Travel ·

Planning a Trip to Fredericksburg, TX

At the end of August 2020, my friend Kelsey and I went down to Fredericksburg for a bridal shower and decided to make the most of a weekend, especially since we’ve been a cooped up during COVID-19! I’ve cataloged the things we did – and our thoughts on them – below, as there is just so much to do!

If you know me, you know that I’ve created two things – a Google Map and a Notion page – to help with planning. First up, Notion.

I created a list on Notion where I just started dumping as much information as I could regarding Fredericksburg. Near the bottom of this post I’m metaphorically and literally dumping the information for you (and trying to make more coherent sentences than my own gibberish), but if you want to see my original Notion page, I’ve linked it here for you.

My process on this document was to open up as many blog post from other people that I could and see what they recommended doing, as a sort of crowd-sourcing. I’m sure that these things we did, and even the things we didn’t do but are listed below, are only a fraction of what Fredericksburg has to offer. It’s so fun to drive around and see the sights and just meander, but I’m the kind of person who at least likes a little bit of a plan ;).

First I’ll address the things we actually did, then speak about my map and AirBNB. Keep scrolling to jump directly to the section with all of the recommendations. At the very bottom of this post I’ve provided links to all of those lovely posts.

Please also note, all of my information is as of August 2020. While we aren’t wearing masks in these photos, please know that we were wearing them at all times except for posing and eating and that the majority of Fredericksburg was doing the same.

What Did We Do in Fredericksburg?

Night 1 – Hondo’s on Main

We quickly threw down our bags in our AirBNB this Friday night, looked at each other, and walked to the door to go out and find food. Thankfully on the way to Fredericksburg we’d decided on Hondo’s on Main because it sounded fun, low-key, we didn’t have to change clothes, and it had a great menu.

What did we eat? A chicken quesadilla, a portobello and blue cheese sandwich, and a bacon burger. I also, as pictured below, got an Alstadt Hefeweizen (a local brewery).

What did we think? The food was good, the band was fun, there were people dancing, and we had a nice breeze. We did have to wait almost an hour, but it was a popular place at dinnertime on a Friday night so that’s to be expected.

Day 2 – WildSeed Farms

WildSeed Farms is full of open fields that are normally filled with flowers. Unfortunately, not much was growing when we went. Thankfully they weren’t charging admission at this time so it didn’t seem like such a loss.

I’d definitely recommend checking back during wildflower season!

Day 2 – LBJ State Park

I wasn’t sure what to expect here, but there are some nice hiking (walking) trails and even a house original to the area from the 1800s you can walk through. We also enjoyed the on-site museum (which you can get through in only a few minutes, not a huge time commitment).

Overall, I think this was a great “filler” in our day but wouldn’t have been the main attraction I’d come to Fredericksburg for. We hadn’t originally talked about going to the Park, but with WildSeed Farms taking less time than anticipated we had some time to kill before our appointment at William Chris.

Day 2 – William Chris Vineyards Picnic

This was one of my favorite activities of the weekend because we got to just sit back, relax, and enjoy a great lunch amongst the vines.

William Chris is indeed a vineyard, but we didn’t have any wine from there (sorry!). We opted for the picnic menu which must be ordered ahead of time. Each meal comes with a sandwich (of three choices – veggie, meat, or gluten free, which all rotate daily based on what’s growing), a dessert (we got a cookie), a sparking water, and a side salad (we got a fruit salad with all of the good stuff and a tortellini pasta salad).

Keep in mind that everything at William Chris needs a reservation.

Day 2 – Das Peach Haus

This was so peaceful. Kelsey got some peach cobbler a la mode and we sat in the shade by the water. The store is very cute and sells all kids of peach-based items, too. You can’t see in this photo but right behind where I’m sitting are hundreds of peach trees!

Day 2 – Heath Sparking Wines

We chose to visit Heath Sparkling Wines because of how unique they are. Heath, owned by Grape Creek Vineyards (see below), is the only winery in Fredericksburg that solely makes sparkling wines.

I can’t say that we loved the wines – the real stars of the show were the snacks you got as pairings and the staff member David who was our guide. Part of this may be due to the fact that we’re not as experienced at drinking sparkling wines, so it may just be a personal preference thing, but we just weren’t blown away.

A few things to note – the space in the building is beautiful but limited – they only had counters to seat six at a time, per table. We had to make a reservation and then come back a few hours later.

Day 2 – Grape Creek Vineyards

Grape Creek’s wine’s were much more up our alley. When you walk up to do a tasting, you get the choice of red, white, or sweet, which is great because you’re able to really have wines catered to your palette.

Our tasting was just me, Kelsey, and the employee Samantha, so we got to ask a lot of questions and learn a lot. We told Samantha (our guide) what we generally go for and she was able to cater our tastings even further to include what we know we’d like and some a little outside our comfort zone.

There were no pairings here, but we did get to keep one of the wine glasses!

Night 2 – Bridal Shower feat. JoJu Bakery

This night we went to the bridal shower which catered PIZZA from a guy who has a pizza oven that hitches to his truck. I don’t know anything about this other than the fact that people said he’s the “bread guy from the Farmer’s Market.” I haven’t had this guy’s bread, or been to the Farmer’s Market, but if it’s anything like his pizza I’d make a point to check it out.

Farmer’s Market: https://www.fredericksburgtxfarmersmarket.com/

Bread/Pizza Maker (based on the name listed as vendor on the Farmer’s Market website): https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Bakery/Bakery-JoJu-1117877708275415/

Day 3 – Squeeze In

We were a little bummed because we had originally wanted to go to either Emma + Ollie or Woerner’s (information below), but unfortunately neither is open on Sundays.

Squeeze In had unlimited coffee (which is a blessing) and great egg-based products. Kelsey had a hash brown plate and I had a breakfast burrito.

Next, this map, embedded below (direct link here) was a game-changer in planning this trip. Kelsey and I had come up with our list of things we were most interested in doing, but were ambivalent as to the order to do them in. We used this map to help us pick the order of things that we did so we weren’t driving all over the place.

  • Green – outdoor space, nature
  • Purple – food
  • Red – beer
  • Orange – museum
  • Blue – wineries
  • Yellow – there isn’t anything yellow on this map right now because these flags were for the home we stayed in and the home we were visiting for the bridal shower we were attending and have been removed for privacy.

AirBNB

Fredericksburg is a town set up perfectly for AirBNBs (or VRBO, whatever you prefer). The hotels are a little ways out of town and didn’t seem priced attractively for the weekend we were going to be in town.

I’d recommend browsing the AirBNB website with your preferred dates and number of people and just open a bunch of tabs (a bit chaotic, but helpful to get a lay of the land). Keep in mind that Main Street is quite walkable, so anything you can get right in the main part of town will be a great choice. For reference, we stayed out west on Main Street and things on the east were anywhere from a 10-20 minute walk (1-4 minute drive).

In our specific experience, we loved our AirBNB! The setup worked perfectly for the two of us – and there was a working coffee machine and a screened in patio, so it ticked all my boxes. There are so many places to stay in Fredericksburg, but if you want to stay where we did check out this link.

Never tried AirBNB but want $$$ off your first stay? Click out my referral code here.*

Now, here’s all of the recommendations I received –

Wineries

Items below were recommended specifically on blogs and/or websites with the Most Frequently Recommended noted with an asterisk.

  • William Chris Vineyard* [Reservations Required] – https://www.williamchriswines.com/
    • Picnic lunches ($20/person) Each house-made lunch includes a gourmet sandwich, seasonal salad, fresh fruit, Rambler sparkling waters, and a little something sweet. This is the picnic I’m referring to above.
    • Food & wine pairing ($50/person) small bites using seasonal ingredients, designed to perfectly pair with our current release wines.
  • Becker Vineyards* – https://www.beckervineyards.com/Visit/Elevated-Experiences
    • 2 locations – one tasting room on Main Street, other at actual vineyard
    • No Reservations Needed. Tasting fee of $20 includes 6 samples of Becker Vineyards wines and your souvenir Riedel wineglass.
    • I received this recommendation the most from people I know in “real life”
  • Heath Sparking Wines and Grape Creek Vineyards* – https://www.heathsparkling.com/
    • 2 locations – one tasting room on Main Street, other at actual vineyard
    • GCW – Wine Tasting ($25/person) six-wine flight personalized to your preferences, and the wine glass to take home; Tasting tickets available at the door, subject to spacing limitations. This is what we did.
    • GCW – Winery Tour + Flight or Private Tasting + Flight ($40/person)
    • HSW – Wine Tasting ($25/person) four sparking wines
  • Calais Winery [Reservations Required] – https://www.calaiswinery.com/
    • “Guest pouring” – $15/person, 45 minutes
  • Ab Astris Winery – https://www.abastriswinery.com/
  • 1851 Vineyards // Slate Mill – https://slatemillwinecollective.com/
    • Tastings – 5 wine, either $15 or $20 (depending on which wines)
    • Tours of the production facility for $20/person by reservation only.
    • ‘Grape Stomp Experience’ + production tour $30/person.
  • Pontotoc Vineyard Weingarten – https://pontotocvineyard.com/
    • Tastings $10/person
  • The Vintage Cellar – https://www.thevintage-cellar.com/
    • Tastings $16/person, 5 wines
  • Messina Hof – http://www.messinahof.com/hillcountry
    • Also have location in Grapevine, TX
    • Tastings $14 or $24 (depending on which wines)
  • Torre di Pietra Vineyards
  • Chisholm Trail Winery

Wine Bars

Wine Seller

Reduced Due to COVID-19 (as of August 2020)

Restaurants

City’s Website with all restaurants in city (good, easy filtering): https://www.visitfredericksburgtx.com/restaurants/

Items below were recommended specifically on blogs and/or websites with the Most Frequently Recommended noted with an asterisk.

Breakfast

  • Woerner Warehouse Café* – only breakfast and lunch, not open on Sundays – https://woernerwarehouse.com/#about
  • Emma + Ollie* – only breakfast and lunch, bakery, not open on Sundays – https://www.emmaolliefbg.com/
  • Hill Country Donuts & Kolaches – breakfast
  • Twisted Sisters (coffee and bakery)
  • Java Ranch Espresso Bar & Cafe

German

Pub/Bar/American/Diner

A Bit Fancier

Misc.

Beer/Liquor:

Activities to Do in and Near Fredericksburg:

Farm

Museum

Peaches

Outdoors

  • Enchanted Rock
  • Willow City Loop
  • Old Tunnel State Park
  • Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site
  • Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park

*I do receive a small kickback after your first trip, but this is not sponsored – just the personalized referral link anyone with an AirBNB account can provide.

Sources for my Fredericksburg Notion page and suggestions above:

Want to see more of my travels? Check them out here.

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