[jafza412]

Does anyone know where I can find back-country type roads in Houston? Seems no matter where I go all I see are strip malls! I live in the Galleria, not sure which direction to start roaming.

[michael1284]

you live in one of the biggest metropolitan cities in the US. good luck finding good back-country twisties. i'd try austin :P

[youngnastyman]

haha head towards the country ( Porter??? lol )

[roozie2001]

i know where theres some twisties Sortaaaaa. Just gotta worry about country cops and the KKK. lol (no joke) other than that the only twisties we have are the many parking garages scattered around this huge city.

[RoundelM3]

Go up to Montgomery County (The Woodlands, Conroe, etc.) and there are plenty of back roads east and west of I-45. Try a drive up 45 to north of Huntsville and head over to Lake Livingston - lots of roads out that way. There is also the "Montgomery Trace", which is a series of back roads around Lake Conroe and to the north and west of Montgomery. The local BMWCCA chapter takes that route every Jan. 1 on their "Hair of the Dog" drive. Some of the best roads are to the north, where the heavy forestation starts, so check out some of the maps and enjoy!

[IancoleTX]

Definitely plan a trip out to the hill country, and take the scenic route.

[jafza412]

HA at Michael and Roozie, entertaining stuff. Minus the whole KKK thing, I guess thats not really funny...

The north option sounds fun, will have to explore up there sometime. Whats the Hill Country, I googled it and seems like an area west of Austin. Looks like there are wineries up there too. What a wonderfully bad combo...

[RoundelM3]

Originally Posted by jafza05

HA at Michael and Roozie, entertaining stuff. Minus the whole KKK thing, I guess thats not really funny...

The north option sounds fun, will have to explore up there sometime. Whats the Hill Country, I googled it and seems like an area west of Austin. Looks like there are wineries up there too. What a wonderfully bad combo...

Yep...head out west from Austin to the other side of Lake Travis and you'll be in the thick of it. You can go the northern route through Cedar Park and out to Marble Falls and then head further west from there or the southern route out 290, then go north on highway 281 and follow it out towards Johnson City and Fredericksburg. There is a road called the Willow City Loop that is superb for back-roading, and tons of other roads with lots of curves all over the area. There are wineries all over the place, too...some of the better ones are Flat Creek, which is between Cedar Park and Marble Falls off highway 1431, and another one down in Driftwood (SW of Austin) owned by the Mandola family - it's called Trattoria Lisina, and has a 4-star restaurant on the premises plus some very good wine.

Also, our local BMWCCA chapter has a "Utopia Drive" every October that is sensational - takes you out through the hill country down to Kerrville, which is where we are "anchored" for the weekend. We follow various routes out into some spectacular roads around Utopia itself, with a stop at a superb Tuscan restaurant out in the middle of nowhere just south of Utopia. Check out our scrapbook for our recent Utopia trips (and other tours) at http://www.tejaschapter.org and come out and join us. Check out joining BMWCCA if you're not already a member. There are chapters for the Austin/SA area (out to El Paso) and others in the Dallas and Houston areas.

[RioGrandeValley]

West of Austin like the others said. Look up Lime Creek Rd, Cow Creek Rd(excellent desolate photo op road). But by far although personally never been myself is Three Sisters area down by Leaky,Tx. Read it's most beautiful scenic route in our state and has some of the tightest twisties by far. If anyone else interested I'd like to guage interest in a trip out there? Worth a shot maybe in Sept or Oct??

El Tomate

[RoundelM3]

Originally Posted by RioGrandeValley

West of Austin like the others said. Look up Lime Creek Rd, Cow Creek Rd(excellent desolate photo op road). But by far although personally never been myself is Three Sisters area down by Leaky,Tx. Read it's most beautiful scenic route in our state and has some of the tightest twisties by far. If anyone else interested I'd like to guage interest in a trip out there? Worth a shot maybe in Sept or Oct??

El Tomate

That's the area we'll be in when Tejas Chapter of BMWCCA has its Utopia trip. We're all around Leakey, Utopia, and other small towns and not far from Garner State Park on the Frio River. Our trip this year is scheduled on the weekend of October 22-24.

[RioGrandeValley]

Originally Posted by roundel335

That's the area we'll be in when Tejas Chapter of BMWCCA has its Utopia trip. We're all around Leakey, Utopia, and other small towns and not far from Garner State Park on the Frio River. Our trip this year is scheduled on the weekend of October 22-24.

Thx for the info above I requested time off from here as soon as I read this.
Do I need to be a member of BMWCCA for this? Already member in countless forums so I'm losing track of where I'm on now adays!
Can you please send me a link to where this is posted? I know another friend of mine up here wanted to visit those twisties too. Are these cruises usually slow in pace or rather spirited? I much prefer the later one myself. Tomato always ready to Tango on hwy.

thx
carlos aka Mr. Tomato

[Couch]

Originally Posted by roundel335

Go up to Montgomery County (The Woodlands, Conroe, etc.) and there are plenty of back roads east and west of I-45. Try a drive up 45 to north of Huntsville and head over to Lake Livingston - lots of roads out that way. There is also the "Montgomery Trace", which is a series of back roads around Lake Conroe and to the north and west of Montgomery. The local BMWCCA chapter takes that route every Jan. 1 on their "Hair of the Dog" drive. Some of the best roads are to the north, where the heavy forestation starts, so check out some of the maps and enjoy!

+1

Closer to Houston, there are back roads around Hockley.

[Doug007]

There are some twisty roads in Houston but you have to be creative

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...,0.004823&z=18

Or the higher speed track, I mean route...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...2&ie=UTF8&z=14

Watch out for the 45S entrance ramp off Allen parkway. It's a decreasing radius short merge so don't early apex and then be sure to gun it!

[RoundelM3]

Originally Posted by RioGrandeValley

Thx for the info above I requested time off from here as soon as I read this.
Do I need to be a member of BMWCCA for this? Already member in countless forums so I'm losing track of where I'm on now adays!
Can you please send me a link to where this is posted? I know another friend of mine up here wanted to visit those twisties too. Are these cruises usually slow in pace or rather spirited? I much prefer the later one myself. Tomato always ready to Tango on hwy.

thx
carlos aka Mr. Tomato

These are official club outings and we sign a liability waiver, although I'd have to see if non-members can tag along. We try to observe speed limits, especially on these twisty back-roads with 500-1,000 ft. drop-offs and traffic coming the other way. That said, some of the group go a little faster than others, but most are cruising along at or just slightly above the limit. It's not a road race or autocross, but it's not a leisurely pace by any means. The chapter URL is http://tejaschapter.org.

BMWCCA is not just an online forum...it's the BMW Car Club of America, something you join and pay dues for each year, which gets you Roundel Magazine every month and numerous other club benefits. There are thousands of members all across the country.

[jafza412]

Originally Posted by Doug007

There are some twisty roads in Houston but you have to be creative

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...,0.004823&z=18

Or the higher speed track, I mean route...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...2&ie=UTF8&z=14

Watch out for the 45S entrance ramp off Allen parkway. It's a decreasing radius short merge so don't early apex and then be sure to gun it!

I literally laughed out loud at this. Outstanding.

Wanna race this weekend? Well, as long as I can borrow one of your turbos. Actually that is if Advantage ever gives me back my car, they have had it for 4 days fixing my Homelink.

[Doug007]

My girlfriend wanted to go for a drive a few weeks ago so I took her on the downtown loop.

She LOVED it and made me do 3 laps before we went home.

The 59N ramp off 45S is especially fun with the rumble strips, hard braking, hard left, then back through 3rd gear.

The Waugh/Memorial cloverleaf is also lots of fun, but I worry about doing it more than once because of all the cops that drive by. It was one of my first stops after getting the bimmer though

NOTE: I disavow any responsibility if there happens to be an outbreak of BMWs speeding on downtown freeways in the coming week

[RoundelM3]

...and there's always the "Houston Autobahn"...the Hardy Toll Road...if you need to "open it up a bit". There are some nice curves at the Northern end (Woodlands).