TXMikey
Junior Member
The wife and I made our first excursion down to the Texas Hill Country this past weekend to ride the 3 Twisted Sisters. WOW!
On Saturday morning, we headed out of Kerrville on hwy 39 under a heavily clouded sky with occasional mist. Hwy 39 is a beautiful river road winding it's way along the Guadalupe. There are a number of low water crossings, and some "quirkiness" like fence posts with old boots on top, and others with custom-painted toilet seats hanging on them.
Once in Leakey, we started out on FM 335 northbound, then over to FM 336 southbound. 335 was the wife's favorite road. Lots of exotic animals along this route, including buffalo, springboks, zebras, giraffes, and emus.
The wife felt the highway signs on FM 336 stating 6 motorcyclists had been killed on the road since 2006, was a bit of a buzzkill, but that feeling was short-lived. The more important sign was the much smaller one that stated there was loose livestock along the roadway. FM 336 is in an open range with cattle guards across the highway every couple of miles.
The ride home was east along FM 337, which I thought was the best of the 3 sisters; lots of twisties and elevation changes. All 3 roads had about 800 feet elevation change on them, with plenty of twisties and sweepers.
The most challenging part of the ride was not on the 3 Sisters, but instead on Hwy 16 between Medina and Kerrville. There were 2 sections in which the road signs warned riders and drivers to slow down to 15 mph for the curves, and had flashing signs that posted your actual speed to warn you to slow. We both learned very quickly that when they say to slow to 15, they meant it! Fortunately for me, there wasn't anyone coming the opposite direction on that curve. If you are not an experienced rider, or are easily intimidated by sharp curves with steep elevation changes, you definitely want to avoid this stretch of roadway.
Unfortunately, we had to cut our trip a day short due to weather concerns, so we weren't able to exlore some other roads in the area, but we'll definitely be returning.
For those of you who are planning to take this trip, here's a few recommendaitons:
The roundtrip out of Leakey on FM 335 & 336 is 100 miles. The only gas stations are in Leakey, so plan accordingly.
If you are travelling from the north Texas area, especially the DFW area, take State Hwy 16 at least one way on your trip. Plan a stop in Dublin at the Dublin Bottling Co (formerly Dublin Dr. Pepper), and Old Doc's Soda Shop. The frosty root beer is a great refresher.
Be sure and stop in Llano at Cooper's BBQ. This has got to be some of the best BBQ I've ever had.
The Bent Rim Grill in Leakey makes a great hamburger. The staff is very friendly, and the view while eating can't be beat.
Also try and ride FM 1341 from Kerrville to Sisterdale. It's a little 2-lane road that crosses I-10 about 3 times. It's a lot more fun than riding the interstate, and has some excellent twisties and sweepers. This road also passes Hill Country Shooting Sports Center where the U.S. national shotgun teams train.
Finally, no trip to the Hill Country would be complete without a stopover at Luckenbach, TX.
On Saturday morning, we headed out of Kerrville on hwy 39 under a heavily clouded sky with occasional mist. Hwy 39 is a beautiful river road winding it's way along the Guadalupe. There are a number of low water crossings, and some "quirkiness" like fence posts with old boots on top, and others with custom-painted toilet seats hanging on them.
Once in Leakey, we started out on FM 335 northbound, then over to FM 336 southbound. 335 was the wife's favorite road. Lots of exotic animals along this route, including buffalo, springboks, zebras, giraffes, and emus.
The wife felt the highway signs on FM 336 stating 6 motorcyclists had been killed on the road since 2006, was a bit of a buzzkill, but that feeling was short-lived. The more important sign was the much smaller one that stated there was loose livestock along the roadway. FM 336 is in an open range with cattle guards across the highway every couple of miles.
The ride home was east along FM 337, which I thought was the best of the 3 sisters; lots of twisties and elevation changes. All 3 roads had about 800 feet elevation change on them, with plenty of twisties and sweepers.
The most challenging part of the ride was not on the 3 Sisters, but instead on Hwy 16 between Medina and Kerrville. There were 2 sections in which the road signs warned riders and drivers to slow down to 15 mph for the curves, and had flashing signs that posted your actual speed to warn you to slow. We both learned very quickly that when they say to slow to 15, they meant it! Fortunately for me, there wasn't anyone coming the opposite direction on that curve. If you are not an experienced rider, or are easily intimidated by sharp curves with steep elevation changes, you definitely want to avoid this stretch of roadway.
Unfortunately, we had to cut our trip a day short due to weather concerns, so we weren't able to exlore some other roads in the area, but we'll definitely be returning.
For those of you who are planning to take this trip, here's a few recommendaitons:
The roundtrip out of Leakey on FM 335 & 336 is 100 miles. The only gas stations are in Leakey, so plan accordingly.
If you are travelling from the north Texas area, especially the DFW area, take State Hwy 16 at least one way on your trip. Plan a stop in Dublin at the Dublin Bottling Co (formerly Dublin Dr. Pepper), and Old Doc's Soda Shop. The frosty root beer is a great refresher.
Be sure and stop in Llano at Cooper's BBQ. This has got to be some of the best BBQ I've ever had.
The Bent Rim Grill in Leakey makes a great hamburger. The staff is very friendly, and the view while eating can't be beat.
Also try and ride FM 1341 from Kerrville to Sisterdale. It's a little 2-lane road that crosses I-10 about 3 times. It's a lot more fun than riding the interstate, and has some excellent twisties and sweepers. This road also passes Hill Country Shooting Sports Center where the U.S. national shotgun teams train.
Finally, no trip to the Hill Country would be complete without a stopover at Luckenbach, TX.
