It might have been a little early, but the weather was too perfect to miss so a friend and I headed down to Fredericksburg to check out the hill country wildflower display this past weekend.
The ride down
After a lunch stop at the Cactus Grill in Meridian the display of flowers began south of Llano on route 16. There were sections where the bluebonnets were so thick along the roadside the air was full of their scent. It was a great time to go through the hill country because the hills were dotted with an array of greens; the dark green of cedars, the lighter green of deciduous leaves, and spots of beautiful pale spring green from late opening trees.
We tried to stop at Enchanted Rock State Park, but it appeared everyone in central Texas had made the same choice and there was a line to even turn into the park so we headed on to Fredericksburg. The park is on 965 and the scenery was gorgeous.
We stayed at the rustic Frontier Inn on the east edge of Fredericksburg — reasonably priced, clean and run by super nice people.
Wildseed Farms
The day started out with clouds and fog for the first stop on Sunday at Wildseed Farms just east of Fredericksburg. It might not be a hit with the guys, but a definite must see for females traveling the area. Fields of wildflowers surround a group of great shops; beautiful plants, gorgeous things for the yard, a beer and wine shop, a nature shop with bird feeders, and of course, a huge selection of wildflower seeds.
Willow City Loop
The clouds and fog burned off and after a run out to Pedernales Falls State Park we rode the area to see wildflowers (1323 is really nice) and saved the Willow City loop until later in the afternoon. The flowers were incredible on the loop, but so was the crowd. I would recommend trying to see the loop on a weekday to avoid the crowds that block the narrow 13 mile road. Crowds or not, it’s a must see during wildflower season.
A sprint out toward west Texas on Monday morning and we were back in town with weekend mileage of 685. The weekend ride was a great way to celebrate spring.
