Kerrville is the last larger town before the central Hill Country. The route leaves northeast and follows SH 16 toward Fredericksburg. The opening kilometres climb away from the Guadalupe River area; after that, the stage crosses rolling hill country with ranch entrances, limestone edges, fences and scattered houses. Fredericksburg sits roughly halfway through the day and is the main stop on the stage: Main Street, shops, restaurants, traffic and clearly more visitors than in the towns of the previous days. From there, the route turns onto US 290. Between Fredericksburg, Stonewall and Hye, the Texas Wine Road section begins: wineries, tasting-room driveways, farmland, peach stands and the Pedernales River corridor. Johnson City sits at the end of this more visitor-focused Hill Country stretch, with services, motels and the onward route toward Austin.
