Granite, Springs & Canyon Country

Arrive at opening (7am or 8am depending on season) to secure a parking spot and avoid the permit quota that closes the park by 10am on summer weekends. The Summit Trail is 1.4 miles round-trip with 425 feet of exposed granite climbing — the pink granite is Precambrian, 1 billion years old, and the exfoliation domes around the main rock create a landscape unlike anywhere else in Texas. On clear mornings the cedar-covered hills of the Texas Hill Country extend in all directions from the summit.

Use the afternoon to explore a different trail, cool off at a swimming hole, or find a scenic spot to watch the sunset.

A tiny community of about three buildings — the general store (1849), the dance hall, and the post office — that became the spiritual home of outlaw country music when Jerry Jeff Walker recorded 'Viva Terlingua' here in 1973. Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and every Texas singer-songwriter of consequence has played the outdoor stage. Any afternoon, live acoustic music fills the dance hall yard under the live oaks.

The constant-level Highland Lakes reservoir sits on pink Precambrian granite — the same stone as Enchanted Rock, just submerged. The 7.2-mile Inks Lake Trail circuits the park through cedar-elm woodland with granite outcroppings and lake views throughout. The Blue Hole swimming area, between massive rounded boulders at the park's south end, is one of the most photographed spots in the Highland Lakes.

Use the afternoon to explore a different trail, cool off at a swimming hole, or find a scenic spot to watch the sunset.

A Burnet institution serving Texas BBQ — brisket, turkey, and sausage links — along with homemade pies and sides in a no-frills dining room near Lake Buchanan. A reliable midday fuel stop on the Highland Lakes road trip.

The Llano River runs across a broad limestone and granite shelf through Badu Park in downtown Llano, creating a series of natural pools and channels perfect for afternoon wading. The water is clear and the gravel bars are smooth; massive pecan trees shade the banks. This is the Hill Country's version of a public pool, free and open all summer.

A Llano institution since 1978 serving chicken-fried steak, catfish, and Hill Country plates to the ranching families of Llano County. The peach cobbler is made with Stonewall peaches and the sweet tea is unsweet enough to actually taste the tea.

The 3-mile round-trip Gorman Falls trail descends through a juniper canyon to a 65-foot travertine waterfall — the tallest in Central Texas — where mineral-rich spring water has been building moss-covered formations for thousands of years. Maidenhair fern and Texas columbine grow in the permanent spray zone at the base. The falls are best in the morning before the heat; the trail returns via the Colorado River access.

Below Gorman Falls, the Colorado River bends through the park in a series of swimming holes accessible via the Spicewood Springs trail. The cold spring water mixes with the river creating temperature layers — swim at the surface or dive to the cold spring layer below. The park's remote location means even peak-season weekends are quieter than most Hill Country parks.

San Saba is the Pecan Capital of the World, and the historic MKT railway depot on Wallace Street now serves as the county museum. The surrounding commercial district is intact 1920s brick with a working hardware store, a barbershop, and the original drugstore soda fountain. The San Saba River pecan orchards are visible from the edge of town.