48 Hours: Dripping Springs, Texas
/I continued my Texas explorations this past weekend with a trip to Dripping Springs, Texas. Dripping Springs is located about 45 minutes away from Austin and is an extremely popular spot for outdoor weddings because of its gorgeous rolling hills and ample space. Despite having been to 2 weddings there over the past year, I’ve actually never taken the time to explore the area. Because it is so close to Austin, I feel like many people consider Drippings Springs just a day or half day trip. But after doing some research, I discovered that there are so many things to do- I didn’t even have time for them all! And don’t worry, masks were taken very seriously by all establishments we ventured into and all people we met and interacted with all had masks on. This was definitely a huge relief for us because I had heard stories of smaller Texas towns being adamantly anti-mask, despite the government mask mandate.
Accommodations
We made the decision to reside in the Oak Hill neighborhood of Austin because Dripping Springs actually only has one hotel (Holiday Inn Express) and as a result, the hotel prices are exorbitant. Since we had our car anyways, we figured it wouldn’t make a big difference needing to drive the extra 30 minutes to Dripping Springs in the mornings. We stayed at a Hamptons Inn and thanks to a deal on Expedia, the overall cost was only $206 for 2 nights for a 2 double bed room. Highly recommend this hotel if you’re looking to visit Drippings Springs!
Activities
Reimer’s Ranch
Our original plan was to hike the Pedernales Falls State Park, but due to Covid, the State Park only allows entrance by reservation and despite checking the reservations website 2 weeks in advance, all spots for the entire weekend had been booked up. So instead we decided to get up early and visit the Milton Reimer’s Ranch, which allows entrance through first come first serve. It does close when capacity is reached, so getting there as soon as it opened in the morning was key. Before coming to Drippings Springs, I hadn’t ever heard of the Ranch so I wasn’t expecting too much, but it proved to be a pleasant surprise. There was a large beach area along the shoreline of the Pedernales River, which allowed for fishing and lounging and was basically the most perfect social distancing outdoor opportunity. There was only a handful of people on the beach and just being able to take in the surrounding natural beauty in peace was a blessing. The Ranch also has tons of rock climbing spots and both paved and primitive trails. It is definitely a bird watcher’s paradise because we saw many bright red cardinals flying among the trees.
Alice’s Restaurant @ Treaty Oak Distillery
So many websites recommended Alice’s Restaurant to us as top notch farm to table food. It is located on the property of Treaty Oak Distillery and offers a variety of meats, sandwiches, salads, and dips. Since it is on the grounds of a distilling company, there is a great variety of alcoholic beverages on the menu. My Treaty Oak punch was a mixture of bourbon and fruits and ended up being a delicious match with my food. My friend and I shared the cold dip trio (the pimento cheese and chicken salad dips were amazing) and the two meat plate of pork ribs and brisket (the portions were small, but still tasted pretty good). We were served outdoors under a huge tree so social distancing was preserved and we could take off our masks and enjoy our food without feeling like we would be bombarded by people. I would suggest coming as soon as the place opens because it does fill up fast!
Frios Pops
My friend and I found Frios coincidentally when we missed a turn for Treaty Oaks and was attempting to find the right road again. We pulled into a small retail center to make a uturn and saw the inside of Frios by chance and knew we had to make a pit stop for dessert after our lunch. Located inside a former car repair garage, Frios has the cutest interiors. The popsicles are sold inside of a little blue truck and there is fake grass, picnic tables, lawn chairs, and even an adorable floral photo spot. It’s clear the owners have instilled so much love and care into decorating the place! And a bonus? All of the popsicles are handcrafted ad use only fresh ingredients.
Bell Springs Winery
I’m not a big fan of Texas wine (it is too dry and bitter for my major sweet tooth), but I do love the open outdoor space, the live music, and the fresh air. Currently the winery only allows tastings with an advance reservation and the $20 reservation allows you to sample 3 different wines (red or white) and also take away a cheese and crackers plate. Without a reservation, no food can be served (but you can bring your own picnic!) and wine can only be purchased by the bottle or glass. Luckily, I was able to make an advance reservation via their website so we enjoyed a sunny afternoon on their patio sharing 3 glasses of generously poured white white and a platter of fruit, cheese, meat, and crackers. The winery property is huge and there are tons of shady areas under trees, so I would love to come back and picnic.
Mazama Coffee
On our last morning in Dripping Springs, we walked around Main Street and stumbled into Mazama Coffee for delicious iced pumpkin spiced lattes. Beware, due to its immense popularity the lines here are long, but you can also place advance online orders, which I would definitely opt for next time. Mazama also sells some mouthwatering pastries like homemade berry pop tarts, croissants, scones, and cinnamon rolls as well as their own coffee beans and branded merchandise. The back patio is spacious and a great place to start off your morning.
Texas Hill Country Olive Company
Our last stop in Dripping Springs was the Olive Company, which I had been dying to tour. Tours book up quickly due to lowered capacity limits so make sure you make your reservations in advance. Our tour guide took us around the olive orchard and provided so many interesting facts about olive and olive oil production. I learned that it is extremely difficult to product pure extra virgin olive oil and as a result, a lot of foreign extra virgin olive oil brands mix in other oils to boost their supply. On the other hand, domestic EVOO brands are always purely extra virgin due to FDA label disclosure requirements. After the tour, we wandered around their property and came across their chicken coop and their herb and vegetable garden as well as lots and lots of olives. Their gift shop is stocked with their own olive oils (of which I stocked up on) and their cafe serves farm to table dishes. Visiting the Texas Hill Country Olive Company was my favorite part of the trip. I loved learning about something new (olives!) and getting to experience such a beautiful area of the Texas hill country.
Salt Lick BBQ
No trip to Drippings Springs can be complete without a meal at the famous Salt Lick BBQ. I had heard about Salt Lick since my college years, but had never had the opportunity to try it. Although, I did feel like ultimately the meat didn’t live up to the hype (there are just too many better barbecue places in Austin), the atmosphere was really nice. There is a giant picnic area shaded with large trees and fantastic live music. The line for the food was long, but once your order is places, it only takes about 10 minutes to get your food. I went for the pork ribs and brisket plate and while the meat was better than Alice’s, it also wasn’t the greatest. The meat was a little too tough for my tastes. Salt Lick is a staple of Dripping Springs and the perfect depiction of everything Texas so I recommend that everyone come here at least once!
Dripping Springs was such a wonderful little town and the perfect weekend trip. If you guys have any other weekend trip ideas, let me know!
