Editor’s Note: The Texas Historic Commission outlines 12 Texas regions of interest in its Texas Heritage Trails program. The following is a look at the Texas Hill Country Trail, the first part of a series on these trails.

Serenity on tap. A historical treasure chest brimming with natural gems. A place where you can have your high art and your barbecue, too, washed down with a bottleneck of Ziegenbach. More than 19 counties and a crock pot of German, Mexican and cowboy culture comprise the Texas Hill Country, one of Lone Star’s best-kept secrets. The Texas Historic Commission wants Texans—and the rest of the world—to know about this mystique.

Living History
The Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm sits on the 700-acre Lyndon B. Johnson State Park on the Pedernales River. Animals still plow the garden, and farmers use the log cabin’s cream separator daily. Lined by Shiner Bock bottles, the grounds offer a brand of 20th century German life in which no two days are the same. “It’s like stepping back in time to around 1915 in the Texas Hill Country,” said park manager Iris Neffendorf. “Visitors can smell lunch being cooked on a wood-burning stove and costumed interpreters carry out the day-to-day activities of a turn-of-the-century Texas German farm family.”
Admission to the farm is free, and LBJ State Park offers a public pool, exhibits and a nature trail of wildflowers, bison, longhorn, and white-tail deer. Back at the farm, visitors can play washers in the pit or visit the historically accurate blacksmith shop. “Unique items are made at the blacksmith shop and on the farm like lye soap and the public can even purchase those items at the park store,” Neffendorf said. “Children enjoy the experience of going to the hen house and gathering a fresh egg and seeing the old toys of the time.”
Upcoming:
Old Time German Smokehouse Secrets: Experience 1900s meat processing methods used on an old German farm. Feb. 6, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Gardening: Year-round activity at the farm in which the public views what is growing, canning methods, and wooden stove food preparation.
Other Living History Sites: Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farm (Austin) and Badland Rangers (Sabinal).

Caves
Daily tours of Cascade Caverns offer 105 acres of true Texas scenery as nature intended. Accounts of the caverns can be found in Ein Verstehltes Leben, a 1930s Texan-German novel documenting the life of a hermit hiding from war in the cave. Among the caverns’ wonders: the threatened salamander species, an underground waterfall and a T-Rex from the set of the Patrick Swayze film Father Hood.
“Cascade Caverns is a great intact piece of Americana, of which there is so little left in the Hill Country,” said co-owner Scott Kyle. “We expect to retain this history while updating exhibits, tours, and lighting technologies in the cave.”
Now equipped with full camping hook-ups, scouting expeditions are available year-round. The cave maintains a constant temperature of 69 degrees, and mild temperatures in the winter months keep Cascade Caverns a viable option.
Other caves: Cave Without A Name (Boerne), Inner Space Cavern (Georgetown), Longhorn Cavern State Park (Burnet) and Natural Bridge Caverns (San Antonio).

Small Towns
Old towns—with their dance halls, general stores and honky tonks—are a perennial favorite for locals and visitors alike. Stages where the likes of Willie Nelson cut their teeth now feature a constant stream of Texas crooners, from Robert Earl Keen to Pat Green. For anyone who likes a cold one, hot music and a two-step under the stars, old towns and their dance halls can’t be beat.
Take Luckenbach, for example, where “everybody’s somebody.” Established as a post office, general store and drinking hole in 1886, Luckenbach’s dance hall now features live music seven days a week.
“Luckenbach is known worldwide for its laid-back, casual ways,” said Abbey, an events coordinator who only goes by her first name. “During the week, anyone can sit in our open picker’s circle and play along.” Watching along with the roosters and chicken, who sing along with the acts, ranks among the top activities in Luckenbach, which holds the world record for the Largest Guitar Ensemble (Aug. 23, 2009, 1,868 players).
Fredericksburg is another small-town favorite, offering historic structures, nostalgic relics and quintessential Texan culture. The Grey Forest Historical Commission enjoyed all of these on a recent field trip. “Along with the tour of the historic homes, we also had the opportunity to look at several vintage cars owned by the property owners, as well as a close-up look at elk that live on the property,” said GFHC President Freda Hoffman. “On the drive home, we all stopped off for one wonderful Texas barbecue. A great time was had by all.”
Hoffman’s organization is working to list Grey Forest, Texas, on the National Register of Historic Places. The hamlet, once a swimming hole for vacationing city dwellers, is now a haven for artists who appreciate the lush landscapes and distinctive homesteads.
Other small towns: Bandera, Boerne, Burnet, Camp Verde, Canyon Lake, Cherry Ranch, Cherry Spring, Dripping Springs, Georgetown, Grapetown, Gruene, Helotes, Kerrville, Johnson City, Llano, Marble Falls, New Braunfels, San Marcos and Wimberley.

Old Churches
Some of the most interesting Hill Country destinations come with zero fanfare. From limestone structures to Old World masonry, historic churches are guideposts to the Hill Country inhabitants of yore.
St. Stanislaus Catholic Church carries the designation of being the second-oldest Polish Catholic Church in the United States. The parish, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2005, is located in Bandera, the Cowboy Capitol of the World. A Greek cross and Gothic Revival architecture are among the treasures found at the six historic churches of Georgetown, just 26 miles north of Austin. The iconic bell of Georgetown’s First Presbyterian Church was purchased in 1822 for $69.15. It continues to ring today.
Other old churches: Grace Heritage Center (Georgetown), Historic Churches of Georgetown; St. Barnabas Episcopal Church (Fredericksburg), Zion-Lutheran Church (Fredericksburg), Immanuel Lutheran Church (Pflugerville) and St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church (Pflugerville).

Gardens
An oasis of vegetation near and far, the San Antonio Botanical Garden is an oil painting come to life. From the Texas Native Trail to a sparkling glass pyramid of rainforest, the garden’s 33 acres offer visitors the world. A stroll down Watersaver Lane displays water-saving landscaping around miniature cottages, offering viewers ideas about their own homesteads. Artwork and meditation at the garden make a stunning backdrop to events, including Shakespeare in the Park and Concerts Under the Stars.
“There are many areas of the garden to enjoy, and with our beautiful San Antonio weather, visiting the garden can be exciting year-round,” said Mary Byrd, SABG spokeswoman.
Building on the growing demand for native gardening, Native American Seed (Boerne) is dedicated to helping locals maintain the integrity of the Hill Country’s natural spaces. Its online component, www.seedsource.com, features catalogs, maps of eco-regions and gardening guidance, a high-tech component of a mail order company that has operated for 21 years. “The business of locating, harvesting and selling native wildflower and grass seeds is very complex,” said spokeswoman Emily Neiman. “Our mission is helping people restore the earth by providing a reliable and trusted seed source of strictly natives to the eco-regions.”
Upcoming at San Antonio Botanical Garden:
Dog Days: Special pet-related activities in the garden. Jan. 23 and 24.
Chocolate Day: A celebration of chocolate just in time for Valentine’s Day, with food demonstrations, music and chocolate plants. Feb. 13.
Other gardens: Bear Springs Blossom Nature Conservation (Pipe Creek), The Meadows at Wildseed Farms (Fredericksburg), Zilker Botanical Garden (Austin), and Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (Austin).

Preservation
The draw of the Texas Hill Country comes with its challenges. According to local environmental groups, more than 57,000 people relocate to the Hill Country annually. Seventeen counties of the Texas Hill Country make up a population of 3.1 million, and it is projected to climb to at least 4.3 million by 2030.
A Feb. 26 and 27 forum in Fredericksburg, “Sustaining the Hill Country—Now and for Future Generations,” will address this trend and its impact on the nature and wildlife of the area. A coalition of preservation groups annually host the forum, including the Bexar Audubon Society, Green Spaces Alliance of South Texas, the Hill Country Alliance, and the Texas Wildlife Association.
“The character of the Hill Country is changing due to explosive growth,” the groups said in a joint statement. “To sustain what people love about the Hill Country requires a strategy.”

‘Who needs Europe’
It is no coincidence that the New York Times ranks the Texas Hill Country a top travel destination. Proclaiming “who needs Europe,” the Times brands the rolling hills as a recession-friendly adventure. But Texans already know this; for about three million of us, heaven is our backyard.