Thanksgiving In Texas Hill Country: A Road Trip From Dallas

Last year, we spent Thanksgiving in the Texas Hill Country. We took a 5-day road trip from Dallas during Thanksgiving Break, and it was a lot of fun!

As you know, my family and I love taking road trips from Dallas to the Texas Hill Country. We never get tired of exploring Fredericksburg and the surrounding area.

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There are so many places to visit and things to do, and we’re still not done with our exploration of the Texas Hill Country. 

This road trip from Dallas to Texas Hill Country wasn’t our first during Thanksgiving Break, but it was the longest as we stayed five days in the region.

It meant we got to see new places and crossed out things to do from our Texas Hill Country bucket list. Also, to revisit our favorite places around the area. 

Here, I’m sharing with you our itinerary when spending Thanksgiving in the Texas Hill Country. This itinerary will work fine even though your starting point is not Dallas. You only need to modify it a bit, and I’m more than happy to help you. Just send me a message.

Thanksgiving in Texas Hill Country

Day 1 – Dallas to Kerrville

Stops: – Inks Lake State Park in Burnet – Llano – Mason

Usually, we stayed in Fredericksburg. But we couldn’t get a spot for our tiny travel trailer on this trip. Either the RV Park was full, or we had to move to another RV Park after one or two nights. That’s not comfortable at all. 

After looking at the Texas Hill Country map, I decided to stay in Kerrville. It is about a 35-minute drive southwest of Fredericksburg. We still had to move on the third night, though. Fortunately, it’s just a few campsites away.

We liked to take the back road rather than a major highway. We drove through Cleburne, Glen Rose, Llano, and other small towns. It’s not just a beautiful road, but there are so many cool stops that you can make along the way.

Our first stop on this trip was Inks Lake State Park in Burnet. Devil’s Hole is one of the spots in the park that you shouldn’t miss. If you have a short visit to this park, this is the area you want to check out.

There weren’t too many people around Devil’s Hole that day. It was odd because we planned to stay in this state park, but all campsites were fully booked.

People like to camp at Inks Lake State Park during Thanksgiving Break.

From Inks Lake State Park, we took TX-29 W to Llano. It’s only about a 30-minute drive.

About 10 minutes after we left Inks Lake, I saw a lighthouse on the right. I asked my husband to stop and turn around. I wanted to take pictures.

It’s around the Buchanan Dam area.

If you want to do the same thing, I’ll tell you that it’s a bit tricky and dangerous. Traffic on TX-29 W is busy, and everyone moves fast. It’s a 70 mph area, but most people drive faster than that.

The lighthouse is on private property. You can only take pictures from a subdivision across the river. It’s too dangerous to take photos from the side of the road. I strongly do not recommend it.

In Llano, we stopped at Grenwelge Park. It is on the left side, after you cross the Roy B. Inks Bridge.

We had stopped at Llano several times, but it’s our first stop at Grenwelge Park.

We took a stroll along the river and found a few sculptures and rock art. The Red Top Jail is a few yards away, but it was closed that day.

We didn’t stay long in the city as we had visited several times before. Here’s the link to learn more about things to do in Llano.

Continuing on TX-29 W, we arrived in Mason 30 minutes later. We only drove around as it got dark in the Hill Country. We don’t like setting up our campsite at night. 

Mason is the Gem of the Hill Country. It’s the only place in Texas where you can find topaz on the ground. That’s what I want to do next time we go to Mason.

An hour and a half later, we arrived at Kerrville-Schreiner Park. It was our accommodation for the next five days. It’s a city park with sites for RVs and tents and has cabins and ranch houses, too.

Day 2 – Kerrville to Castroville

Stops: – Camp Verde – Bandera – Castroville – Boerne – Comfort – Ingram

On the second day of our Thanksgiving holiday in Texas Hill Country, we headed south towards Castroville. We drove on TX-173 S before we turned to US-90 E in Hondo. That way, we could pass Bandera, the Cowboy Capital of the World.

Just 10 minutes after we left the campsite, we saw a sign to Camp Verde with a camel image. I told my husband that the name was familiar, so we made a stop. 

Camp Verde is a lovely General Store and Restaurant. They offer a wide range of items, from kitchenware to jewelry, baby essentials to Texas souvenirs, and more. Even though it’s not Thanksgiving Day yet, they already put out their Christmas merchandise, and they were so pretty!

Camp Verde General Store was first established in 1857. It offered goods and services to the soldiers stationed at Fort Verde, a mile to the west. When the US army deactivated the Fort, the Camp Verde General Store and Post Office continued to serve the growing number of pioneer ranches in the area. 

The present-day two-story stone structure was constructed after a flood swept away the original building around 1900. 

When you walk around the store, you will see the old post office boxes in different sizes. I like the store. It’s like finding a surprise gem on a road trip, as I had never heard about the store before. 

Too bad we just had a full breakfast, so we didn’t get to taste the food in the restaurant. Later, I heard from a friend who lives in Boerne that the food in the restaurant is delicious!

Camp Verde General Store & Restaurant is located by the banks of Verde Creek. Bald cypress trees along the creek turned to orange and yellow in the fall. So, it’s so beautiful out there.   

Address: 285 Camp Verde Road East, Camp Verde, Texas 78010. Ph.: (830) 634-7722.

Then we left for Bandera, a 15-minute drive away to the south. We didn’t stay long here, just made a quick stop in front of the Bandera County Courthouse.

The city already put up the Christmas nativity, and instead of the three wise men, they had a cowboy kneeling.  

About 40 minutes later, we arrived in Castroville, the Little Alsace of Texas. 

The town was founded in 1844 by Henri Castro with the first European immigrant settlers from the Alsace region in France. 

When you walk (or drive) around the downtown area, you will get to see historic homes and commercial structures that were originally built in the mid to late 1800s in Castroville. 

One structure that you shouldn’t miss is the Alsatian Steinbach Haus. An original house built in Walbach, France, between 1618 and 1684. It was a gift from the citizens of Alsace, France, to the City of Castroville. The most attractive architecture in the city.

The Castroville Visitor Center is housed inside the Alsatian Steinbach Haus. There’s a small museum in the house, too.

Another must-visit is Haby’s Alsatian Bakery. When we were there, customers were lining up to pick up their pie orders. I think it’s a thing for celebrating Thanksgiving in the Texas Hill Country in this part of the region. 

We spent about two hours in Castroville, but we were able to see and do all the fun things in Castroville during a short visit. 

Then we drove back to the north, to the Germantown Boerne. We have spent a long weekend in Boerne before, and we fell in love with this small town. Shops and restaurants occupied the historic buildings along the Hill Country Mile. It is the 1.1-mile stretch of Main Street (Hauptstrasse) in historic downtown Boerne.

I’ve been to Boerne the weekend before Thanksgiving before, but I wanted to see it again. Sure enough, the historic downtown looked even more beautiful with Christmas decorations popping up in every building. Visiting at this time is also a perfect time for Christmas shopping.

Our next stop was Comfort, around a 20-minute drive north of Boerne. 

Comfort’s historic downtown is much smaller than Boerne’s. There weren’t too many stores and restaurants like those in Boerne.

Since it wasn’t dark yet, we decided to drive to Ingram to see the Stonehenge II and the Easter Island torso. Yes! In case you didn’t know, you can see Easter Island and England in the Texas Hill Country. Not just Germany and France. And they are located just a few steps away from each other. Cool, right?

From Comfort to Ingram is around a 30-minute drive in the northwest direction. You will drive on I-10 W.

Then we went back to our accommodation in Kerrville-Schreiner Park. We drove through downtown Kerrville, and the Christmas nativity set and Christmas lights were already decorating the Kerr County Courthouse.              

Day 3 – Kerrville to Garner State Park

Stops: – Concan – Uvalde – Leakey

Today, we started our Thanksgiving road trip in the Texas Hill Country with a trip to Garner State Park. Lately, I’ve been eyeing this park with its spectacular view from the summit of Old Baldy.

Garner State Park is located near Concan, to the west of Kerrville. Not too far from the park is Lost Maples State Natural Area in Vanderpool. It is one of the best state parks in Texas for fall foliage. Too bad the park’s day passes were sold out for the whole week of Thanksgiving.

A road trip to this part of the Texas Hill Country was also our first. So, we were excited about what we’re going to see.

From the park, we took TX-173 S as we drove to Castroville yesterday. A few miles after Camp Verde General Store & Restaurant, we made a right onto RR 2828. Then we veered right onto TX-16 towards Medina. When we got to Medina, we turned onto RR 337. 

On RR 337, we started to see fall foliage in the distance, and I read that this is part of a scenic road in the Texas Hill Country. Too bad we had to turn around because there was road construction.

From Medina, we continued on TX-16 S and turned onto RR 470 towards Tarpley. Once we arrived at RR 187, we made a left towards Utopia. From Utopia, we turned to RR 1050 and drove several miles until we arrived at the Garner State Park entrance on the left.

At that time, the view between Utopia and Garner State Park was so pretty. There’s a part on RR 1050 where we went downhill and drove like a half-circle shape that looked so pretty. I saw a space for making a stop, but the rock formation and trees were so high that we couldn’t see anything. It would be great if we had a drone. So, bring a drone if you have one for your trip in this area.

The distance from Kerrville to Garner State Park is 69 miles. You will drive for around one hour and 20 minutes without any stops.

We were surprised to see that there were no empty sites at Garner State Park. Just like in Inks Lake State Park in Burnet. I think people prefer to celebrate Thanksgiving Day outdoors and away from home.

As planned, we went straight to hike Old Baldy in Garner State Park. It was a short hike but very steep and rocky. Once we got to the summit, we were rewarded with a spectacular view. Don’t skip this trail when in Garner SP.

Before leaving the park, we stopped at the Frio River that runs through the park. The weather was nice, so people swam and played in the water. Some were paddling, and some were fishing. Everyone had a good time.

From the park, we continued on RR 1050, then made a left to US-83 S to Uvalde. Since we’re already in the area, why not visit Uvalde, right? It’s only a 30-minute drive.

Uvalde is known as the Honey Capital of the World for its production of huajillo (guajillo) honey, a mild, light-colored honey that dates back to the 1870s. We didn’t get to see or buy the honey while there, though. 

I wanted to see the Janey Slaughter Briscoe Grand Opera House with a dragon on its cupola. The Grand Opera is located at the corner of the neoclassical style Uvalde County Courthouse, so I got to see both.

I took a walk around the courthouse area and took pictures of the courthouse, which was adorned with Christmas decorations.

Uvalde was the home of John Nance “Cactus Jack” Garner, former Speaker of the House and Vice President of the United States. Most of you don’t recognize him, but I’m sure you know the actor Matthew McConaughey. He was born in this town, too. 

Also, Uvalde is at the crossroads of the nation’s two longest highways, U.S. 90 and U.S. 83. It is considered the southern limit of the Texas Hill Country or the most northerly part of South Texas. It’s less than an hour and a 30-minute drive from the border.

On the way back to Kerrville, we took TX-55 N towards Camp Wood. Then turned east on RR 337 W to Leakey (pronounced Lay-key). The drive was about 40 minutes.

We saw a family swimming in the Nueces River along TX-55 N. When we turned onto RR 337 N from Camp Wood, the road evolved to a hilly drive that reminded me of the drive inside the Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. It was pretty and part of the scenic drive in the Hill Country. 

In Leakey, we made a short stop at the Real County Courthouse. It’s almost 6, and we didn’t want to drive in the dark to our campsite.

During spring and summer, visitors to Leakey enjoy tubing on the Frio River. In the fall, the tree-covered Leakey hills are covered with red and gold hues.   

Vanderpool is only 16 miles east of Leaky, and I imagine how beautiful the drive was. If there’s no road construction, we would continue on RR 337 W to Vanderpool. 

So, we took US-83 N instead. The drive up north offers the incredible view of the Texas Hill Country from the higher ground. We weren’t disappointed.

Then we turned east on TX-41 until we got to I-10 E and continued to Kerrville. The drive from Leakey to Kerrville-Schreiner Park is slightly above one hour. With a few stops, we made it in one and a half hours.                                  

Day 4 – Kerrville to Fredericksburg

Happy Thanksgiving!

As planned, we visited Enchanted Rock in the morning. We wanted to hike the Summit Trail on this special day and explore more of the trails. 

A visit to Enchanted Rock is a must when in Fredericksburg. A few years ago, we came here and hiked the Summit Trail during our Spring Break trip to several state parks in the Texas Hill Country.

After we arrived at the summit, we went down a different path and continued on the Echo Canyon Trail to the Loop Trail. We still saw signs of fall around the Loop Trail, especially behind the pink dome.  

When I made an itinerary for our Thanksgiving trip in the Texas Hill Country, the plan was to have Thanksgiving lunch in Fredericksburg. Well, not too many restaurants opened, and I wasn’t sure what time we would arrive in the city from the Enchanted Rock. We decided to drive to town, and if there was no restaurant open, we could always have sandwiches. Haha..     

So, after the hike, we drove slowly on Fredericksburg’s Main Street, looking for a restaurant. And aren’t we lucky? There’s one restaurant open, and it’s dog-friendly. Our dog Snoopy could sit with us. Yay!! 

For our Thanksgiving lunch, I ordered pork schnitzel, a chicken-fried steak for my husband, and a cheese burger for our son. No turkey, stuffing, and the trimmings. 

After lunch, we walked around town. All stores were closed. Then we visited the German Christmas Pyramid before heading back to Kerrville. It’s one of the reasons to visit Fredericksburg during Christmas time. 

But first, we made a quick stop at the Coming King Sculpture Prayer Gardens in Kerrville.

Then we just relaxed by the campsite. We spoke with our neighbor who towed their big trailer. A neighbor across the street was cleaning up their deep fryer. Yes! They had their Thanksgiving Dinner in the park and brought along their deep fryer.

Another neighbor packed up and left because it was supposed to be raining overnight.   

Day 5 – Kerrville to Dallas

Stops: – Luckenbach – Johnson City – Pedernales Falls State Park

No rain overnight, which was good, but it started to drop as we packed our trailer.

Our Thanksgiving holiday in the Texas Hill Country hasn’t ended, though. We made a stop at Luckenbach, where everybody is somebody. It’s not even 10 when we got there. They were about to open. So, if you like taking pictures without other people in your frame, this is the perfect time. 

From Luckenbach, we stopped at Sauer-Beckmann Farm and Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in Johnson City. It’s not our first, but our dog Snoopy’s first time in both places.

Originally, we would boondock for a night at the rest area near LBJ National Historical Park. I wanted to see the lighting of Christmas Lights in Johnson City that Friday night. The radar showed a 70% chance of rain, so we decided to go home instead.

Still, we made another stop before leaving the Texas Hill Country, Pedernales Falls State Park, also in Johnson City. What’s unique about this park is the potholes around the Pedernales River.

That year, the Texas Hill Country didn’t get a lot of rain, so the falls weren’t heavy when falling into the pool. 

Pedernales Falls State Park was the last place we visited during our Thanksgiving in the Texas Hill Country. It’s slightly after 5 when we left the park, so no more stopping as we drove in the dark to Dallas.

Things to know before leaving for Thanksgiving in the Texas Hill Country

– State Parks recommend visitors make online reservations for day passes and campsites in advance. All the state parks we visited during the trip are favorites in the Texas Hill Country. You must make reservations ahead.

– Google what restaurants will be open on Thanksgiving Day and make a reservation.

– Bring enough drinks and food as groceries and stores are closed on Thanksgiving Day.

– Check the weather before you leave. You might still be able to jump into the water. Who knows!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving in Texas Hill Country!

(Here’s a link to more ideas for road tripping in the Texas Hill Country.)