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Hill Country/Austin Area Hiking


Al_4_ISU

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If this is better reserved for the Travel thread, please move.

Looking to take a small (4 day) family vacation in December (Dad/step mom, wife and I) and we're checking possible options.  We're considering Austin due to the combo of milder weather,  lively culture, outdoor recreation, and my dad and I both hating "beach" vacations.  Austin fits the bill as well as anywhere, and I'm curious what the best hiking within an hour to 1.5 hours of Austin is.

We both (dad and I) have pretty good endurance, and have hiked 40+ of the Colorado 14ers, so as much elevation gain and distance as we can get is good.  Preferably in the 10-15 mile range.  Is there any place in that area that provides this?  Would we be better doing San Antonio, or is that more of the same?

Edited by Al_4_ISU
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If you've never been to San Antonio, it might be a better 4-day vacation spot.  It ain't the #1 tourist destination in Texas for nuthin.   Great food, the missions, the riverwalk, great museums, and for hiking I will submit that no urban area has a better or closer nature preserve than Government Canyon.  Over 20 miles of hiking there, all great trails.

For Austin, I would recommend Pedernales Falls, a nice drive through Dripping.  McKinney Falls, as well as Bastrop/Beuscher, are subpar for hiking.  

 

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Another plus to Fredericksburg, is that Enchanted Rock is nearby. That is one of my favorite place for hiking near Austin. It is about 2 hours from Austin but much closer to FB. There are lots of fun granite domes to hike up and down. The park fills up quick so getting there early gives you the best chance to get in.

 

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You could just stay in Austin and make day trips to SA and Fredericksburg/Enchanted Rock. We day trip to all of those places and we live in Waco so it's easily doable from Austin. Oh and don't worry about elevation gain in Central Texas. Whatever you do don't skip out on San Antonio as it's a different world than anywhere north of it.

Edited by SimonBolivar
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