Austin to Fredericksburg: A Day Trip Guide

Distance

About 75 miles, straight west on US-290

Drive

90 minutes; closer to 2 hours on a Saturday

Leave Austin by

9:30 am

Realistic stops

Three wineries, or two plus the town

Home by

8:00 pm

The drive

US-290 west out of Austin is the whole route — through Oak Hill, Dripping Springs, Johnson City, Hye, and Stonewall into Fredericksburg. It is a good drive: rolling country, long views, and wineries visible from the road for the last twenty-five miles. It is also two lanes for much of that stretch with limited passing, so it does not reward being late.

• Leave before nine-thirty or after ten to miss the worst of Austin's westbound morning traffic through Oak Hill.
• Fill up in Dripping Springs or Johnson City. Gas thins out on the corridor.
• Cell service gets patchy west of Johnson City. Download the map first.
• The drive home into a setting sun is behind you, which is one small advantage of the westbound trip.
• Deer are a real hazard on 290 at dusk.

Itinerary 1: the wine day

1. 19:30 — Leave Austin.
2. 211:00 — First tasting at William Chris in Hye, or Becker in Stonewall. Start with the best wine while your palate is fresh.
3. 312:30 — Lunch. Options on the corridor are thin, so plan it — a winery kitchen, a BBQ stop, or push into town.
4. 42:00 — Second tasting at Kuhlman or Grape Creek.
5. 53:30 — Third tasting at Pedernales for the terrace, or Augusta Vin for the estate.
6. 65:30 — Twenty minutes on Main Street if you have the appetite.
7. 76:30 — Leave. Home by eight.

Itinerary 2: wine and town

1. 19:30 — Leave Austin.
2. 211:00 — First tasting at Grape Creek or Augusta Vin, just east of town.
3. 312:30 — Into Fredericksburg for lunch on Main Street.
4. 42:00 — Second tasting at Signor or Barons Creek.
5. 53:45 — An hour and a half on Main Street — shops, the Pioneer Museum, Marktplatz.
6. 65:30 — Beer and pretzels at Altdorf or the Auslander.
7. 76:30 — Leave. Home by eight.

Itinerary 3: not a wine day

1. 17:00 — Leave Austin early for Enchanted Rock, with an entry reservation booked well ahead.
2. 29:00 — The summit hike, about ninety minutes round trip.
3. 311:00 — Thirty minutes south to Fredericksburg.
4. 412:00 — Lunch on Main Street.
5. 51:30 — The National Museum of the Pacific War. Allow two hours minimum.
6. 63:45 — Main Street, or the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall on the way out.
7. 75:00 — Leave. Home by six-thirty.

What to cut when you only have a day

• The fourth winery. Three is the ceiling with three hours of driving in the day.
• Enchanted Rock and three wineries. Pick one or the other; the rock is a two-and-a-half-hour commitment including the drive.
• The Pacific War museum and a full wine day. The museum deserves two to three hours on its own.
• Luckenbach, unless you are passing it. It is lovely and it is twenty minutes each way off the route.
• Dinner in Fredericksburg. It pushes you home at nine-thirty and it is the thing most easily saved for an overnight trip.

What to do instead of cutting it short

If your list has more than three things on it, the honest answer is to stay the night. Fredericksburg is a much better two-night town than a day trip, because the last tasting can be unhurried, you get dinner and Main Street in the evening, and the morning is free for Enchanted Rock. A day trip works well; a weekend works better.

Practical notes

• Book wineries two to four weeks out for weekends, and further in April and October.
• Most tasting rooms close at five or six, with last pours thirty minutes earlier. The third stop needs to start by three-thirty.
• Main Street shops close around five, before the restaurants.
• Peach stands on 290 are open roughly May through August and are worth twenty minutes.
• Bring a cooler for bottles from May through September. A case in a hot trunk for three hours is a ruined case.