If you are ever in the Texas Hill Country I would highly recommending hiking up Enchanted Rock, a large mound in the middle of a beautiful West Texas region. One might wonder why I and so many Texans are mesmerized by a huge rock- what is special about Enchanted Rock? Not only is the landmark very handsome, Enchanted Rock has a fascinating history and cultural vibe. It is situated on Big Sandy Creek, estimated 18 miles north of Fredericksburg and straddling the border of Gillespie and Llano Counties. This was one of the sites of my November 2020 honeymoon; my wife and I enjoyed hiking to the rock's summit and gaping at Texas's natural areas.
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| Ready to hike Enchanted Rock. The trek was exhausting, but well worth the trip! |
Humans have camped in the Texas Hill Country for over 12,000 years. Indigenous peoples used to ground their food on the granite rocks that are currently found around Enchanted Rock (they left depressions in the granite called bedrock mortars). Following the Spanish conquest of Mexico, Texas, and the American Southwest in the eighteenth century, a mission and presidio was established on the San Saba River. The Spanish also tried to create a silver mine on Honey Creek, yet were unsuccessful. Americans and Germans settled in the Hill Country area starting in the mid-nineteenth century in hopes of acquiring a sizable plot of land and following the American Dream. Despite the Anglo settlements quickly sprouting in the area, the Natives continued to inhabit Enchanted Rock and its surrounding lands, provoking tension between the two distinct groups. Indians attacked a small surveying group at Enchanted Rock in 1841. Texas Rangers Captain John Coffee Hays was cut off from his troupe and forced to retreat in a depression at the summit. There, he fought off his attackers for three hours before his companions came to his aid. A historical plaque on the rock commemorates this event.
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| A panorama of the Texas Hill Country, taken at the Enchanted Rock summit. |
Enchanted Rock's history is covered in myths and legends, according to the old-town folks who live in the Texas Hill Country. The Tonkawa Indians believed that ghost fires flickered on top of the rock; the curious creaking and groaning coming from the mound frightened them. Geologists and scientists later concluded that the rock creaks as the temperature changes and glitters on clear nights after rainfall. Once, an Indian maiden saw her entire tribe get slaughtered by white men; horrified at the brutality, she threw herself off the top of the rock, and her spirit continues to haunt the mound. Also, a Spanish conquistador escaped the clutches of the Indigenous peoples and lived the rest of his life in hiding. The Indians believed the escapee wove enchantments on the area, thus giving rise to a noted legend of a "pale man swallowed by a rock and reborn as one of their own."
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| Texas is vast... looking out west from the summit. |
The Enchanted Rock Natural Area was owned by local businessman Charles Moss in the mid-twentieth century before the Nature Conservancy of Texas purchased the property in 1978. The 1,640.5-acre property was later sold to the State of Texas. Enchanted Rock became a tourist hub in October 1978, and visitors have continued to trek the park each year (Enchanted Rock attracts more than 250,000 guests each year making the area one of the most visited parks in the state park system). Home of several hundred unique species and habitats as well as over 400 protected archeological sites, Enchanted Rock is a National Natural Landmark, and is on the National Register of Historic Places as an Archeological District. The trails are beautiful, the nature is refreshing and the scenery is picturesque. Climber Matt Twyman's account sums up Enchanted Rock's enchantress: "My heart feels lighter, my mind feels calmer and my sense feel tuned whenever I see that giant pink rock on the horizon. No matter how I choose to spend my time among the enchanted rocks of the park, I always leave feeling better than when I arrived."
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| I enjoyed driving down the quiet, calm roads in the Texas Hill Country. Where will I travel next? |
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| The entrance to Enchanted Rock. |
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| Enchanted Rock's summit is marked by a simple plaque. |
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| Texas has a diverse, vibrant landscape. |
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| A small canyon on the east side of Enchanted Rock; it was fun walking through the thickets. |
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| There are a couple of bodies of water around Enchanted Rock. This one is located to the south. |
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| Notice the different shades of rock on the west side of Enchanted Rock. |
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| Enchanted Rock is breathtaking. I often compare it to the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs. |
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