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Hill Country bubbly leads our 11 top Texas travel tips for November

The festive fall season has arrived, and with it brings early holiday happenings including makers' markets, light shows, and more. From a bubbly sparkling wine tour in Fredericksburg to a Native American art festival in San Antonio, there is a slew of fun events to check out in November.

Dallas travelers can visit Willie Nelson's Luck Ranch in Spicewood for an art exhibition, book a spa day in Houston, or stay local with a Taylor Swift-themed afternoon tea at a luxe hotel.

Here are our top 11 picks for autumn Texas travel events, hotel news, and more in November.

Throughout Texas

Hiatus Day Spa – with locations in Dallas, Frisco, Plano, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio – has a new "Get Holiday Ready Package" offering guests a guided experience with discounted services. Guests who book $350 minimum in day spa or med spa services between now and December 31 can receive 15 percent off their first visit, 20 percent off their second, and 25 percent off their third visit.

The Hill Country

Nonprofit trade association Texas Hill Country Wineries (THCW) just debuted its Christmas Wine Affair Passport 2025, which offers individuals or couples complimentary wine tastings and a 15 percent discount on 3-plus bottle purchases at more than 50 participating Hill Country wineries. The passport will be valid from November 24 through December 19, 2025. Passes ($65 for individuals and $100 for couples) and a list of participating wineries can be found on THCW's website.

Luck Ranch, Willie Nelson's 500-acre private residence and event venue in Spicewood, will host Austin-based neon studio Ion Art for seven days of art installations, music, and food. The exhibition, called Surreal Luck, will take place from November 7-9 and 13-16. According to a release, Surreal Luck will be a "dimension-bending neon art experience" that will "reimagine" Nelson's Western-themed Red Headed Stranger movie set. Tickets (starting at $49.50 for single-day GA) can be purchased via Etix.

Neon sculptures by Ion Art Surreal Luck will take place November 7-9 and 13-16. Ion Art/Facebook

A new type of wine experience is bubbling up in Fredericksburg: Invention Vineyards is now hosting sparkling wine tours in a new dedicated production facility. The tours will show off the production space and then guide guests through a progressive tasting, meaning one that takes place at different locations. The sampling will cover two sparkling ones and then a personalized tasting drawing from Invention Vineyards' wines. The one-hour tours are offered daily starting at 11 am, and tickets ($45 per person) can be purchased via heathfamilybrands.com.

Austin

A spooky light trail inspired by Tim Burton's stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas is lighting up Austin's Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center until November 30. The trail depicts the film's iconic Halloween Town and Christmas Town, complete with 3D-printed statues of characters including Jack Skellington, Zero, Sally, and more. The light trail is open Wednesdays through Sundays from "dusk" to 10:15 pm. Tickets (timed entry is $31 for children and $41 for adults, or flexible entry is $51) are available at texasperformingarts.org.

Speaking of light shows: The University of Texas at Austin's 2025 Longhorn Lights show will officially kick off on November 18. The annual tradition transforms the South Mall into a twinkly display of orange and white light stretching through nine miles of campus. The spectacle is free and open to the public, and can be enjoyed from 5-10 pm daily through January 1, 2026.

Oh What Fun!, a new holiday makers' market, is coming to downtown Austin at Republic Square Park starting on November 20 and running Thursday through Sunday until December 24. Local artisans will sell gifts for the holiday season, such as handmade jewelry, ceramics, apparel, candles, and more. The market will also have various food trucks and a holiday-themed bar and lounge. Oh What Fun! will be open from 11 am to 9 pm, and the "What a Wonderful Lounge" will be open until 10 pm.

San Antonio

The Briscoe Western Art Museum is celebrating San Antonio's Native American history and community on Saturday, November 8 for the annual Yanaguana Indian Arts Festival. The event will feature a drum circle, all day crafts, artist demonstrations, live performances, and much more. The festival and admission to the Briscoe Museum will be free and open to the public, and festival hours will run from 10 am to 4 pm.

Yanaguana Indian Arts Festival at the Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio The festival celebrates San Antonio's local Native American community.Briscoe Western Art Museum/Facebook

The Westin Riverwalk San Antonio hotel is offering travelers an early peek at its holiday festivities with its new "Deck the Halls" package. Guests who use promo code "ZJ1" can book their rooms on an entirely Christmas-themed floor with festive Christmas trees in every room, and receive a holiday welcome amenity upon check-in. Interested guests can book between now and January 2, 2026 for stays beginning from November 14 through January 5, 2026.

Houston

The JW Marriott Houston Downtown hotel has added four new rejuvenating treatments to its seasonal spa menu running through the end of 2025. The packages include: The "Holiday Relief Package" ($99 for 45 minutes), a jetted thermal soak and a neck, back, and shoulder massage; the "Warm & Cozy Massage + Foot Treatment ($175 for 70 minutes), a Swedish massage paired with a guest's choice between a foot treatment or a mini facial upgrade; the "Merry & Bright HydraFacial Package" ($185 for 50 minutes) which includes a HydraFacial and HydroJelly mask; and a "Comfort & Joy Body Treatment" ($209 for 80 minutes) which includes a full-body exfoliation and Texas winery grape-infused wrap. Spa services can be booked online.

Dallas-Fort Worth

Every Saturday and Sunday in November, Dallas' esteemed Hotel Crescent Court will host a Taylor Swift-inspired afternoon tea featuring a multi-course menu of savory bites, sweet treats, a curated selection of teas, and optional champagne or mocktail pairings. Live music will set the tone for a whimsical experience in the hotel's Beau Nash cocktail bar. "The Life of a Showgirl SwifTEA" can be booked at 11 am, 12 pm, or 1 pm, and tickets ($53.98 for children and $117.51 for adults) can be purchased via Eventbrite.

Surreal Luck will take place November 7-9 and 13-16.

Invention Vineyards Fredericksburg aerial

Photo courtesy of Heath Family Brands

Invention Vineyards is showing off Heath Family Brands' new production facility.

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LATE CHECKOUT

These 2 haunted Texas hotels promise a spirited overnight stay

The Emily Morgan Hotel/ Facebook

The Emily Morgan is steps away from the Alamo.

If you hear something knocking during a vacation in San Antonio, it might not be housekeeping. Two of the city's downtown landmark hotels — the Gunter and the Emily Morgan — have been named among the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 25 most haunted hotels in the U.S.

Each year, the nonprofit’s Historic Hotels of America program recognizes iconic properties where things are said to go bump in the night. It’s a playful way to highlight the organization’s work to preserve the nation’s diverse historic buildings and neighborhoods, whether one believes in the supernatural or not. The San Antonio pair were the only Texas properties to earn the hair-raising honors.

“The list invites heritage and cultural travelers to discover historic hotels where lore and legends make for memorable stays,” explained the trust in a release. “For believers and skeptics alike, these one-of-a-kind hotels preserve tales of guests who never want to leave and staff who never stopped helping.”

The Emily Morgan returned to the list after a year’s reprieve (maybe someone forgot this year’s blessing). The trust noted that the 102-year-old building is considered one of North America’s most active paranormal sites, owing to its original use as a medical building. Carved grotesques on the facade writhe from tooth pain and stomachaches. Inside, spectral nurses are said to be still providing care.

“On the fourteenth floor, guests have reported a hospital-like smell and, on rare occasions, visions of a hospital scene rather than their guestroom when they open the door from the hallway,” wrote Historic Hotels. “On the twelfth floor, guests have reported bathroom doors opening and closing on their own, lights flashing, and apparitions of nurses pushing rickety gurneys down the corridor before vanishing.”

Gunter Hotel Not pictured: Gunter's resident shadowy figure.Photo by Daniel Kelleghan Photography

Although medical manifestations are unsettling enough, the other San Antonio hotel on the list has a more gruesome claim to fame. Built in 1909, the Gunter Hotel boasts a room that is only slightly less notorious than The Shining’s Room 237. Room 636 was the site of one of Alamo City’s most famous murders.

In 1965, a housekeeper found ex-con Walter Emerick standing beside a blood-soaked bed. Police found empty wine bottles, bloody footprints, strands of blonde hair, and women’s clothing, but never found the body. Emerick left a psychic stain all over downtown, booking it to the St. Anthony’s room 536 (he reportedly asked to stay in 636 again), where he offed himself before arrest. The Gunter never quite recovered from his brief stay.

“Since the 1960s, guests and staff have reported unsettling phenomena, including unexplained cold spots, flickering lights, and faint whispers or footsteps when no one is present,” said Historic Hotels. “Some claim to have seen a shadowy figure lingering near the doorway or caught the faint scent of cigar smoke despite the hotel’s smoking prohibition.”

Still, the dark specters have not kept the Gunter from receiving another honor this year. Historic Hotels recently named it the Best City Center Historic Hotel, given to the property that “best celebrates its history in the guest experience and provides exceptional customer hospitality and service.”

Both of San Antonio’s haunted hotels have largely embraced their eerie reputations. The Emily Morgan proudly touts its mysterious occurrences on one of its webpages. The Gunter glosses over some of the more grisly details of room 636 on its own page, and assures guests the room has since been remodeled.

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