If you want the best road riding in Texas, it's in the Hill Country, and Fredericksburg is the place to stay while you ride it. The roads are quiet ranch roads, the climbs are short and steep rather than long, and there's a creek crossing, a vineyard or a granite dome around most corners. Here's what's worth riding, and what to know before your first visit.
I put on guided road trips and I'm on every ride. Every road I'd send you down here has been thoroughly researched: the surface, the traffic, the climbing, where the water is, and what local riders say about it.
There are six rides worth knowing in the region. The Willow City Loop is the one people come for in spring. The out and back to Enchanted Rock gives you the biggest descent and the hardest ride home. The Luckenbach loop is the classic easy-to-moderate day out of Fredericksburg. The ranch roads around Stonewall and the LBJ Ranch are the best rolling miles in the area. Devil's Backbone near Wimberley is the ridge ride on the eastern side. And the Twisted Sisters, out west, is the hardest day in the Hill Country, for strong riders only.
You can build a very good long weekend out of the first four without ever moving hotels.
The Willow City Loop is the ride everyone has heard of
The Willow City Loop is a 13 mile public road that runs through private ranch land northeast of Fredericksburg. The common way to ride it is a loop of about 21 miles that starts at the old school in Willow City, picks up Texas 16 for a few miles, and comes back through the ranches.
What's it like? Narrow, quiet and rough in places. You cross a long run of cattle guards, a few low creek crossings, and granite boulders sit right beside the road. There are cattle, goats and the occasional longhorn on the other side of the fence, and sometimes on your side of it. Near the end there's a climb up a ridge, and it's steep enough that you'll want a low gear left.
Here are three things to know before you go.
Ride it clockwise, so the stretch on Texas 16 comes early while your legs are fresh. That's the busy part, a two lane highway with real traffic, and it's the least pleasant few miles of the ride.
Take the cattle guards seriously. Hit them square, don't brake on them, and never ride one wet.
The land on both sides is private, and nobody is supposed to stop on the right of way. In bluebonnet season that rule gets broken by every car on the road, and the loop fills with slow traffic and people parked on the shoulder. Go on a weekday morning, or come after the peak, when the traffic is gone and the cactus is blooming.
Is the ride to Enchanted Rock worth it?
Yes, and it's the ride I'd pick if you only had one morning. Enchanted Rock is a pink granite dome that rises about 425 feet above the countryside, roughly 18 miles north of Fredericksburg on Ranch Road 965.
The ride there and back is about 35 miles. Going out is mostly downhill, with long fast descents where you'll see speeds that are rare in Texas. Coming home is the climbing, and a south wind is common enough that you should plan on riding into it. Local riders describe the way back as the workout, and they're right.
If you want to go into the park, it's a state natural area with an entrance fee, and it takes reservations. On busy weekends the day passes run out, so book one ahead rather than turning up hoping.
The Luckenbach loop is the classic Fredericksburg day
Head south out of Fredericksburg on Old San Antonio Road and within a few minutes you're out of town and between pastures. The loop runs east to Luckenbach, the tiny town made famous by the Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson song, then turns back north to Fredericksburg. Adventure Cycling Association's version is 30.5 miles with about 1,265 feet of climbing.
It's rolling rather than hilly, the roads are quiet, and Luckenbach is a good stop: a general store, a dance hall and a lot of shade under big oak trees. Get there late in the morning, because nothing opens at dawn.
The one problem is US 290. Some versions of the loop use a short piece of it, and 290 is the busiest road in the area, the main route between Austin and Fredericksburg and the road most of the wineries sit on. Keep your time on it short, and stay off it on a Saturday afternoon.
The ranch roads around Stonewall and the LBJ Ranch
East of Fredericksburg, along the Pedernales River, the country opens out into peach orchards, ranch land and the LBJ Ranch, where President Lyndon Johnson lived. The small ranch roads that link Stonewall, Albert and Hye are the best rolling riding in the region: low traffic, long views and short climbs you can ride over in the big ring if you're feeling good.
This is also where the LBJ 100 starts, a charity ride held every spring from the old airstrip at the LBJ Ranch. It's offered at distances from 16 miles to 62. If you want to see what riding here is like with a crowd and lunch at the end, it's the easiest way to do that.
Devil's Backbone is the ridge ride on the eastern side
Ranch Road 32, just south of Wimberley, runs along a limestone ridge called Devil's Backbone, with views out over the hills on both sides. There's an overlook with a picnic area, and the Devil's Backbone Tavern, an old stone building at the junction with Purgatory Road, is a well-known stop.
A typical loop from Wimberley that takes in the ridge runs around 49 miles with about 2,600 feet of climbing. It's harder than anything near Fredericksburg except the hills on the way back from Enchanted Rock.
It's a popular road for motorcycles and for weekend drivers, so ride it early. And it's more than an hour's drive east of Fredericksburg, so it's a different weekend rather than a different day.
The Twisted Sisters is the hardest ride in the Hill Country
Out west, southwest of Kerrville, three ranch roads, 335, 336 and 337, form a loop of about 100 miles through Leakey, Camp Wood and Vanderpool. Together they're called the Twisted Sisters. It's the most famous road in Texas for motorcycles. It has tight corners, steep grades with warning signs on them, drop-offs at the edge of the road and very little in between the towns. One stretch has 65 curves in 15 miles.
Is it a good ride on a road bike? For a strong rider with support, yes, and it's one of the hardest days you can ride in the state. It's not a ride to do alone. The towns are far apart, phone signal is patchy, there are deer and open-range cattle on the road, and on a nice weekend you'll share the corners with a lot of motorcycles. Plenty of riders do a piece of it rather than the whole loop. If you're thinking about the whole thing, read how hard it is to bike 100 miles first, then add the climbing.
Lost Maples State Natural Area is just north of Vanderpool, and in the fall the maples in the canyon turn red. It's worth the stop.
What is riding in the Hill Country actually like?
Different from what most people picture when they think of Texas. Four things surprise first-time visitors.
The climbs are short and steep, not long. You won't find a 20 mile climb anywhere here. You will find a lot of hills that last a few minutes at 8 to 12 percent, one after another. Bring lower gears than you think you need.
A lot of the county roads are chip seal. That's a surface of small stones pressed into tar, and it's rougher and slower than smooth asphalt. Wider tires at a slightly lower pressure make a long day noticeably more comfortable.
Low-water crossings are everywhere. The road dips down through a creek bed, usually dry, sometimes with water running over it. If water is flowing across the road, don't ride through it. The Hill Country floods fast after heavy rain, and the crossings are where people get hurt.
There are animals on the road. Deer at dawn and dusk, cattle where there's no fence, and the odd loose ranch dog. Ride with a little more room in front of you than you would at home.
When should you go?
Spring and fall. The two seasons are close to equal.
Spring is late March through May. Bluebonnets usually peak around early to mid April, and the roadsides fill with them along with paintbrush and other wildflowers. It's the prettiest time of year and the busiest, so the scenic roads have the most cars on them.
Fall is October and November. The heat has broken, the mornings are cool, and the tourist traffic is lighter than in bluebonnet season.
Summer is hard. Afternoons regularly reach the mid to upper 90s, so if you ride in July or August, start at first light and be done by late morning. Winter is mild most days and very rideable, with the occasional cold front that drops the temperature 30 degrees overnight.
Riding the Hill Country with a group
Every one of these rides works on your own with a route loaded on your bike computer and a full set of bottles. Here's what a group trip adds: someone else has researched the roads and the water stops, there's a support vehicle behind you on the long days, and dinner is already booked when you get back. If that's the kind of weekend you're after, see the trips we're running.