While loads of tourists flock to the southeast Texas coast to lounge on the beaches and enjoy water sports, you can find an entirely different experience in Central Texas. Ghost towns and other tourist attractions are scattered all around the middle part of the state, making for interesting stories, sights and experiences for those who want to get off the beaten path.
Grapetown is a ghost town located in Kendall County. It's a bit difficult to find but interesting to tour once you stumble upon it. The town is approximately 11 miles south of the German-settled city of Fredericksburg near old Luckenbach Road.
John Hemphill, Grapetown’s first resident, settled here in 1848. Most of the settlers who followed were Germans following the prosperity brought by the Fredericksburg and Northern Railroad. When the railroad went, so did the town, according to GhostTowns.com.
The oldest remaining building in Grapetown is Doebbler’s stone stables, built in 1860. The site also includes an abandoned house in its original condition, a repainted house, a limestone schoolhouse and a cemetery.
A post office in the ghost town of Britton was the first sign of an established town in 1885. Britton was originally named Hellandville, but the name was changed some years later. As recently as the 1920s, the town along the Ellis and Tarrant County line had 300 residents. A new highway bypassed the town and people began moving out until almost no one was left. Around 30 people still call Britton home even though nothing is left there.
Several abandoned homes still stand in Britton as well as a cemetery and an abandoned bank building. Visitors can spot the occasional passerby walking the otherwise empty streets.
Cascade Caverns is underneath part of the Central Texas Hill Country. Kids discovered this natural cavern in the 1840s but it did not become a commercially operated tour destination until the 1930s.
The cave was originally known as Hester’s Cave, which was the inspiration for a German-language novel in the 1870s. The cave was also used in filming the Patrick Swayze film "Fatherhood."
The caverns feature a 90-foot waterfall, stalactites and lots of unusual wildlife. Animals you might see in Cascade Caverns include leopard frogs, Cascade salamanders and pipistrelle bats. The caverns are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. most days. A campground is nearby.
Cascade Caverns
226 Cascade Caverns Road
Boerne, Texas 78015
cascadecaverns.com
Considered one of the nation’s best water parks, the Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels has 65 acres of water playgrounds. These include miles of tube slides, uphill water coasters and lazy rivers to float around in to escape the Central Texas heat.
The Schlitterbahn gets its unique name from the large German population that inhabits the area. The name roughly translates to “slippery road,” which makes sense considering the enormous water slides within the park.
Schlitterbahn is also home to a surf simulator known as Boogie Bahn. This wall of moving water allows surfers to experience the thrill of riding a wave without the wave itself as 50,000 gallons of water per minute rush past the surfer.
Schlitterbahn
305 West Austin St.
New Braunfels, Texas 78130
830-625-2351
schlitterbahn.com
