· 5 min read
Everyone books the Hill Country for summer. Th
ey come for the rivers, sit in traffic on RR 12, and swim in water that's been crowded since nine in the morning. Then October arrives, the air finally lets go of the heat, the light turns to honey around six, and the place empties out. It's the best month we have, and it's the one nobody plans around.
The air changes first
You notice it on the porch before you notice it anywhere else. Mornings come in around sixty, which after a Texas summer feels like a different state. Afternoons settle somewhere in the seventies. The humidity breaks. You can sit outside at two in the afternoon and actually want to.
What that means practically: the fire pit gets used again. The pavilion stops being a shade structure and starts being the place you linger after dinner. Evenings stretch out instead of driving you indoors to the A/C.
Boo!Hole is the biggest night of the year
Wimberley Parks and Rec throws Boo!Hole Halloween at Blue Hole Regional Park on Saturday, October 24, starting at 4 PM. It's free, it's the tenth year, and it draws more than five thousand people — which in a town this size means essentially everyone.
This year's theme is spooky western. The run of show:
- 4–8 PM — Trick-or-treat trail and carnival games
- 4–6 PM — Family hayride and live music
- 4–7:30 PM — Cider and hot cocoa
- 6–7:30 PM — Costume contest, all ages, registration opens at 4
- 7:30–10 PM — Haunted trail
Blue Hole is eight minutes from us. If you've got kids, book the weekend of the 24th and plan your Saturday around it. If you don't, know that the park and the Square will be busy that evening — a good night to be on the porch with the fire pit going.
Halloween runs longer than one night here. Downtown trick-or-treating takes over the Square and the local shops on October 30, 4 to 7 PM, and there's live music around town through Halloween weekend — Ghost Note Brewing among others. The same Saturday as Boo!Hole, St. Mary's holds its 23rd Annual Hunter's Night Out — a long-running local tradition if you'd rather something other than a haunted trail.
The light is the real reason to come
Photographers call it golden hour. Out here in October it's closer to a golden ninety minutes, and it does something to the canyon that July can't manage. The sun drops lower on the horizon, so it comes through the oaks sideways instead of straight down. Everything goes warm and long-shadowed.
Our porches face west. That's not an accident.
If you want one thing to do on a fall evening at Wayside, it's this: pour something, sit down around six, and don't go inside until the stars are out. Low light pollution on the canyon means they show up fast.
Worth marking on the calendar: the Orionid meteor shower peaks the nights of October 21 and 22. It's debris from Halley's Comet, and the best viewing is after midnight. You will not need to go anywhere — walk out past the fire pit, let your eyes adjust for ten minutes, and look up.
Fall color, Hill Country style
We don't do New England. What we do is subtler and worth knowing about — the Spanish oaks turn red through late October and into November, the cypresses along the Blanco go rust and gold, and the sumac along the roadsides flares up early. Drive River Road or Fischer Store Road in the last week of the month and you'll see it.
The canyon trail here is at its best right now too. Cool enough for a midday walk, which it absolutely is not in August.
What else is on in town
Wimberley Valley Arts Fest, October 17–18. Now merged with the Blue Agave Art Fair and in a new downtown location, with more than a hundred fine artists, live music, food and drinks. If you'd rather have the art weekend than the Halloween one, this is your date.
Wimberley Market Days runs the first Saturday of every month through December — November 7 is the next one, with the last of the year in December. It's the largest outdoor market in the Hill Country and a good half-day.
Art Crawl on the Square is the fourth Friday of the month, 5 to 8 PM.
Earlier in the month there's the first annual Wimberley Chili Cook-Off and Music Fest on October 10, timed to the Red River Shootout, and the Wimberley Players close their run of a very loose Dracula adaptation on October 11. Suzanna's Kitchen has Jeff Black playing live on October 15.
Why fall is the smart booking
Summer is our busy season and the rates reflect it. October and November are quieter, which means more availability, better pricing, and a property that feels like it's yours. Same canyon, same sunsets, better weather, fewer people.
If you're thinking about a longer stay, the monthly discount is four nights free on a thirty-night booking — and fall into winter is the easiest stretch of the year to disappear for a month.
The best month out here is already underway. Check availability and book your fall stay.
Written by
Stacey and David Wehmeyer run Wayside Wimberley, a canyon property five minutes from Wimberley Square. Stacey grew up in a park ranger family and looks after the guests; David keeps everything else running. Clean, quiet, personal, the way they want it.
