Insight
Fall and Holiday Season in New Braunfels: A Local’s Guide (2026)
The river season ends. The town doesn't.
Once the tubes get stacked for the year, New Braunfels doesn’t slow down. It just changes outfits. From late October through early December, the town trades swimsuits for lederhosen and string lights, and some of its best traditions land in the cooler months.
If you only know New Braunfels in summer (we wrote that guide too), here’s what fall and the holidays look like in 2026, plus a few tips for getting around.
Wurstfest: November 6 to 15
Wurstfest 2026 runs ten days, Friday, November 6 through Sunday, November 15, at the Wurstfest Grounds in Landa Park, a short walk from the headwaters of the Comal River.
It started in 1961 as a one-day sausage celebration dreamed up by a local veterinarian who also worked as the city’s meat inspector. About 2,000 people showed up that first year. It grew into “Wurst Week,” moved to the Wursthalle in Landa Park in 1967, and today draws crowds in the hundreds of thousands for polka and Alpine bands, dancing, German and Texas beer, carnival rides, and, yes, a lot of sausage.
Hours
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Friday, Nov 6 (opening) | 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. |
| Saturdays (Nov 7, Nov 14) | 11 a.m. to midnight |
| Sundays (Nov 8, Nov 15) | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Monday to Thursday (Nov 9 to 12) | 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Friday, Nov 13 | 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. |
What to know before you go
- Pick your day.Saturdays are the busiest. A weeknight or Sunday visit is a much easier way in.
- Plan the ride, not the parking.Spots near the grounds are limited, especially on weekends. Look at shuttle and rideshare options before you leave.
- Leave the cooler and the camp chairs.Outside food and drinks aren't allowed, chairs and stools stay home, and bags are checked at the gate.
- Dress the part if you like.Dirndls and lederhosen are welcome. It runs rain or shine.
Tickets, the music lineup, and shuttle details are on the official Wurstfest site.
Before and around Wurstfest
Wurstfest gets the headlines, but the weeks around it are full of smaller, very local traditions, most of them free and most of them on or near Main Plaza.
| Date | Event | Where | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Oct 17, noon to 10 p.m. | Dia de los Muertos Festival | Downtown, Main Plaza | Hosted by the Hispanic Business Alliance, with live music and activities all afternoon into the evening |
| Thu, Oct 29, 5 to 7 p.m. | Downtown Spooktacular | Downtown businesses | Merchants and city departments hand out treats along downtown streets |
| Sat, Nov 7, 10 a.m. to noon | Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony | Main Plaza | Falls on Wurstfest’s first Saturday, so get downtown early |
| Sun, Nov 8, 4 to 6 p.m. | Mid-Texas Symphony: Mozart and Tchaikovsky | Long Creek High School Performing Arts Center | A quieter way to spend a Wurstfest Sunday afternoon |
The holidays: Wassailfest and Gruene
Once Wurstfest packs up, New Braunfels goes straight into Christmas, and it does it with a German accent.
Wassailfest: Thursday, December 3, 6 to 9 p.m.
Downtown’s biggest holiday night is free. Businesses and local organizations set up along the streets around Main Plaza, each pouring its own take on wassail, a warm, spiced German holiday drink built on apple, cranberry, and orange. Some recipes are spiked, some aren’t. Add string lights, school choirs, and a downtown full of neighbors, and you have the unofficial start of the season.
Skip the downtown parking hunt: a free shuttle runs from New Braunfels City Hall (550 Landa Street) from 5 to 11 p.m. Check the City of New Braunfels events calendar for street closures and parking.
Holidays in Gruene
Ten minutes up the road, the Gruene Historic District turns into a postcard. The highlights come back every year: photo sessions with Cowboy Kringle (Gruene’s boots-and-chaps version of Santa), Old Gruene Market Days with close to 100 vendors, an ice rink, the Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot, a Pony Express rider carrying holiday greetings, and Two Tons of Steel’s holiday shows at Gruene Hall.
The big one is the Gruene Town Lighting in early December: a brass band in the street, then Cowboy Kringle rides in on horseback and flips the switch. It’s free. Find this year’s full schedule on the Holidays in Gruene page.
Keep coming back? Think about a landing spot of your own.
If you already know which Wurstfest night you’re going and which weekend you’ll be in Gruene, you’re not really a visitor anymore. You’re a regular without a key.
That’s who Garten Haus, by Wes Peoples Homes, was built for. The cottages sit in Solms Landing, just north of historic downtown New Braunfels and minutes from Landa Park, the Comal, and Gruene Hall. They’re designed to lock and leave:
- Low maintenance by design. Cottage-sized homes with a community dog park, pavilion, and pickleball courts, so your weekends go to the town, not the yard.
- Move-in ready. Homes can come fully furnished through our partnership with Living Spaces. Walk in, drop your bag, go find a wassail.
- Not empty while you’re gone. Most New Braunfels neighborhoods don’t allow short-term rentals. Garten Haus has short-term rental zoning by right, so the weeks you’re not there can help cover the weeks you are. Our guide to New Braunfels short-term rental rules explains why that’s rare.
Lock the door, live your life, and come back for the next festival.
See you downtown
New Braunfels in summer is about the river. New Braunfels in fall and winter is about the town itself: the music, the food, the traditions that have outlasted floods, fires, and a pandemic. Come for a weekend. You may find yourself planning the next one before you leave.
Thinking about a second home in New Braunfels? Tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll send floor plans, current availability, and what owning a lock-and-leave cottage at Garten Haus really looks like.
Event dates and details come from organizers’ published calendars as of October 2026 and can change. Check each event’s official site before you go.