings. So, we could do two or three things at the same time.

    

Saturday in Boerne

After we picked up brochures from the Visitor Center, we drove straight to Herff Farm for the farmers market. They only open from 9am to 1pm, and it was almost eleven by the time we arrived in Boerne. For a moment I forgot that Boerne is a small town, so it wouldn’t take us like an hour or so to the Herff Farm. No need to worry about missing it. Haha…

Variety of vendors were awaiting us there, from jams & jellies sellers to fresh produce, homemade granolas to local honey, and BBQ for your lunch. You can also buy plants and learning about them in the community garden plots there. This farmers market open to the public every Saturdays from March through October.

Then we walked to Herff Homestead, located a few yards behind the farmers market area. Built in 1883 by Ferdinand and Mathilde Herff, this is a good place to learn about Boerne’s past history and the water works in the farm. It is open to the public on most Saturdays morning during Farmers Market days.

Right behind the homestead there’s a Firefly Trail. We took the trail that led us to a field of beautiful wildflowers. It’s an easy walk, but 90% without shades.

After I don’t know how many pictures of wildflowers I took with my camera, I joined my husband and son, and our dog Snoopy, at the picnic area by the parking. There we had our sandwiches lunch while taking a break. Remember! You can always buy lunches from the farmers market, or grab sandwiches from one of the delis & sandwiches in town, like Bear Moon Bakery or The Dienger Trading Co.

 

Then we went back to downtown for a self-guided Hill Country Mile Tour. (Don’t forget to get the brochure when you stop at the Visitor Center.) We parked around the Main Plaza, but you can always park behind the Boerne Visitor Center or any parking space that isn’t labeled as designated parking if there’s no space around the Plaza.

Our first stop was Ye Kendall Inn, a historic boutique hotel situated right across the Main Plaza. Originally built as a private home in 1859, later it expanded into a hotel and stagecoach stop. Today, Ye Kendall Inn offers travelers one-of-a-kind experiences in one of their 34 rooms, suites or cottages on their 5.2-acre campus. With its vernacular Greek Revival structure, this two-story hotel is one of the few remaining 19th century resort hotels in Texas. It was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1983.

Then we moved to Dienger Building at the corner of the street. The building was constructed in 1884 by Joseph Dienger and served as a fancy grocery store on the street level, with the family’s humble living quarters up top. It has been a location of Boerne Public Library, too. We found the timeline of the Dienger Building’s history depicted as a mural across the restrooms in the boutique area. Today, the new owner turned the building into The Dienger Trading Co. that operates as a boutique, bistro, and event venue. The pastries and pies at the bistro looked so delicious, but I was still full from lunch. I told the guy behind the counter (and I met the owner, too) that we would be back for brunch the next day.

Next, we crossed the street to Main Plaza. Built in 1852, this was a Common Area used to water livestock awaiting a cattle drive. Now is the site of many festivals and town gathering. While here, we took a selfie with Wild Bill Hickok and his bench. He was created by area artist, Erik Christianson. Then we found the Lucky Ducks, a bronze sculpture, a few yards behind Wild Bill. At this place we covered two of Boerne Art Al Fresco, part of Boerne public art walking tour.

After we let Snoopy sniffing a bit around the Main Plaza, we crossed the street again. This time to Gallery 195 and Carriage House Gallery, at the corner of Main St. and Rosewood Ave. My son and I were amazed with beautiful art pieces made by local artists here. Paintings and sculptures in different mediums and techniques. Both galleries are artist owned and operated, so we got to meet two of the artists in the galleries.

Before we went to our campsite (we decided to camp since we had Snoopy with us and I tell you about lodging choices later), we stopped at Soda Pops & Sugar Shack for a sweet treat. We settled for the homemade waffle bowls ice cream that was yummy and humongous! This place is in an old “Fill Up Station”, and during the warmer months they host “Hot Rod Nights”. San Antonio Ave., where it is located, is closed down and filled with awesome cars and the sounds of live old school rock ‘n roll.

Sunday in Boerne

Early in the morning we joined the first tour at Cave Without A Name. It started at 9 and we’re the only ones there, so it turned to a private tour. The tour guide, who was a high school senior, took us to explore the six major rooms in the cave that offer sparkling crystalline formations that evoked our imagination. At one point I thought I saw Darth Vader while they saw Storm Troopers. Remember that everything is bigger in Texas? Down here we found another proof: giant bacon!

During the tour we learned why they called the cave “Cave Without A Name”. A student in a local contest said the cave is too pretty to have a name. We couldn’t agree more with that boy. My husband said it’s way prettier than Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. I think it’s a small version of Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. 

Another interesting part of the cave, it has the best acoustic in one room, so they conduct Concerts in the Cave several times a year. In fact, they had a concert the night we toured the cave, but we had other plans already. If you want to see the concert, check out their website for the schedule so you can visit accordingly. 

An hour had gone by just like that when you had fun. It’s time to leave the cave and let other visitors enjoy its beauty.

Like I mentioned above, after the cave we drove to town and had brunch at The Dienger Trading Co. I met the owner and the same waiter again, and surprisingly they still remembered me! We ordered Lemon Blueberry Poppy Cakes for my son, Spinach Mushroom Omelette for my husband, and Biscuits & Gravy for myself. Everything was delicious that my son told me to promote this place in my social media. Haha.. We sat outside so Snoopy didn’t have to stay in the car. Just like yesterday, staff in The Dienger are exceptionally friendly and helpful.

Once we’re done sparkling clean the plates, we drove about 4 blocks south to River Road Park for a break. It’s a popular location for picnic and fishing, and it’s dog-friendly also. Lots of family having fun here. Children and adults are feeding wild ducks and geese while teenagers casting their fishing poles. (Why not bringing your fishing pole from home, too?) Snoopy wasn’t sure with ducks walking too close to him though.

After awhile, my son and I decided to walk part of the Cibolo River Trail from the park to the Main Plaza, where my husband and Snoopy would meet us. The trailhead is actually located by Ye Kendall Inn, following the Cibolo Creek to the Cibolo Nature Center. River Road Park is around the middle of this 3.15 miles long, one way beautiful trail. We saw people riding their bikes on the trail as well. If you have room for bicycles in the car, why not bring them? They will be faster than walking. 

When you do the Cibolo Trail, you will do part of the Art Al Fresco as well. We found 4 more of the sculptures along the trail.

From the trailhead, we continued exploring Boerne with a car. First stop was the library to see six more sculptures. You must walk around the library to find the sculptures, and prepare to be jealous like me when seeing the library complex. It’s surrounded by greenery and there’s an amphitheaters for music performances at the back.

Lots of historic houses on the north part of Main Street, but most of them are privately owned. We only admired them from the car, but we made a stop at St. Helena’s Episcopal Church. In 1881, St. Helena’s was the first church allowed within the city limits of Boerne. But what you will see is not the original small wooden church. It was demolished in 1929 for the new stone, Gothic-style church. Address is 410 N. Main St.

From there we drove through downtown, crossed the Cibolo Creek, to the South Main St. We stopped at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Churches. There are 2 churches here. The little church was built in 1866 and the bigger one completed in 1923, modeled after Mission Concepcion in San Antonio. The Kronkosky Tower is in the same complex. This is where you can see Boerne from the highest point, but the entrance to the tower is by appointment only. Too bad we missed this information.

Then we went to Cibolo Nature Center for a short hike. There are 4 trails here ranges from ⅓ to ½ mile long. It is also dog friendly, so your four legs kids will have fun, too. We decided to skip Marshland Trail and went straight to Cibolo Creek Trail. We found a tree house and our 12-year-old son still had fun playing in it. As we continued with the hike, we heard children screaming with joy from a distance. Apparently they were playing in the creek and it was so inviting with towering cypress trees canopied the creek.

You know what we did next, right? Forgot about the hike! We went back to the car and changed to swim wear, then jumped into the water. We even made Snoopy jumped with us, although I think he didn’t like the idea of staying in the water for long.

Two hours later we had our supper sandwiches in the pavilion. There is so much to do in Cibolo Nature Center that we didn’t get to do this weekend. Another trip to Boerne is in the plan.

We ended our weekend in Boerne by joining the locals at the Main Plaza to watch the Memorial Day Concert. Everyone came with their lawn chairs or picnic blankets and enjoyed the night away. People hugged, greeted, and sat together. I could feel the small town atmosphere really strong tonight. For a moment I wish to live here, too, but I know my son doesn’t want to leave his friends and his school.

Thank you for the wonderful weekend, Boerne! We will be back for more fun and exciting activities.

Where to Stay in Boerne

Boerne has choices of accommodation for you, from hotels/motels and AirBnb to historic stays and resorts, and of course RV Parks/Campgrounds.

After searching around and found not too many choices that are dog friendly besides the hotels/motels, we settled for a campground at Cave Without A Name. It’s widely open, Snoopy didn’t have to stay in the crate all the time, and we could take him for a walk on its 2 trails. When we were there bathroom was clean, shower was strong, and the water was hot. They used water from the cave though, so it’s not drinkable. With electric outlet in the bathroom, I could use my hair dryer just like at home. Do check the weather if you decide to camp here.

Packing List for Boerne:

1. Comfy outfit and shoes (depending on the season)
2. Swimwear & water shoes (if you visit during warm weather)
3. Fishing pole (optional)
4. Bicycles (optional)
5. Camera/smart phone
6. Lawn chairs/picnic blanket (optional)
7. Sunscreen, bug spray, lotion (depending on the season)
8. Curiosity
9. Appetite
10. Strong feet

If you’ve been to Boerne and want to add something to this article, let me know by leaving a comment below. If you haven’t been, make a plan, or save the pins below for later. In the meantime, enjoy your day!

Part of the trip was a complimentary from Boerne CVB, but all opinions are our own.