West Texas advice

[Bill N]

Planning my first ride from Florida to visit the best roads in West Texas . Departing 19 Octd  or so. Initial plan is to hit the best Hwy's in the hill country around Kerrville. Then drop down to Del Rio, travel Hwy 90 to Marathon. Drive thru Big Bend Park and stop over in Terlingua. Ride the 170 River road to Presidio. From there up to the Marfa, Alpine, Ft. Davis area.

Questions youse guys could help me with:

How are the road surfaces? Mostly Chip fill?
How aggressively are the speed limits enforced in Big Bend and elsewhere.
Are gas stations available in most of the small towns?
Any camp or motel suggestions and eateries?
What are your recommended roads/attractions?
Really looking forward to this trip an I'll appreciate your recommendations.
Thanks, Bill

[oldbike54]

Planning my first ride from Florida to visit the best roads in West Texas . Departing 19 Octd  or so. Initial plan is to hit the best Hwy's in the hill country around Kerrville. Then drop down to Del Rio, travel Hwy 90 to Marathon. Drive thru Big Bend Park and stop over in Terlingua. Ride the 170 River road to Presidio. From there up to the Marfa, Alpine, Ft. Davis area.

Questions youse guys could help me with:

How are the road surfaces? Mostly Chip fill?
How aggressively are the speed limits enforced in Big Bend and elsewhere.
Are gas stations available in most of the small towns?
Any camp or motel suggestions and eateries?
What are your recommended roads/attractions?
Really looking forward to this trip an I'll appreciate your recommendations.
Thanks, Bill

 Not bad , and yes
 Depends , usually some leeway
 Caroll Shelby's old ranch near Terlingua
 Yes
 The Marfa Spook lights
 
  Dusty

[tazio]

Brings back some memories. 3 crazy days through Mexico on a sporty.

last time in my twenties, last time single, last time I was in shape.
Around 50mph, saw the sign "topes" and wondered what it meant.. (it's a Mexican speed bump) ~woohoo!!
Spit out of Mexico into Presidio, TX.
Wish I was going with you, waiting to read your ride report on this one!

[ITSec]

If you can handle some well-graded but unpaved roads, go down to the gorge in Big Bend NP and wave to the guys across the river. Go up into the central bowl as well, and over to the state park (Big Bend Ranch).

Get up to Balmorhea and go for a swim - really. It's one of the most refreshing and surprising oases in west Texas. If the timing is right, there are some inexpensive motel cabin rooms there.

I used to live in northwest San Antonio, so the hill country out there was my backyard - let me know if you want some more detailed suggestions in that area.

[Rich A]

The River Road is fun--lots of ups and downs. There's an old movie set on that road.

Rich A

[PJPR01]

Kerrville is close to Luckenbach and The Harvest Classic Moto festival will be taking place there Oct 23-24...might work perfectly into your schedule. 

Several folks from Houston are probably going...

http://www.visitfredericksburgtx.com/events/luckenbach-harvest-classic-motorcycle-rally-3/

If you like BBQ...try to work in a stop in Lockhart (on the autobahn between I-10 and Austin, runs right by the Circuit of the Americas race track)...

Highway 46 to Boerne is very nice...from there, easy access to Kerrville.

The 3 Twisted Sisters near Kerrville (335/336/337) is a fun full day of riding...you'll be knackered on the 200 mile round trip with stops in Leakey, so plan to spend time in Bandera or Hondo on the way down to 90.

The road to Del Rio is nothing particularly spectacular, and once you get to Amistad Reservoir to Big Bend, it's remote as it gets.  Last I checked there was a doubt about whether there was gas in Marathon...there was 1 station there, but not sure if there are 2 now.

Fun trip!  If you stop in Houston along the way...send up a flare!

[nunzio]

Try this.


http://www.harvestclassic.org/

[ruote]

Texas Highways (texashighways.com) is a travel magazine put out by the Texas Department of Transportation.  The website has event calendars for various areas of Texas.  Many events are held annually, so if the current issue/website doesn't show what you want, it may be listed in a previous year's issue. 

TxDOT also prints maps of the entire state showing all the major (and many minor) roads.  These maps have insets showing the major streets in the cities and basic info about state parks.  TxDOT also offers county maps showing all roads in each county that are bigger than a goat path. 

Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. has a magazine and detailed info on state parks. 

[Lannis]

My reply for Texas travel info was accidently posted in the wrong thread and the system will not let me re-post it. 

If you if you want to read it, go to NGC) New jet glider with a twist, thinking outside of the box

1) Use your browser "COPY" function to capture the text that you want to post over here on this thread.

2) "REMOVE" the post from the other thread.    It's your post, you can remove it.

3) Use the copied text to "PASTE" the text you want into this thread.

Lannis

[Gliderjohn]

Quote from route:

My reply for Texas travel info was accidently posted in the wrong thread and the system will not let me re-post it. 

If you if you want to read it, go to NGC) New jet glider with a twist, thinking outside of the box

Now that post makes sense. Thought for a moment you were trying to give location instructions to a retrieve crew. 
GliderJohn

[Dave Bell]

When in Marathon and if you don't mind the $$price, the Gage Hotel is an old cowboy headquarters that is way cool.  Definitely the river road going to Presidio.  Near Junction and Kerrville, the 3 sisters roads. 

[Bill N]

Keep the recommendations coming I'm taking notes. Others might be interested too.  Is the ride from Del Rio on Hwy 90 to Marathon a worthy ride? Remote is ok but I hope there is scenery along the way. I can choose any route(s) I want out to the Alpine area, so your suggestions are appreciated.
Bill

[Bill N]

If you can handle some well-graded but unpaved roads, go down to the gorge in Big Bend NP and wave to the guys across the river. Go up into the central bowl as well, and over to the state park (Big Bend Ranch).

Get up to Balmorhea and go for a swim - really. It's one of the most refreshing and surprising oases in west Texas. If the timing is right, there are some inexpensive motel cabin rooms there.

I used to live in northwest San Antonio, so the hill country out there was my backyard - let me know if you want some more detailed suggestions in that area.

I'm thinking we'll spend about 3 days in the Hill country. I've got the Twisted Sisters on my list. If you have some other favorites, I'd appreciate learning about them.
Bill

[segesta]

RoadRunner magazine had a good article on riding the Big Bend park in its March/April 2014 issue. However, the full online article is apparently behind a paywall:

http://www.roadrunner.travel/magazine/read/march-april-2014/page/20/

Or check for the back issue at your local library. Remember those? I don't really.

[davedel44]

Bill N,

You might PM Texas Turnip  (Ken Hand). A legendary Texas riders

Dave
Galveston

[ITSec]

Some of my favorite Hill Country roads, including ones I'm sure you know:

16 from Leon Valley to Bandera, and from there to Kerrville - 689 (173) is not as fun.
27/39 west from Kerrville.
From Vanderpool and the area, 187 north and south, 337 (east or west), 470/462.
From Leakey - 337, 336, 335 (the sisters), but 335 and the 41 link don't match the others; I'd rather backtrack some of these. 1050 and 470 can be a nice ride back to SA.
Others in the district - 1283 past Bandera Falls and Mico. Near Fredericksburg, 473 and 1376 to the south, 1888 and 2325  near Blanco, 965 up past Enchanted Rock.

Haven't been there lately, but there used to be decent BBQ places in Vanderpool and Leakey; stop early, as they often run out of BBQ by early afternoon. Rudy's (several locations in the area) is always good. If you like schnitzel and red cabbage, you can't miss Fredericksburg - fantastic German food. Best places to find a motel - NW SA, Kerrville, Fredericksburg; there are some places in the smaller remote towns.

[Daniel Kalal]

Keep the recommendations coming I'm taking notes.

Bill, I rode a fair amount of your planned route last November and took quite a number of photographs along the way.  Here they (are along with notes):
http://www.dankalal.net/2014trip22/trip.html

[Bill N]

Bill, I rode a fair amount of your planned route last November and took quite a number of photographs along the way.  Here they (are along with notes):
http://www.dankalal.net/2014trip22/trip.html

I'm writing down all the suggestions. Daniel, it was your travel log that motivated me to do this trip. I'll gladly review you report.
Thanks, Bill

[PJPR01]

From Vanderpool and the area, 187 north and south, 337 (east or west), 470/462.

  Another vote for Vanderpool for 2 reasons:

1.  Lost Maples State Park is a Great place to go for a hike with some nice elevation changes, waterfalls and they have a wonderful place to camp and

2.  There is a Vintage Motorcycle museum just down the road from the park which is well worth visiting...in fact I was there last year, and they were repairing a couple of Guzzi's in the back.  Ask the guys at the front and you can get a tour of the back room.

Enjoy!

[mjptexas]

Planning my first ride from Florida to visit the best roads in West Texas . Departing 19 Octd  or so.

What's your planned route into Texas, and how much time do you plan to spend on the way?  If you are entering the state by the southerly route there's not a lot great riding until you get west of San Antonio or Austin,  unless you want to drop down to Corpus Christi and spend a day at Port Aransas along the beach.  If you do take the south route decide if you want to see the Texas Hill Country on your way or on your way back.  If you decide you want to see it on your way back hook up with Hwy 90 just east of Hondo and take it all the way to Marathon.  There you can drop down into Big Bend National Park.  Hwy 90 is a decent road, not much traffic and high speed limits.  It's the only place I've been stopped for going to slow!  Don't pass up any gas stops even if you have half a tank.  You can't always count on every gas stop being open, and, in some locales there is only one gas station.

If you enter the state farther north and head towards Nacogdoches you can go through the Piney Woods, part of which are in national forests.  If you do this take the back roads across the state to Hwy 16 and take Hwy 16 south through Llano.  Make sure you stop at Coopers BBQ - arguably some of the best BBQ in Texas, and in my opinion THE BEST beef ribs you will ever eat.  Continue on Hwy 16 south past Kerrville until you get two Medina.  Then take 337 west to Vanderpool.  Before you continue west to Leakey on 337 take a short detour north on 187 to the Lonestar Motorcycle Museum. 

http://www.lonestarmotorcyclemuseum.com

One of the best collections of old Nortons, Vincents etc.  you'll find this side of of the Mississippi.

Then continue west on 337 to Leakey, take Hwy 83 north a couple of miles and bear left onto 336.  West on 41 to 337, then left (southwest) on 337 all the way to 277 and on to Del Rio. You can easily spend another day in the Texas Hill Country.  If you do let me know and I'll give you a few more entertaining roads.  Note if you do take the southern route out, you can reverse part of this route up through Rock Springs and see the Hill Country on the way back.

Drive thru Big Bend Park and stop over in Terlingua. Ride the 170 River road to Presidio.

We did something similar in March, riding from Austin.  There are not a lot of places to stay in the Terlingua area.  We stayed at the Eldorado Hotel: 
http://www.eldorado-hotel.net   
It ain't much but it's clean and It's in the Terlingua ghost town area. (I doubt if I could get my wife to stay there).  Plan to spend a day doing the River Road to Presidio and back, and another day in the park before you head north to Alpine. 

How are the road surfaces? Mostly Chip fill?

In my opinion, most Texas roads are a cut above what you will see in other parts of the country.  There's a fair amount of chip fill but they're usually well maintained.  In the part of the country you're headed to the paved roads are usually pretty good.  The 'unimproved' roads are another story.

How aggressively are the speed limits enforced in Big Bend and elsewhere.

I tell people that the posted speed limits in West Texas are more like 'Speed Suggestions'.  You will be continually passed riding at the limit.  HOWEVER, be sure you adhere to the limits when you go through small towns.  Be really careful speeding on Hwy 16, 336, 335, etc. in the Hill Country. Those roads are often well patrolled, primarily because the local deputies would rather deal with you upright as opposed to having to scrape you up off the road.  Also, watch your speed east of I-35 on your way west.

Are gas stations available in most of the small towns?

Gas is usually available, but never pass up a gas stop even if you have more than half a tank.

Any camp or motel suggestions and eateries?

See above.

Enjoy the trip.  The temperature should make for great riding that time of year.

[jrt]

The Chester Nimitz Memorial Japanese Tea Garden is in Fredricksburg.    The website says it is under construction though, so not sure if it will be open.
If nothing else, you can listen to the Austin Lounge Lizard's song about it.  Hilarious.
In Big Bend, I favored going to the hot springs and when I was young, running down the giant sand dune. 
Indian lodge hotel in Ft. Davis is very cool- or it used to be 30 years ago.  Built by the CCC in the style of a Pueblo.  The MacDonald Observatory is close.
There is some little town out there (don't remember which one) where the library is in an old county jail.  It is very amusing.

[guzzied]

Bill, I rode a fair amount of your planned route last November and took quite a number of photographs along the way.  Here they (are along with notes):
http://www.dankalal.net/2014trip22/trip.html

As always Dan, Fantastic Pictures! 

I wish I could have your patience to stop and smell the roses!

Mike