Leakey vacation rentals

The Frio and Nueces rivers cut deep, dramatic limestone canyons into the Hill Country landscape around this city, pronounced LAY-key. The undulating terrain earned the area — 100 miles west of San Antonio — the nickname of the Swiss Alps of Texas. Tonkawa and Lipan Apache peoples first settled here, followed by Spanish explorers and missionaries, and then a wave of ranchers and laborers from across the border. Today a quarter of the population still claims Mexican heritage.

This Texan town attracts visitors with its tubing, hiking, and leaf-peeping when fall floods the hills with shades of gold and scarlet. Leakey also wins rave reviews from fans of the open road. Motorcyclists and serious day-trippers gravitate toward the Twisted Sisters, a 100-mile loop along sinuous gorges and jagged, steep hills sans guardrails. Its three connected ranch roads have more than 200 curves between them, making it the state’s most twisty thoroughfare, and one of the country’s best scenic drives.

Avoid the winter. The cold, rainy season descends from November to January, bringing 40-to-70-degree Fahrenheit days and 30-to-45-degree nights, plus an occasional filigree of snow. For maximum comfort, aim for April, May, and October. These shoulder-season months have fewer crowds and less heat than summer’s peaks.

April also brings the Hill Country Run Motorcycle Rally to Luckenbach, 100 miles northeast. Adrenalin-seekers should hit the Frio River for tubing and paddling from spring through midsummer. That season also welcomes Leakey’s enthusiastic Fourth of July jubilee. Round out the year with a jaw-dropping natural spectacle, when millions of bats emerge from their caves just before sunset. This sight peaks in September and October in Concan, Texas, 17 miles south.

The Devil’s Sinkhole

Fifty miles northwest of Leakey, this National Natural Landmark protects a massive swirl of bats exploding up from a 140-foot-deep cavern on warm evenings. These nocturnal hunters roost here from late spring to early fall before migrating to Mexico for the winter. Their nightly dinner menu consists of some 30 tons of beetles and moths.

Dinosaur Tracks at Government Canyon

Vegetarian dinosaurs once stomped across a muddy beach here. The result? Dramatic trackways fossilized and preserved for 110 million years. This State Natural Area lies about two hours’ drive east of Leakey and also has more than 40 miles of trails, as well as geocaching and naturalist-led hikes.

Stonehenge II

Catch this replica of England’s megalithic monument beside the Guadalupe River in Ingram, 53 miles northeast of Leakey. If the proportions seem unusual, it’s because sculptor Doug Hill went for 90 percent of the height and 60 percent of the width — but all of the charm! Stonehenge 2.0 and its Easter Island-head sidekicks are free to visit on the Hill Country Arts Foundation campus.