City Spotlight: Bulverde
Take U.S. Highway 281 north out of San Antonio for about half an hour, and you’ll happen upon Bulverde, a “certified scenic city” with a front-row seat to what many believe is the most majestic vistas of rolling, bluebonnet-covered hills in Texas. The quiet, humble folks (only a few thousand) who call Bulverde home also call it “the front porch of the Texas Hill Country,” and sure enough, there’s no better spot to begin an adventure through the vibrant valleys of Central Texas.
The fertile, beautiful lands around Bulverde have been inhabited for millennia, beginning with Paleo-Indians who lived along the Cibolo Creek more than 2,000 years ago. Apache, Tonkawa, and Comanche tribes settled in the area over the centuries as well, until the land became “Pieper’s Settlement” in 1850, named after a German immigrant who settled there shortly after the U.S. annexed Texas in 1845. The town existed quietly and grew unhurriedly. It wasn’t until 1999 that five areas around Pieper’s Settlement merged to create the single, unified city of Bulverde.
While the makeup of Bulverde may have changed shape over the years, the literal landscape has remained largely untouched for centuries. The town is situated among the rolling hills and clusters of live oak trees and is a short drive from some of Hill Country’s most stunning parks.
Guadalupe River State Park
The Guadalupe River State Park is only a 15-minute drive from Bulverde, and it’s one of the best spots to explore the eponymous Guadalupe River, which offers some of the clearest water in Texas for kayaking, paddling, and canoeing in Texas. But it’s not just fun on the water here — there are 13 miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails to explore.
Honey Creek State Natural Area
Right next door is the Honey Creek State Natural Area, a government-protected plot of forest and creeks spanning over 2,200 acres. The area is a conservation effort that offers Texans a glimpse into what the glades of Hill Country looked like generations ago with canopies of juniper and live oak, bald cypress and lily pads along the creeks, deer and wild turkeys roaming peacefully. The park is currently only open to the public on the weekends through guided tours.
Canyon Lake
Just 15 miles east of Bulverde is Canyon Lake, one of the premier water recreational attractions in Texas. It’s a popular site for fishing (especially for catfish), beach picnicking, swimming, and tubing.
Natural Bridge Caverns
The final nature spot to visit is a 20-minute drive southeast of Bulverde: the Natural Bridge Caverns. When the limestone caverns were discovered in the 1960s, they were designated as a State Historical Site. Geologists and archaeologists are still plumbing the caverns’ depths and discovering new fossils, relics, and stone formations, but you can go 180 feet deep.
Before You Go
You can’t explore any of Bulverde’s scenic sites on an empty stomach. Swing by Richter’s Antler Cafe on U.S. Highway 46 for the local’s lunch choice. Chicken fried steak is the standard order (just about everything is fried) but adventurers will enjoy calf livers or frog legs. If you take your meal on the patio, don’t mind the chickens hanging around your feet picking up scraps.
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