Western Hill Country of Texas by Motorcycle
October 10-12, 2022
By Roberto Hofmann
A rough track over the course of 3 days generated by my Garmin InReach,
the northern section Day 1, western section Day 2, and pink southern section Day 3.
Day 1 - October 10, 2022 (230 Miles)
I had worked on my 2021 Himalayan over the weekend, cleaning and lubing the chain, measuring the slack in the chain, which was fine, and making sure all the nuts and bolts on the bike that really matter were secure, like the triple tree bolts, turn signal bolts, axles, etc. Come Monday morning I was mostly ready to roll, but I took my time, as usual. I was about to head to the Western Hill Country by myself for a few days of eagerly anticipated riding.
Packed up and ready to go, just north of Kendalia.
I decided that rather than buying an $80 roll top duffle, I’d just buy a 40 liter roll top dry bag at Walmart for $15, and it worked out as well as expected. It wasn’t as convenient as the Poseidon dry bag that I’d like to get eventually, but it packed nicely. I was able to pack into the dry bag a lil cook set, sleeping bag, inflatable pillow, camp chair, towel, lunch box with snacks, adventure sandals (a must have for any adventure), and a few other accoutrements. I packed all my clothes, my notebook and a Star Trek novel into my backpack, but now, looking back, I think I could’ve also fit everything into the dry bag honestly. It was kinda nice to have stuff separated, but I don’t think it was necessary. I also took a great little Washburn travel guitar I have for such occasions.
So Monday morning I woke around 7am without an alarm, as is my habit basically, and started a nice big breakfast of eggs with potatoes and mesquite smoked sausage. Shortly after that, I was dressed in my typical kit of touring boots, jeans, and my Sedici motorcycle jacket, and I was ready to roll. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to check into my cabin in Leakey, TX until 4pm, so I decided to take the most scenic route possible which took me 3 times the actual distance (230 miles to do 75 as the crow flies) to Leakey for a day of amazing riding.
I started out by heading for Kendalia, which is a little town in the middle of Kendall County, with some of the most beautiful vistas near San Antonio. Taking Edge Falls Road instead of the usually traveled FM 3351, I got to Kendalia, passed through quickly, and ascended into the higher hills via Crabapple Rd. There’s a peak on Crabapple just north of Kendalia that if you don’t stop you’ll only see out of your rearview mirrors if you’re headed north. It looks South over the lower Hill Country, and you can truly see for miles and miles down into what eventually becomes the Texas Coastal Plains just south of San Antonio.
Edge Falls Rd, South of Kendalia
From the top of the hill on Crabapple Road, north of Kendalia, looking South towards what becomes the Coastal Plains.
As I passed through Kendall County, gradually heading towards Fredericksburg, I noticed some fire damage on a couple of the ranches that lay along Crabapple. There were scorched and blackened patches of grass and trees all over the place. It looked very recent, so I don’t think it was a part of wildfires that had been all around the City of Blanco or Johnson City over the summer. I’m glad it wasn’t far more, because according to NBCDFW, about 600,000 acres had burned in Texas wildfires as of July 30, 2022, and if you live in Texas you know how brutally hot our late summer was this year.
I took 1888 and 1376 through quaint lil Lukenbach to Fredericksburg. I don’t really go over 60 mph if I don’t have to, and because I was out mid-morning on a Monday, I didn’t have to get anywhere any faster than I wanted. I cruised around Fredericksburg for a while, just checking out all the tourists and all the touristy places they were walking in and out of. Fredericksburg is a beautiful town with an awesome history, with beautiful nineteenth century limestone buildings surrounding the little town proudly and seemingly eternally, but with the rise in wineries in the area between there and Austin, it has become a haven for tourists on the weekends from both San Antonio and Austin. I also passed by the Pacific War Museum, which I’d never seen fully around its exterior, and which I still have yet to enter; maybe one day when I have less luggage.
I ate lunch at a place called Mamacita’s, which was the only place in town that I could park in front of and see my bike from inside. It was terrible. It was essentially whitened Mexican food, not even Tex-Mex, which we’re so proud of in San Antonio for some reason. The tortillas were Tia Rosa or some awful crap like that. The salsas were boring if irradiated in color, and the chicken was a bit overcooked and way underseasoned. It was actually pretty sad fare, but I was full and ready to roll again.
From there I decided I still had plenty of time in my day to go around the Willow City Loop, which is just a cool loop around Willow City north of Fredericksburg, above and through some spectacular canyons. I have to remark that this is where the geology of Texas is notably different, but the flora and fauna are still similar due to the actual climate. There’s a lot of red igneous rock all around Willow City Loop and all of that capped off by Enchanted Rock nearby. Red Sands and granite are clearly visible all around you on the roadsides and canyon walls. I’ve been to Enchanted Rock many times, but for some reason the Willow City Loop really shows the geological age of this area in its color.
The geology of Texas around Willow City Loop and Enchanted Rock is different from the Hill Country that surrounds it on all sides.
Willow City Loop Vista
Willow City Loop from the canyon floor.
I headed back to Fredericksburg after that, stopped at the large and welcoming town square park, called Marktplatz von Fredericksburg, and planned my route for the rest of the afternoon. Groups of children were playing in the park with some attentive and more distracted parents sitting around them, and the sounds of distant tourists and busy birds surrounded me completely. I was more than a little surprised when I realized that it was going to take me 1.5 hours of nonstop riding to get to Leakey, but I still had energy, and I knew it was going to be a beautiful ride.
From Fredericksburg I took 290 West to 479 South, then 41 West, which I learned is essentially the southern edge of the Edwards Plateau. 41 quickly became one of my favorite roads because of where it’s situated geologically. When you ride along 41, you’re essentially riding along the border of the Edwards Plateau and the Western Hill Country Below, which are amazing geological features of Texas that provide for an incredible biodiversity of flora and fauna and the weather patterns that make all of that life possible. Up on the plateau, the flora thins out much more than the lush hillsides and valleys of the Hill Country. Cedars are shorter and more distantly spaced, and oaks are fewer and farther between as well.
Looking northward across the Edwards Plateau on 41.
Looking southward from the Edwards Plateau on 41.
From there I took 83 down into the Frio River Canyon, an amazingly scenic ride full of twists and turns, Oaks, Sycamores, native grasses, and various cacti clinging to crevices in stone walls and steep slopes. I arrived at the cabin South of Leakey around 5pm, an hour later than I thought I would, but gladly and contented. I made friends with the property’s cat, a tiny old female Calico. She hung out with me on the patio every minute I was out on it. The Cozy Cabin at the Whiskey Mountain Inn was very simple, with a queen bed, desk, table for two, small kitchen with a two burner stove and a coffee maker. It was kinda kitschy in its very feminine rustic decor (red and white checkers the overwhelming theme), but it was literally everything I needed to use as a home base for this trip.
The Cozy Cabin at Whiskey River Inn, South of Leakey, TX
That first night I had dinner at Gypsy Sally’s in Leakey. It had been built in an old service station, bay doors wide open, the old service lot converted into a patio, bright, simple colors giving it a friendly and clean feel. They had a ridiculously good Tejano Burger, which was a double patty slathered in nacho cheese, topped with tortilla chips and their Gypsy Sauce, zingy and compelling. However, there were no fries to be had, which is heresy to me. The chips were fine I guess.
Upon my return to the cabin, I drank scotch and played guitar the rest of the night until I finally lay down, read two pages of my Star Trek novel, and promptly fell asleep.
Moonrise Night 1
Day 2 - October 12, 2022 (200 Miles)
I woke in my cozy bed at the Cozy Cabin around 7am to a beautifully cool and completely overcast morning. I had a cup of coffee and my morning news on my Texas Public Radio app, then headed into town to the Mill Creek Cafe, which I already knew was going to be my breakfast place just from seeing it as I passed through town the evening before. It looked homey and inviting, with oaks draped across the front of the building. It hadn’t been painted in a while, but it still looked like it was in great repair, and this was reinforced upon entering. The old wood floors were clean, and the main room was high and spacious. While all the furnishings were simple, the food was simply excellent. They are likely the first restaurant open in Leakey on any day of the week, which means old-timers sitting around having a chat. I had a delicious southwestern omelet with a side of sausage and the perfect biscuit and decided I’d be back in the next morning.
Looking across 83 on my way back to the cabin after breakfast, Day 2.
I had studied my route on my Butler Map the night before, and while I don’t have the best memory, I try to memorize as much of my routes and the surrounding area as I can before I head out. I’ll also stop and refer to the map when I take breaks so I can memorize the next section. I don’t really use any kind of electronic GPS. However, I do have OnX Offroad loaded onto my phone just in case, with most of central and south Texas saved in offline maps, again, just in case. I also keep my Butler map and a RandMcNally of the whole state with me. You never know.
So, I didn’t memorize my route correctly the evening before or that morning, like the huge dork I can be sometimes.
I had intended to go straight North on 336 right out of Leakey, but I must’ve forgotten that bit and been eager to head west on 337, which was supposed to actually be my last leg on my way back. Oops, and the day gets sillier as I go. I’m human, and I make mistakes, and I’m ok with it.
I then turned North on 55 to get to 335 along Hackberry Creek. 335, 336, and 337 make up the Three Sisters or the Twisted Sisters in the Western Hill Country. These are all considered to contain G1, G2, and G3 (the three best) roads as graded by Butler Maps. I can tell you that almost all of the roads that lay South and East of the Edwards Plateau and Balcones Escarpment are excellent roads, but some of the vistas in this particular part of Texas, between Bandera, Real, and Edwards Counties are the best in Texas that I’ve seen so far, and some of the best I’ve seen in the country so far. However, I will here have to freely admit that the best riding I’ve done is around Cloudcroft, New Mexico, and I’ve never been farther north than San Francisco on the West Coast (which the PCH is one of the best drives I’ve ever done in a car), Zion in Utah in the Southwest, or Baltimore on the East Coast. All of the BDRs are on my bucket list, but particularly the MA and NE because I love the scenery and history of the areas.
So here’s where I go slightly crazy and realize I can be really dumb sometimes. I got up to 41 on 335, the latter of which contains the longest G1 stretch of road in the Western Hill Country, so basically up to the top of the Edwards Plateau again. I headed west looking for 335… I stopped in Rocksprings, thinking I had missed it, where I drank some water, had a snack at a gas station, and talked to an old local rancher for a few minutes. He warned me about all of the dangers of motorcycle riding in the area, particularly wildlife and rocks in the road, and he lamented the fact that his wife would not allow him to go riding long distances on his old Harley.
Looking Southward from 41, this time closer to Rocksprings.
I checked the map again and made note of the curve types near 335. I started backtracking. I got to 335 and realized this is where I had just come out. Oooops. I looked at the map again more closely and realized I had started my route off incorrectly when I turned West on 337 first thing in the morning. Bah. C’est la vie. I decided on a new track and headed back towards Rocksprings on 41 and then descended gradually through amazingly beautiful vistas into Camp Wood on 55 South, which contains even more G1 and G2 sections.
I cruised through Camp Wood slowly, looking around for a good place to have lunch and ended up at Casa Falcon. The exterior reminded me of some of the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants I’ve been to, and the interior was more of that, with wood paneling on the walls, and a layout that belied its original purpose as a house. It was simple TexMex food, and I was glad for it after that nonsense at Mamacita’s the day before. I had a couple of chicken fajita tacos on perfect tortillas, with grilled bell peppers and onions, rice and beans, all nicely done and accompanied by the typical TexMex “salad,” which is some shredded Iceberg lettuce with some diced tomatoes on top. I ate that too, covered in their excellent salsa.
I studied the map very intently while I was waiting for my lunch and and as I ate, and I decided to do an “off-road” section, Bull Head Road, which connects 335 to 336 from West to East right through the middle of a valley between them, but it starts on the West end with RR 2631 and ends with RR 3235 on the northern section of 336, which I had missed that morning anyways with my initial mistake, and where I’d now turn South to head back to Leakey and the cabin for the evening.
I forgot to get fuel after lunch.
Getting close to Bull Head Road on 2631.
The paved sections of the rural routes that connect Bull Head Road are each around 5 miles long, then the gravel section is about 10-12 meandering miles, and it starts on the west end with a heavy old bump gate. If you’ve never used a bump gate, it’s quite a heavy weighted hinge system made of steel, and when you push on the gate, its weight descends, and the gate closes itself behind after you’ve passed through. There’s a chain on the western bump gate that you can attach to an anchor in the ground and the gate itself if you’re alone. There’s another one about halfway through that requires the placement of a very large rock to keep it open while you bring your bike through. These gates are definitely easier to do with another person or group, just hold them open for each other.
Bull Head Road Bump Gate, Start of Gravel Section
Make sure to prop the gates open well for yourself.
This whole portion between 335 and 336 really meanders, following and crossing creeks. I have to say it was incredibly beautiful riding, and occasionally a lil sketchy for me. The limestone around there has been washed and rolled and reset and tumbled and rewashed millions of times, so in some of the higher areas it’s densely packed, but down in the creek beds, it’s very loose with many “baby heads,” which are largish rocks that aren’t quite boulders.
I don’t have a ton of off-road experience besides my time in Cloudcroft, New Mexico riding on forest roads, and there’s really not a lot of off-roading to do in Texas since all the land is privately owned, most greedily says I. Also, I had about 8,000 miles on my Himalayan at the time, and I still have the stock 21” CEAT on the front and a Shinko 705 on the back, so definitely more road biased than some of that stuff warranted, but not actually terrible. I’d say there are about three sections that are particularly rocky, like “riding on marbles'' rocky, so just be careful and know your skill level. I know mine, and it took me about one leisurely Earth hour (stopping for photos and water) to do the ten mile section of gravel, but I was in no hurry whatsoever; I never really am when I’m riding.
Canyon Vistas along Bull Head Road
I realized once I got about halfway through this section that I should’ve gotten gas after lunch. I still had about a quarter of a tank, but Enfield gauges are usually either hopeful or pessimistic, likely depending on the barometric pressure of each hour, which is probably why the bike can do anything you ask of it, but only in the most fundamental ways, totally fine for me. However, at this point a little bit of fuel anxiety kicked in, because I knew I had about thirty miles to go minimum for another fuel stop. I did not have extra fuel with me. So I made two mistakes on the second day of my trip, and it still all turned out fine.
Bull Head Road
One of the mellow sections of Bull Head Road.
Once I popped out on 336, I headed south, watching my fuel gauge and the amazing scenery the whole time, wondering if I was actually going to make it, and hypermiling it to try to do so, 5th gear at 45 mph, no throttle at all and in neutral on lazy downhills, etc. Luckily most of that section is downhill, back into the valley from near the Plateau, and the Himmy really does get excellent gas mileage with its ultra-restricted Bosch EFI 411cc motor.
I pulled into Leakey on my 7th mile of “reserve,” and immediately got fuel and a sixer of local beer, Alstadt Kolsch brewed in Fredericksburg, at the first stop. I was relieved, but I’d also had one of the best rides of my whole life that day, despite the mistakes, and maybe even because of the first. I wouldn’t have spotted Bull Head Road on the map if I hadn’t made that mistake and decided I needed to look at the Butler map more closely. Off-road sections are only denoted on Butler Maps by tiny little segmented lines. It was hardly noticeable to me the night before, but now that I know what to look for, there are new, longer sections of off-road even closer to my home in San Antonio that I’ll be heading towards soon.
Solar farm just South of Leakey.
I went back to the cabin to clean up, got back into some gear, and headed back into town for dinner. The only place open for dinner that night was at Mama Chloe’s, another TexMex spot, but it was totally excellent. I had a couple of chimichangas, which were all your burrito fixings, in my case carne guisada (stewed beef tips in sauce), rice, and beans, deep fried in flour tortillas, then covered in queso. It was a ridiculously unhealthy and delicious meal, and I ate my little TexMex salad again to try to offset some of the cholesterol boosting I was surely experiencing.
Once back at the cabin I cracked open a beer, checked out the map for the next day, which was going to be my scenic return trip home, and got to jamming. After about an hour of sitting and playing guitar on a hard metal chair, after sitting on the insufficiently padded Himalayan stock seat all day, I decided it was time to lay down and read a bit, which only lasted about ten minutes before I was asleep again.
Day 3 - October 12, 2022 (170 miles)
I got up at about 7am on the last day, which started partly cloudy, had a leisurely cup of coffee with the company of the cabin cat, got mostly packed up, then headed into town and back to the Mill Creek Cafe for breakfast. The biscuits had been so good the day before, I ordered a double order of biscuits and gravy with sausage and potatoes. It was excellent, as expected. That’s definitely a go-to place when you’re in the area, and I’ll probably try their lunch next time I head out that way as well. I think they make everything with every successful restaurant’s secret ingredient, love.
Morning Day 3, the Whiskey Mountain Inn Entrance
Checking in and out of the Whiskey Mountain Inn Cabins is super easy, by the way. They have electronic locks on the cabins, so you just get there and do your thing, leave it nice and clean, and head out. Everything was done via email electronically, but they give you their phone number just in case. The cabin even has a lil wifi so you can text if you’re not on AT&T or Cricket, because those are the only carriers with reception out that way.
I headed East on 337 towards Lost Maples, and these were some of the most stunning vistas of this trip, especially looking down on the Sabinal River Valley from the crest of 337 East, and I mean truly stunning.
View from 337 East.
Looking down on the Sabinal River Valley from 337 East.
The top of the pass through 337.
From there I took 187 North, right past Lost Maples, at which I’ve never stopped but now ridden past twice. I will hang out there someday I’m sure. The most remarkable thing about 187 was the wild turkey I saw in the middle of the road and slowed way down to watch. When I first saw it at a distance I thought it was a peacock since it was so large, definitely the biggest wild bird I’ve ever seen.
Highway 39, where things get bougie on the way to Kerrville
As you continue towards Kerrville, which was going to be my first gas stop, you turn East onto Highway 39, which has a very long stretch of winding G2 road. Moving eastward along this road moves you deeper and deeper into what was typical Hill Country getaways for many years. Old river resorts line the road, and you can feel the bougieness increase as you continue eastward. Kerrville has been host to the Kerrville Folklife Festival since 1972, and with its proximity to both Austin and San Antonio, has been a hub for outdoorsy travelers for decades. If you like that sort of thing, the lap of luxury, conveniences and amenities, then this is the place for you to stay. You can easily access the northern and western sections of the Hill Country from Kerrville, especially if you’re heading out on a touring bike and willing to do ~300 miles per day. I just stopped for gas and to look over the Guadalupe River Bridge as I passed by.
I then took 173 South down into Bandera, Texas, Cowboy Country, the local weekend tourist trap of Countrified San Antonians. The ride from Kerrville to Bandera was a little bland. It’s just kinda flat, sparsely wooded, straight, and fast compared to everything else I’d done the previous two and a half days, but still definitely better than riding down I-10.
Every time I’ve passed through Bandera since I started riding my Himmy out this way, it’s been choked with tourists walking the boardwalks, in between shops and restaurants charging too much for everything. However, by this point I was starving, so I stopped into Dough Joe Pizza, which I thought was a clever name. They had a nice patio, but I sat inside on that warm October day. It was clean, but thinly decorated. I have to be honest, I got a supreme pizza all the way, and not only was it one of the prettiest pizzas I’d ever had, it was also one of the most delicious, with perfect ratios of toppings to sauce, and with a crispy crust that was just right.
From there, the rest of the way was a route I’ve taken back into San Antonio many times, down Highway 16, which is an amazing artery of the Texas countryside which stretches from the Mexican border town of Zapata in the South almost all the way to Wichita Falls in the North, just west of Fort Worth.
It’s truly incredible how much there is to see and do in Texas, and in these three days I think I dove kinda deeply into the Western Hill Country and all it has to offer in the ways of adventure and beauty. I’m looking forward to a swift return, and I hope that anyone who reads this will be inspired to go as well. I was spoken to by locals in each of the restaurants I stopped in, pleasantly so, and I felt safe both on the nearly completely empty roads and in my cabin each night. I don’t need much more than that simple kindness and my guitar to be comfortable, and contentment was absolutely the sparkle word for that trip.
I ended a nearly decade-long relationship after the first week of August, 2022. It’s not anything I wanted to do, nor anything I like to dwell on, but it’s something I felt I had to do, and my ex-girlfriend would’ve done this trip with me on her matching white Himalayan if we had still been together. However, I did this trip alone, and I definitely made the best of it. We can only do what we think is best with the time we have. The intense, sublime beauty of my surroundings for those days and the kindness and courtesy I experienced on this trip felt like a healthy kick to the soul, accompanied by a good, long mental floss, and a lingering sense of confidence in my chosen path.
#ardentbold #dostuff
Hill Country Macro.
