The closest town to Enchanted Rock is Fredericksburg, 18 miles to the south along Ranch Road 965. This is a popular centre for exploring the surrounding lands but is rather spoilt by an excess of tourist shops and over-promotion of its Germanic history - many towns in this area were established in the mid nineteenth century by German and Czech settlers. This part of Texas is also famous for its association with Lydon Johnson, the 36th president - there are, amongst other places, a Lydon B. Johnson State Historical Park, a Lydon B. Johnson National Historical Park and a Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park.

In the other direction, the smaller village of Llano is 24 miles away to the north. These two towns are linked by Farm Road 16, most of which is part of the Texas Hill Country Trail - one of a series of long (this is 623 miles), themed, circular driving tours in the state, this route links San Antonio, Austin, Fredericksburg and Uvalde via generally little-used roads and passes by many places of interest including lakes, state parks, historic towns and much scenic countryside.

The nearest state park to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area - Pedernales Falls - is 30 miles away along Ranch Road 1323 (part of the Hill Country Trail) to Johnson City, then a little way east along route 2766. Other nearby parks include:

• Inks Lake - west of Llano (50 miles); a small lake along the Colorado River surrounded by pleasant countryside, vying with Enchanted Rock to be the most popular Hill Country park.
  
  
• Longhorn Cavern - also west of Llano (57 miles); the central attraction is a cavern with crystalline formations, that was used during the Civil War as a weapons store.
  
  
• Kerrville-Schreiner - just south of Kerrville on TX 16 (45 miles); an area of land around the Guadalupe River, good for hiking, swimming and camping.