Hill Country Day Trip
111 places · 0 verified happy hours
Hill Country Day Trip has 111 places on People of Austin, mostly winery (25), restaurant (9), distillery (8), park (8). Start with Sweet Berry Farm, Pedernales Falls State Park, Krause Springs.
Photo: 8bit12man / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Today in Hill Country Day Trip
- James McMurtry · Fri, Nov 6 · 8pm · Gruene Hall
- Wurstfest · Fri, Nov 6 · Varies by day, see schedule · Wurstfest Grounds
- Texas Monthly BBQ Fest · Sat, Nov 7 · Daytime · Lockhart, TX
Sweet Berry Farm
Pick-your-own strawberries in spring and pumpkins, a corn maze, and hayrides in fall at this Marble Falls family farm about an hour northwest of downtown.
Pedernales Falls State Park
The Pedernales River tumbles over tilted limestone steps here, with swimming downstream, 20 miles of trails, and a bird blind; day passes sell out on spring weekends.
Krause Springs
A privately run, cash-only swimming hole in Spicewood with a spring-fed pool, a rope swing under a waterfall, cypress shade, and butterfly gardens up top; no reservations, no dogs.
Enchanted Rock State Natural Area
A pink granite dome rising 425 feet above the Hill Country, roughly 90 minutes from Austin; day passes must be reserved online and weekends sell out weeks ahead.
Whitewater Amphitheater
An outdoor stage on the banks of the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels, about an hour south, where Texas country headliners play to a crowd that tubed the river all afternoon.
Garrison Brothers Distillery
Texas's first legal bourbon distillery rides you by Jeep across a 68-acre Hye ranch to the show barn, where Hill Country heat ages some of the boldest bourbon in America.
William Chris Vineyards
The benchmark for serious Texas wine, this Hye estate ferments low-intervention Mourvedre and Pétillant Naturel in a restored 1905 farmhouse setting that rewards booking ahead.
Lewis Wines
A winemaker-driven Johnson City stop where Touriga Nacional and Tinta Cão grown on the estate prove Portuguese grapes belong in Texas, poured without fuss in a barn overlooking the vines.
K Estate (formerly Kuhlman Cellars)
The rebranded Kuhlman Cellars still pairs every flight with chef-made bites on a Stonewall patio with vineyard views, making it the 290 corridor's easiest food-and-wine lesson.
Pedernales Cellars
A sixth-generation Texas family's hilltop winery outside Stonewall, where the Viognier and Tempranillo Reserve get poured on a wide deck above the Pedernales valley.
Becker Vineyards
A lavender-fringed stone barn that has anchored Fredericksburg wine since 1992, with 300-plus gold medals, walk-in tastings and a reserve library room worth the upgrade.
Grape Creek Vineyards
The Tuscany-in-Texas estate on 290 runs tram tours through the barrel room, a trattoria on the patio and enough Bellissimo to explain why the parking lot fills by noon.
Signor Vineyards
A 200-acre estate with a French-farmhouse tasting hall, manicured gardens and a lineup that jumps between Texas reds and the family's Oregon vineyards, walk-ins welcome.
Ron Yates Wines
Spicewood Vineyards' owner built this Hye spot around 100% Texas fruit, a wood-fired pizza oven and a wraparound porch open seven days a week with no reservation needed.
Kalasi Cellars
A woman-led, estate-grown winery on Goehmann Lane where winemaker Nikhila Narra Davis pairs Texas reds with Indian small plates in a sleek room off the beaten 290 path.
Hye Meadow Winery
A working vineyard and winery in tiny Hye that specializes in Mediterranean-style reds, poured at a long wood bar or on a shaded lawn where the pace stays deliberately slow.
Westcave Cellars Winery & Brewery
An award-winning, family-run winery off the 290 Wine Road near Johnson City that adds classic ales and porters to the tasting list and keeps a picnic lawn open for lingering.
Flat Creek Estate
An 80-acre estate near Lake Travis whose Tuscan-inspired tasting room and Super Texan sangiovese blend earned Food & Wine's nod as arguably the state's best, still worth the Marble Falls detour.
Torr Na Lochs Vineyard & Winery
A Highland Lakes hilltop outside Burnet where table-side pours of 100% Texas-grown Dolcetto and Tempranillo come with one of the widest lake-country panoramas in the region.
Perissos Vineyard and Winery
Near Longhorn Cavern and Inks Lake, this family estate grows every grape on site and pours Aglianico and Roussanne in a stone tasting room an hour northwest of Austin.
Fiesta Winery at Arch Ray
The family-owned Lometa winery's party-forward Fredericksburg outpost at Arch Ray Resort, where playful sweet blends and crowd-pleasing reds keep things fun rather than fussy.
Texas Hills Vineyard
A Johnson City pioneer from 1995 on the road to Pedernales Falls, now pouring its estate Hill Country wines side by side with a curated Napa Valley flight in one sitting.
Lost Draw Winery
Grower-owned by High Plains farming families, Lost Draw's nine-acre Johnson City home pours Tempranillo and Picpoul with live music and vineyard views on the edge of town.
Bending Branch Winery
A physician-founded Comfort estate that made Tannat Texas's signature red and now offers bourbon tastings alongside the wine, ninety minutes out but worth the drive.
Andalusia Whiskey Co.
Grain-to-glass single malts run through hand-built copper pot stills on a Blanco hillside, with a laid-back tasting room and tours that explain why Texas heat makes fast whiskey.
Milam & Greene Distillery
Whiskey author Heather Greene and Marsha Milam blend and age award-winning bourbon in a Blanco stillhouse across from the river, with tours and a whiskey school on the calendar.
Real Spirits Distilling Co.
Real Ale's in-house distillery pours Real Spirits single malt cocktails and sells bottles to go in the brewery's sprawling Blanco beer garden, with pizza and a stage on weekends.
Elk Store Winery & Distillery
Inside an 1895 general store on Main Street, the Smajstrla family distills small-batch spirits and pours flights in a Prohibition-style speakeasy lounge hidden behind the wine room.
1693 Distillery
A newer distillery on the road to Luckenbach that runs guided whiskey and tequila tastings by reservation, a quieter detour from the 290 winery crawl.
Dietz Distillery
Next to Fischer & Wieser's Das Peach Haus, Dietz Fischer distills fruit brandies and gin from local peaches and botanicals, with daily tastings and a Thursday happy hour.