Howdy,
I am assuming you are familiar with the backroads of sorts that will get you down to the Granbury area?
From Granbury you can come South on FM 51 to FM 205 and head West. Pick up FM 2481 and head South all the way to Hwy 220. Go South on Hwy 220 to Hico and pick up US 281 to Hamilton. In Hamilton, head West on FM 218. You can then either run FM 218 to FM 575 into Goldthwaite or take FM 2005 down to FM 575 and then into Goldthwaite. From there, head South on Hwy 16 to San Saba.
You could just run 16 all the way to Kerrville from here and it is a nice ride. However, there is a detour worth taking. Head East out of San Saba on US 190. A few miles out of town look for FM 580. Head South. This FM runs along the Colorado river and is a lot fun. When you hit FM 501, head back to the West and pick up Hwy 16 again.
As I mentioned above, the ride down 16 to Kerrville is nice, nothing tight though. If you still want some more backroad stuff, then after passing through Llano, there are two side loops that are nice. The first would be to pick up FM 152 just outside the South side of town and head West. The follows the Llano river for a while. When you reach US 87, Go North or West whichever the sign says and look for FM 783. Run FM 783 South. At FM 648, you can cut back to the East, hit US 87 and run into Fredericksburg and then run Hwy 16 down to Kerrville. Or you can just stay on FM 783 all the way until it hits I-10 just outside the West side of Kerrville.
The second side route is to pick up FM 2323 just South of Llano. You can run this all the way to US 87 and then into Fredericksburg. Or you can head up US 87 to FM 648 and run West over to FM 783 and finish as described above.
A little known road in Kerrville that is worthy of your attention is FM 1341. It runs out the East side of town over to I-10. It is a real roller coaster of a road with nice pavement. Hwy 16 South of Kerrville has some of the tightest corners in the state. They are fun but be careful. The pavement can be rough in the corners. Also, some of the corners are marked 15mph, take that to heart!! The 33X's all have some construction on them right now. It is not a big deal unless it is raining. That could get ugly. Hwy 39 out of Kerrville on the West side is nice. FM 470 from Bandera to Utopia is great. Be sure to stop in Tarpley around either lunch or dinner time to eat at
Mac & Ernie's roadside eatery. It will be a highlight of the trip, especially their dinners and dessert.
I'll let someone else clue you in on the roads to take to get back to the Austin area. I'm sure the locals know them better than me
When are you going?
Adios,