Situated in the heart of Texas, the Hill Country is a 90 -by 115– mile ellipse. It stretches from Austin west to Llano and junction, where the hills meet the plains; loops south through Telegraph, Rocksprings, and Barksdale, and back eastward, across the upper edge of Uvalde and Medina counties, where the Balcones Escarpment tumbles down from the Edwards Plateau toward the Rio Grande Valley. San Antonio, a popular starting point for the Hill Country, is at the southeast edge of the oval’s boundary, but just outside of it. The late President Lyndon B. Johnson was the most renowned native of the hills (the LBJ State Park on the Pedernales River near the town of Stonewall is named for him) and his description of the country bears witness to his love for it. It is a harsh, unyielding land that does not easily give of life.

The most visible remnant of that occurrence is at Enchanted Rock State Park, located southwest of Llano, where a 75 acre dome of pink granite-the second-largest such deposit in the United States-rises 325 feet above an adjacent creek bed. The granite is approximately 1 billion years old and ranks among the oldest exposed rock in North America. The name for the area was Haunted or Enchanted because it emitted eerie moaning noises as the granite expanded and contracted with changing temperatures. More recently, the wailing stone has been a siren called to New Agers, who believe it possesses mystic powers. 

Among Texans, the Hill Country is one of the most beloved regions of the state, a place in the mind as much as the atlas. It is coveted for its fields of blue bonnets in the spring and canyons splashed with turning maple leaves in autumn, for its apple orchards, vineyards, dude ranches, historic architecture, rustic inns, mellow days and star lit nights.

The small towns are timeless and close-knit, reveling in simple pleasure and easy rhythms. At Christmastime, the residents of tiny Johnson City-named for the pioneering ancestors of former President Lydon Baines Johnson-adorn their courthouse, homes, businesses and churches with 350,000 lights.  Kerrville, reputed to have one of the healthiest climates in the nation, hosts an annual Texas heritage, music festival that includes a tribute to Jimmy Rogers; and the pride of Burnet is the Hill Country flyer, a steam locomotive with four coaches and 33 miles of track. 

Federicksburg, in the Pedernales River Valley, became a weigh station for German settlers who came from Golf Coast Ports by foot an oxcart. Many of the limestone houses and public building they erected are still standing. Other traces of their culture and language have likewise endured. The Priess Building, Wahrmund Home, Felix Van Derstucken House, the Vereins Kirche (Society’s Church) all are evidence pervarive German legacy.

New Braunfels, is on the southeastern fringe on the hills between Austin and San Antonio, was founded by Prince Carl of Salms-Braunfels. Each year New Braunfels, "ten-day wurstfest" ,is one of the largest of German culture in the United States, draws 125,000 visitors who come for the Oompas Bands, parades, and parties, and sausages of every description. 

Some places you may want to visit are:

Austin – the capital of Texas was named Stephan F. Austin, who brought the first American settlers to the then Spanish-ruled territory. The city boasts an impressive variety of museums, historic sites, and recreational areas. The imposing domed state capital building is one of Austin’s most famous landmarks. It’s built of Texas pink granite, it is actually 7 feet higher than the capital of Washington DC. Austin’s oldest building is the French Legation, built in 1840 by Comte Alphonse-Duboise De Saligny, France’s representative to the Independent Republic of Texas. Other sites include the Lyndon b. Johnson library and museum and the house occupied by William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry. The noted short story writer lived in Austin from 1882 until 1898. He left after facing bank embezzlement charges and serving a 3-and-a-half jail term. Just east of the city lies the National Wildflower Research Center, which promotes the study of native plants, located on Highway 35 between San Antonio and Waco.

San Antonio – on the banks of the San Antonio River was the capital of Texas during the days of Spanish rule. Near the banks of the river in 1718 the Spanish founded the Missions San Antonio De Valero (known as the Alamo), the first and most famous of the city’s five Franciscan missions. The Alamo was the seen of the epic siege of 1836, in which 189 Texan patriots died fighting for Texas’ independence. The other 4 missions make up San Antonio Mission’s National Historical Park. Today, the Paseo Del Rio (River Walk), a beautifully landscaped pedestrian promenade shaded by Cyprus trees meanders through the city center along both sides of the river just below street level, located south of Austin on highways 10, 35, and 37. 

Penna Maria – founded by settlers from Upper Silesia in 1854, this little town is reputed to be the oldest Polish settlement in the United States. Older members of the community still speak a silesian dialect. The town was named for the Virgin Mary in gratitude for the settler’s safe arrival after a difficult overland journey from their landing place at Gaviston, Penna Maria’s Immaculate Conception Church dates from 1877, and the town contains a number stone cottages from the original settlement, located southeast of San Antonio off highway 23.

All are wheelchair accessible. For more information you can contact: