Hill Country Road Trip Map

From Hillsboro to Hico, with just a few, okay, ten, stops in between, our Central Texas/Hill Country Road Trip map is updated with our early summer road trip route and recommendations!

We left Dallas on a Friday morning and returned Sunday evening. This Hill Country road trip route made for a long few days, but the interesting small towns, scenery and culture to see kept us energized for the journey.

And check out the beautiful yellow on those wildflowers pictured above at Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg! If you're a creative traveler, this colorful and scenic trip is for you.

Click through for an overview of where we went, and check back for travel guides with more details on each place.

Vintage Theaters and Fried Pies in Mineola, Texas

The last stop on our most recent East Texas road trip is Mineola. Another small town with an interesting main street, Mineola has the added bonus of being fried pie country! We got ours from Mineola Mercantile's Farm House Fried Pies, and while the lemon and Bavarian flavors were extremely tasty, we regretted that we arrived too late in the day to try the popular moonshine flavor. Across the street at the East Texas Burger Co., a restaurant sign advertised more fried pies. If, for some reason, fried pies aren't your thing, The Fudge Shop & Bakery inside Between Friends in downtown Mineola offers an alternative that's just as sweet.

Mineola is also a fun stop for historical facade lovers, with decorative buildings, retro signs and the Lake Country Playhouse/Historic Select Theater, built in 1920 and still showing movies today.

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Main Street Mineola in East Texas. Fried pies galore!

Funky statue outside of the East Texas Burger Co., Mineola.

Historic Mineola, Texas Main Street.

Lake County Playhouse/Historic Select Theater, Mineola, Texas.

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Check out our East Texas road trip map for directions to Mineola, along with other cool nearby Texas travel guide stops.

Photos by James Khattak

Grand Saline, Texas

If you like salt, here's your happy place. Grand Saline, a small town in East Texas, is located just off highway 80 in Van Zandt County between Mineola and Terrell. We happened upon it unexpectedly, drawn in by its small but interesting Main Street, train tracks and prominent Morton Salt iconography. Morton Salt has one of its three rock salt mines there!

The town embraces its salty theme, with everything from its restaurant names to its window displays. We weren't able to see the Grand Saline Salt Palace, but it's on the list for next time!

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Check out our East Texas road trip map for directions to Grand Saline, along with other cool nearby Texas travel guide stops.

Photos by James Khattak.