Hill Country is famous for its great weather, beautiful scenery and fine restaurants and historical sites.

But the number one thing that brings Winter Texans back to Hill Country each year are the people who live here and make them feel welcome.

“What brings us back is the friendliness of the people,” said Virgil “Tom” Dock of Duluth, Minn., who spends the winter with his wife at Pecan Park Riverside RV Park in San Marcos.

“No matter where you go, they have a smile on their face. Its a very positive feeling. I think it reflects the cultural heritage of Texas.”

“If it weren’t for the people in the community, even with the great scenery, it wouldn’t be as nice,” said Marsha Lappin, a Wichita, Kan. resident who spends her winters at the Jellystone Park in Kerrville.

“It’s just the community atmosphere that brings most of us back. The people you meet at the grocery stores, at the plays, at the restaurants, they are just very friendly and open and extremely nice,” she said. “Even if you make a comment to somebody as a joke, a complete stranger will talk to you.”

Lappin said she has not experienced the same type of kindness in other areas of the country, such as the West Coast.

“Texans talk to each other,” she said. “But on the West Coast, they don’t always talk to me. I was on the bike path in Seattle and noticed that everybody looks down. One person looked like he was in shock when I said ‘Good morning’ to him.”

Lappin said she has also found a wonderful sense of community with ther fellow Winter Texans at the Jellystone Park in Kerrville. She started coming to the park a few years ago with her husband, Richard, who passed away last summer. They liked it so much they bought a park model RV to use as their winter home at the campground.

“I lost Richard this July so I will be joining my 'second family,’ as we call our Winter Texan friends, as a widow. They have been very supportive.”

Lappin said there are many things to like about Hill Country and spending the winter season at Jellystone Park.

“I like the weather, but most of all I like my fellow Winter Texans,” Lappin said, “and the people in the area are very friendly. It’s a very supportive community with lots of arts activities. There’s a lot of quilting activities (for women) and golf courses for the men in Kerrville, Fredericksburg and Comfort.”

Lappin said some of her Winter Texan friends sew clothing for a local children’s home. “We have our local pet projects,” she said, adding that many of the Winter Texans who gather at Kerrville Jellystone enjoy each other’s company so much that they have reunions during the summer months.

“It’s a big happy family,” she said.

Daryl Cagle, who has spent the past eight winters at Pecan Park Riverside RV Park, said Hill Country natives have a special type of kindness and warmth that reminds him of the Texas Panhandle, where he grew up.

“(Hill Country residents) have a certain appreciation of life,” he said, which translates into a special kindness toward other people as well as a willingness to engage in conversation.

Cagle experienced it last winter when he went to a store. “There was a gentleman there, I bet I talked to him for 20 minutes. I didn’t know him. But we had all kinds of things in common.”

Just on that chance encounter they developed a friendship, Cagle said, adding that he plans to meet with his new friend when he returns to Pecan Park this winter.

He likes the park, too, which sits off the beaten path amid a grove of pecan trees. Pecan Park sits on a scenic bluff overlooking the San Marcos River, and is a popular location for river tubing enthusiasts.

“It’s just a nice place to be,” said Cagle, who has been spending winters at Pecan Park off and on since 2008.

“They have nice big campsites. The water pressure is always good. They have a guy come in who keeps the park mowed and manicured and looking nice. They also have a nice indoor pool. My wife likes to swim and my grandkids like to go down to the river.”

Cagle has a son in Buda and a daughter in San Antonio.

“San Marcos is a nice town. It’s just a nice part of the country,” he said.

Penny Olson of South Dakota has been coming to Hill Country every winter for several years with her husband, Daryl. One thing that brings them back every year, she said, is the kindness of Hill Country residents and their efforts to make them feel special.

“They treat us like we’re family,” said Olson, who plans to rent a cottage at The Resort at Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels. “They go above and beyond the call of duty to make us feel welcome, the store owners, the business owners. They know we’re not from there. But they make us feel like their honored guests. It’s wonderful.”

The friendliness that Winter Texans experience in Hill Country is not only welcoming to them, but it makes them feel like they, too, are a part of the community.

“Winter Texans stay pretty active in the community and we like it because the community accepts us,” Lappin said.

Of course, beyond the kindness of Hill Country residents is the scenic beauty of the region itself with its rolling hills and oak trees, whose fall colors look spectacular when they are backlit by the sun or silhouetted against the dark green pine trees.

“There is a place called Lost Maples where the maples turn sort of a burnt orange and gold. It’s very different,” Lappin said.

Then, in the springtime, she said, the hillsides come alive again with wildflowers, including Texas Bluebonnets and Texas Mountain Laurel.

Lappin also enjoys Hill Country’s pretty sunsets and the starlit skies as well as its moderate weather, which is much milder than up north, while still offering the changes of the seasons. “In Hill Country, you will need your sweatshirt in winter,” she said. “But it is warm enough to do outdoor activities during the day.”

There are also lots of great restaurants.

“Ten pounds is what you’re going to gain every year at least,” Lappin said with a laugh, adding that she loves the Mexican food in Hill Country. “After you have had your fill of Mexican food, then you can go to Fredericksburg for German food and beer,” she said.

Hill Country also offers plenty of attractions to keep Winter Texans entertained, from wineries to museums to rodeos to historical sites, including the Alamo.

Dock said he and his wife will spend the winter months making numerous excursions across Hill Country, visiting the wineries of Fredericksburg, as well as the many quaint shops in town.

They also enjoy visiting the historic town of Gruene, where they invariably dine at the Gristmill restaurant, which is built next to the site of a historic cotton gin. Dock also enjoys making trips to The Salt Lick, a family owned and operated barbecue restaurant in Driftwood.

The Hill County region also offers Winter Texans a variety of campgrounds, RV parks and resorts from which to choose, each of which has its own personality and feel.

Many like using Pecan Park because of its scenic setting and convenient location half way between San Antonio and Austin. Others like the winter activities, RV sites and cottages that are available at Hill Country Cottage & RV Resort in neighboring New Braunfels.

Dock of Minnesota said he and his wife have made many friends at Pecan Park, and he likes taking walks there and enjoying the quietness of the park. He said the campground is very secure and has patrols to ensure its security, which provides an extra level of comfort for retirees.

Dock also likes the attentiveness of Pecan Park staff. When he first came to the park three years ago, he had trouble hooking up his cable TV, but park staff came within five minutes of his call to help him get connected. There was another time he called the office to ask if he could borrow a ladder and a park employee showed up at his trailer within a short time with the ladder he needed to access his travel trailer roof.

“You feel like you’re paid attention to here,” he said. “You’re not just a number.”

Winter Texans also report positive experiences at the Jellystone Park campgrounds in Canyon Lake, Fredericksburg and Kerrville.

With Yogi Bear as their mascot, these three Hill County parks are designed to appeal to children and their families and they offer a mix of amenities, activities and themed weekends that keep families coming back to share quality time and create memories with one another year after year.

But during the winter months, when the kids are back in school, the Jellystone Parks in Hill Country are transformed into the playing grounds of Winter Texans who build friendships with one another and create their own special memories.

This is the time of year when Jellystone Parks cater to empty nesters and retirees from the Midwest, the Northeast and Canada who want adult oriented activities and a quieter campground setting.

So while children’s activities are still offered on weekends during the winter months, this is the time of year when you’re more likely to see Jellystone Park guests participating in pot lucks, card games, dances and sightseeing excursions to state parks, historical sites and other attractions in the greater Hill Country area.

“I thought there would be children running everywhere every day. That is not the case here as a Winter Texan,” said Robin Sinkovich, a native of Ohio who is spending her third winter at the Jellystone Park in Fredericksburg with her husband, Frank.

“You do have those times around Halloween, Christmas and Spring Break where people bring children in for the weekend. But during the winter months, it’s actually quite quiet. It’s mostly retired people here.”

During the winter season, the Jellystone Park in Fredericksburg offers wine tasting events with live music each month. The park also has frequent pot lucks, which are very popular social activities.

Winter activities at the Jellystone Park in Kerrville include water aerobics; women’s luncheons; themed potlucks; fireside Karaoke and movies under the stars. You’ll also find Winter Texans playing billiards, cards, dominoes, horseshoes and bean bag baseball. Some even engage in mini golf tournaments.

Off site excursions to the San Antonio Aquarium, the San Antonio Zoo and local caves and caverns in Hill Country are planned for this winter. Additional trips under consideration for the winter season include wine country tours, a Spurs game and a rodeo.

The Jellystone Park in Fredericksburg is also a convenient base camp for visiting Hill Country attractions. The park is only 2.5 miles from Lyndon B. Johnson State Park, which is one of the most popular places to view Texas wildflowers in the springtime. Other local attractions include wineries, art galleries and museums that highlight Fredericksburg’s German heritage.

Jim Jackson of Apollo, Penn. makes a 1,700-mile trip every fall with his wife, Pat, and his dog, Blue, so they can spend the winter at the Jellystone Park in Canyon Lake.

“We like the atmosphere and the people at the park,” he said, adding that they have spent every winter there since about 1999 or 2000.

“It’s extremely family oriented,” he said. “It’s not a party campground.”

Jackson said he has children and grandchildren in the Fort Worth area, but he prefers Hill Country as a winter destination because it’s a lot warmer. He can also still see his children and grandchildren without feeling like he has to be a parent again.

“It’s a little bit like heaven for us,” said Emma Anderson of Wisconsin, who enjoys the winter season at the Canyon Lake Jellystone with her husband, Clark.

In fact, the Andersons have so much fun with Winter Texan friends that they celebrate Christmas with family in Wisconsin over Thanksgiving weekend so they can spend an extra month at the Canyon Lake park.

“They are just very hospitable,” Anderson said of Jellystone’s campground staff. “We also like Hill Country because it is a very relaxing area and there are lots of activities.”

Anderson line dances almost every day, either in town or at the campground, which also has an indoor pool. “Anybody who wants to can use the pool to keep up with their exercises,” she said.

The Andersons also like the fact that there are plenty of doctors and dentists nearby, as well as a hospital in neighboring New Braunfels.

Winter activities at the Jellystone Park in Canyon Lake include pot luck dinners and game nights, which are organized by Winter Texan guests but incorporated into the park’s activities calendar. Winter excursions include field trips to the San Antonio Shoes factory, the San Antonio Zoo and the Witte Museum, which showcases the history and culture of south Texas.

While children’s activities are offered on weekends at Jellystone Parks during the winter months, you’ll see Winter Texans getting into the act, too.

All three Jellystone Parks in Hill Country have several fall and Halloween themed weekends in October and November with campsite decorating and costume contests and trick or treating.

Some Winter Texans who stay at Jellystone Parks also like to enjoy activities and special events with their own grandchildren on weekends. Even retirees who don’t have grandchildren nearby develop friendships with the children who come to the park on weekends.

“Some of your Winter Texans don’t want to be around kids. But ours like seeing them on weekends. They build friendships with them. They help them with their bikes. Some of them even buy treats to give to the kids, especially S’mores,” said Sissy Andrichyn, who co-owns and operates the Fredericksburg Jellystone Park with her husband, Allen.

All three Hill Country Jellystone Parks are planning Thanksgiving potluck dinners, where the park provides the turkeys and the guests bring side dishes and desserts.

Sinkovich said these are worthwhile events. She remembers how surprised she was by the hospitality Sissy and Allen Andrichyn showed their guests the first time they spent a winter at the Fredericksburg park three years ago.

“They call each and every guest who is registered and personally invite them to come to dinner if they are going to be at the park on Thanksgiving Day,” she said.

No matter which campground or RV park they stay in, however, some Winter Texans ultimately fall so in love with Hill Country that they end up buying homes here.

“We knew a retired Canadian Mounted Police officer who came down here for years, as well as people from the Dakotas, Wisconsin and Michigan,” Lappin said. “A lot of them have come down and liked it to well they have bought homes in Hill Country and become permanent residents of the community.”