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If
you are like me, the first sign of Spring in the
Texas Hill Country are the bluebonnets blooming. The
Texas Hill Country after a rainy Spring comes alive with
wildflowers on just about on every back road. Some
areas seem better than others to take in the flowers so
I will try and highlight those areas on this page.
 To
really enjoy the wildflowers and bluebonnets in bloom
you just have to take the tour on a motorcycle.
As
you leave Kerrville head South on 16 across the Guadalupe
River towards Medina. When
you reach Lower Turtle Creek Road ( FM 2771) take a left and after
about a mile you will start to see the wildflowers on
both the right and left side of the road. There are a
few safe places to pull off and take pictures but please
be careful and don't damage any of the plants or the
property along the road.
As you near the end of
Lower Turtle Creek Road (FM 2771) you will see 173 South that will
take you to Bandera. Most of the way along 173 you will
see wildflower on both sides of the road. A nice side
trip on the way down 173 is to stop are Camp Verde. Camp
Verde was established in 1855 and the town of Camp Verde
followed shortly thereafter. The military post was one
of many situated to protect the Texas frontier. The
community was subject to Indian attacks until after the
Civil War as were other small towns along the frontier.
Today the Camp Verde community consists of the Camp
Verde store, the cemetery and the remains of the
military post.
To the North, another
excellent spot to view wildflowers in bloom are along
Highway 290 from Fredericksburg all the way to Johnson
City, Texas. Take most any side road off 290 and you
will see many wildflowers in bloom.
 A
must see while traveling 290 is to stop at
Wildseed Farms. Wildseed Farms has more than 200 acres
under cultivation. They produces 88 varieties of
wildflower seeds, which are available individually and
as regional mixes, specialty mixes or custom blends. You
can buy wildflower seeds and pick up one of the farm's
award-winning and extremely informative catalogs and
take a tour by walking the trails. And for shopping and
sipping, there's a gift shop and a Brewbonnet Biergarten
Further east on 290 is
Johnson State Park where wildflowers put on a very good
show most years. Along with the wildflowers on the
ranch, you can take in some more rich history at Johnson
State Park and LBJ Ranch.
The road to Enchanted
Rock also has many wildflowers along its route too, so
this is a trip you may want to take as well.
If you are traveling to
Kerrville I would suggest taking the long way back
through Doss, Texas via 783. This route has yet to fail
me when looking for wildflowers. We have more
information on this route on our Fredericksburg Area
page.
For up to the minute
reports on wildflower sightings, visit Wild
About Texas Windflowers. They have an excellent
forum which has current up-to-date reports on
wildflowers all across Texas.
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The
Lone Star Motorcycle Museum displays a wonderful
collection of motorcycles from around the world dating
from the 1910's to modern.
