We will be driving in from Ne. Which hwys/interstate go through the hill country?
What cities would you include in your visit if you had three days in Texas around the hill country. ?
Which is better 3rd week of March or 3rd week of April?
Never been to Texas.

Draw a rough circle from San Antonio northwest to Bandera, to Kerrville, to Fredericksburg, to Llano over to Austin. Those cities and towns in between would be included. Kerrville and Fredericksburg are particularly nice.

Highways would include IH10, State HWY 16, US 290, US 281 and US 87. You'd probably come down IH35 and then connect with any of these routes (or make a big circle).

I'd prefer 3rd week of March - cooler weather, better chance to see fields of wild flowers, and there are lots of festivals.

Forgot to mention Hwy 71 west out of Austin would also take you through parts of the Hill Country.

Gruene, Austin, and San Antonio are our favorites. I'd go with March for the cooler weather and wildflowers like dfr said.

A walk to the top of Enchanted Rock (near Fredricksburg) is a cool thing do (unless it's hot out).

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/f...nchanted_rock/

Agreed that March is better for wildflowers. Wild Seed Farms is a popular place to stop & shop (mostly for kitsch) as you head towards Austin. http://www.wildseedfarms.com/

Rather than drive from Ft Worth or Dallas toward Austin on I-35, I love taking US Hwy 281 - connect to it via US Hwy 67 south of Ft Worth. You still see a lot of how Texas used to be - ranches, vistas, not a lot of development. This route will add about 1 hour on the drive to Austin from Dallas, but your nerves will be much better off, most of the route is 4 lane highway. This will take you right in to the East side of the Texas Hill country - if you go down past Austin you will hit Johnson City where Landslide Lyndon Johnson had the LBJ ranch. If you want, you can catch Austin and San Antonio on you way back - definitely want to plan on a day or two in Austin.

How are the wildflowers looking in the Hill Country this year? I saw my first patch in Houston today!

After this week's 8 degree nights and cold days I'm real happy to hear March is the best time to go. We are ready to drive south this weekend if it will find us some sun.
Thank you so much for all your good info. You all gave my question some good thought.

I'd pick the 3rd week of April, personally. April and October are my favorite months in Central Texas. Yes, bluebonnets might be gone, but all the other flowers will be in full bloom in late April.

Only 3 days? Austin, with a day trip to Gruene or Fredricksburg and wineries.

Another vote for April. March is dicey, as we all saw experienced last weekend when temps dropped to the low 30s and we were all scrambling to save our plants.

FWIW - the wildflowers are in full bloom right now and have seen reports they're beautiful this year.