Hill Country Events: Late September Through November 2026
The first cool snap is here, and the Hill Country calendar is packed from this week all the way to Thanksgiving. I went back through the community calendars, the dance hall schedules, and the city event pages again today so this guide reflects the dates as they stand right now. From fair week in New Braunfels to the lake party at Holiday Harbor, from the Day of the Dead celebrations in San Antonio to Wurstfest and the Book Festival in mid-November, there is a reason to be out in every one of these communities over the next eight weeks.
A quick note on the earlier event guides on this blog: they stay up as an archive of the season so far. The guide from mid-September covers the Sacred Springs Powwow, the Gruene Music and Wine Festival, the Wimberley Arts Fest, and the first glow of the holiday calendar, and it is still worth a read for the months ahead. The guide you are reading now is the one to bookmark, with the newest dates, locations, and official links as of today.
Between fair week just ahead, the market days and harvest festivals in October, the river of lights in San Antonio, and the sausage and songwriters of November, the next eight weeks show the Hill Country at its most social. That is the rhythm people move here for, and it is the rhythm I help clients find every day.
Comal County Fair and Rodeo
The Comal County Fair and Rodeo opens this week and runs through Sunday, with the county's biggest rodeo, livestock shows, a carnival, vendors, and the traditional fair parade on Friday morning. It is the official kickoff of fall in New Braunfels, and it is as local as it gets: generations of Comal County families volunteer, show animals, and line the parade route. For anyone sizing up New Braunfels as a place to live, it is a friendly, unpolished look at the real community.
More DetailsRocktoberfest on Canyon Lake
The Canyon Lake Junior Women's Club hosts Rocktoberfest at Holiday Harbor Park, with live music, local brews, food vendors, a raffle, and a costume contest. Admission is free, and the beer-tasting card is the way to go if you want to sample. It is one of those afternoons that shows what lake community life is really about: neighbors, live music, and a good view of the water.
More DetailsSan Marcos Harvest Fest
The San Marcos Harvest Fest brings more than 200 vendors and artisans to downtown for a one-day community festival with food, live music, and family activities. It is a relaxed, walkable Sunday around the square, and it gives relocating buyers a good feel for the town's easygoing energy.
More DetailsTexas Wine Month Passport
October is Texas Wine Month, and the Texas Hill Country Wineries Passport gets you complimentary tastings at more than 45 participating wineries through the month, up to four a day, plus a discount on bottle purchases. It is a self-guided tour, so you can build a day around the wineries nearest wherever you are staying. For a couple scouting the Hill Country lifestyle, it doubles as the best possible introduction to the region's rolling wine country.
More DetailsDay of the Dead San Antonio River Parade
The Day of the Dead River Parade floats illuminated barges down the River Walk, with dancers, mariachis, and catrinas on board. It is one of the most beautiful nights in San Antonio all year, and it sits right in the middle of the city's extended Dia de los Muertos celebration, which runs from the start of October through November 2.
More DetailsMuertos Fest at Hemisfair
Muertos Fest at Hemisfair is one of the largest Day of the Dead celebrations in the country, and it is free. Expect more than 80 community altars, five stages of music and dance, two processions, workshops, and the Muertos Mercado with dozens of artists. It is a vivid, welcoming weekend, and it shows how San Antonio celebrates faith, family, and remembrance out in the open.
More DetailsDowntown Wimberley Trick-or-Treat
Wimberley merchants open their doors around the square for an old-fashioned downtown trick-or-treat on the Friday before Halloween. It is free, unhurried, and made for little ones, and it is a lovely glimpse of the small-town community you would be joining if you moved to Wimberley.
More DetailsWurstfest, 65th Annual
Wurstfest is the Hill Country's biggest party: ten days of German food, beer, and live music on the banks of the Comal River. Weekday nights from November 9 through 12 are free, Friday and Sunday admission is $15 online or $20 at the gate, Saturdays are $25 online or $30 at the gate, and kids 12 and under are free every day. It is the event New Braunfels is famous for, and it is worth every minute.
More DetailsGruene Hall: James McMurtry and Ray Wylie Hubbard
The oldest dance hall in Texas keeps its fall run of Texas songwriters coming: James McMurtry plays with BettySoo on November 6, and Ray Wylie Hubbard headlines a big weekend on November 13 and 14 with special guests. Both are the kind of nights that remind you why Gruene is worth the drive. Tickets go fast, so grab yours early.
More DetailsTexas Book Festival
The Texas Book Festival returns to the Capitol grounds with more than 275 authors, panels, book signings, and children's programming, and it is free and open to everyone. It is a bright, literary weekend on the lawn of the Capitol, and it is an easy day trip from the lake country if you want a dose of Austin without the traffic.
More DetailsPlanning the Weeks Across the Hill Country
A few notes from my years around here that might help you plan the season:
- Fair week opens the season in New Braunfels. The Comal County Fair and Rodeo runs September 23 through 27 at the fairgrounds, with the parade Friday morning and the carnival all weekend. It is the traditional start of fall around here.
- Canyon Lake gets a full Saturday on October 10. Cars, Coffee and Donuts gathers at Sierra Park Pavilion from 8 to 11 AM, and Rocktoberfest follows at Holiday Harbor Park from noon to 5.
- Wimberley Market Days runs the first Saturday of the month. That puts it on October 3 and November 7, from 7 AM to 4 PM at Lion's Field on FM 2325. Walk it early, then hit the square for lunch.
- San Marcos keeps its farmers market on the square. Every Saturday from 9 AM to 1 PM through mid-December, downtown on the square. It is one of the best weekly habits in Central Texas.
- Halloween is spread across the calendar this year. Boo! Hole at Blue Hole in Wimberley is October 24, New Braunfels hosts its Downtown Spooktacular on Main Plaza on October 29, and downtown Wimberley trick-or-treats on October 30.
- Wurstfest and the Texas Book Festival share the weekend of November 14 and 15. That is a good problem to have: sausage and oompah on the Comal River, or authors on the Capitol lawn, or both if you have the energy.
- San Antonio lights the River Walk the day after Thanksgiving. The Ford Holiday River Parade on Friday, November 27 turns on more than 100,000 lights along the river, and they stay glowing through the holidays.
“When someone asks me what the Hill Country is like in the fall, I tell them to just go downtown any weekend between now and December. Fair week in New Braunfels, the lake party at Holiday Harbor, pumpkin season in Wimberley, the river of lights in San Antonio. Every community here knows how to gather, and that is the reason people stay.”
Steve Giannone
If you are thinking about a move to any of these communities, pick the event closest to you and go. You will learn more about a town in one afternoon than a month of listing pages will teach you. And when you are ready to talk neighborhoods, property values, or what a move would actually look like, I am always glad to help.
Thinking about a move to the Hill Country? Let us talk.