monument hill & kreische brewery state historic site

bruce120

Fascinating historic site. We visited the homesite of Heinrich Kreische who built the original LaGrange county court house in the 1850s. He also built the third largest brewery in the state of Texas on a natural spring located on this property. Monument Hill is beautiful. It's located on top of a ridge line that over looks the valley that LaGrange is located in. A definite must see.

mikisme

We were warmly greeted by the park staff who seemed genuinely interested in this memorial park.They explained the history and passed out a trail map. I would recommend taking the map if you are anything like us and get turned around easily but the trails do loop back around so you won't get lost. The park is well maintained and our picnic overlooking the Colorado river and the valley below was perfect.

TravelingTeacher7272

La Grange is a quaint little Texas town with lots to see. Monument Hill is a great FREE park. The Czech museum gives insight into the start of the town with lots of neat displays. Now it is decorated for the Christmas holiday. Love La Petite Gourmet shop downtown for those great kitchen gadgets and hard to find items.

Oldguitarmike

While in La Grange, I wanted to at least have a look around. The overall grounds are nice. The overlook of the Colorado river is awesome and worth the 10-15 walk out to the edge. The monument and historic value of this park is well worth your time and effort to make the short hike.

V1231HMjohnt

Excellent state park with friendly, helpful staff, beautiful views of the valley and Colorado river, nice walking paths and trails, and interesting stories about the burial site, brewery, and Kreische family.

rockhill2124

Stopped while passing through the area. Certainly worth the time and effort. Friendly ranger, well marked self guided tour.

texmark

This is the next to the smallest state park in Texas. It was well maintained and had an interesting historical significance. I really enjoyed talking to the ranger on duty.

cynlynn

Surprising to find such a beautiful park with wonderful trails, the ruins of an ancient brewery and an amazing panoramic view from high above the Colorado River. Enjoyed the visit so much, I have been back and back again.

Z288XPmarkb

Absolutely spectacular view. Geocaching too. This place is fantastic. The trails though short are challenging. The brewery was cleverly designed. The stone work is wonderful to behold. Monument Hill is a must for any Texas History buff. The entire site is well maintained. Lots of scenic overlooks and places to picnic.

SylviaR821

This is one of the BEST state parks in Texas. Words don't do it justice. IT IS A MUST TO DO. Best time to go is early spring and fall. We are definitely going back in the fall. LOVE IT...LOVE IT.

texantravelinggirl

Small park with lot to offer. Hike the trail to see the old brewery and beautiful view of La Grange. Read the story of the black bean and enjoy nature.

LindaL615

I've lived in Texas my entire life. I've driven near this park many times and never knew this was here. The park itself has several trails for hiking. The overlook of the Colorado River is beautiful. The brewery ruins and how it operated is fascinating, the Kreische home interesting and the monument itself very impressive. It's FREE and the park grounds are lovely. You can see everything in less than an hour, but if you have the time, hiking here would be safe and fun. There is a playground for children.

113dwightw

So I never knew about the black bean lottery, now I do. Mr. Kreische was a talented builder and i see why they say talented architect, there was a lot of pre planning in his buildings. Nice trails, not too bad with my poor knees. I only did the historic loop and the views were amazing.

haisler

We have driven by this State Historic site south of La Grange on Hwy 77 at least a dozen times and finally decided to stop and take a look. We spent a couple of hours walking the short (about 1/2 mile) loop trail on the bluff, looking at the momunents for various 1840's Texas heros of battles with Mexico to gain independence, and viewing the old Kreische stone home, barn and smokehouse. Kreische was a German immigrant who settleed on top of the bluff in the 1850s and built a stone home and brewery there. The home is not open except on certain Sunday afternoons and brewery tours are only on Saturdays (check the State Parks website to confirm). The views of the Colorado River from the 200-ft bluff are worth the walk. Most interesting for me was seeing the remants of the old brewery structure built into a ravine a short distance down the hill from the home. The Ranger station has a very informative display that explains how the brewery was built and how the bluff area was the center of lots of picnics and entertainment for the local community. Definitely worth an hour or two detour, especially if you like Texas history.

mljack

My husband and I toured the Kreische Brewery built in the 1850's. Our tour guide was great. The tour was very interesting history. Brewery tours start at 10 am on Saturdays June-September. October through May, the tour is Saturday at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. You can take a self guided tours. We did not tour the Kreische house but they are scheduled on the 1st and 2nd Sundays of the month at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.