Zenfulcove Featured in Texas Highways: Where to Stay in Elgin, Texas

Zenfulcove was featured in Texas Highways, the official travel magazine of Texas, as the place to stay in Elgin. The magazine's May 2026 road-trip guide, “A ‘Perfectly Situated’ Getaway in Elgin” by Amanda Albee, lists Zenfulcove under Stay, describing our five retreats as a 10-minute drive from downtown Elgin, with fairy tale-like geodomes, well-equipped kitchens and curved windows looking out over oak trees and a pond.

For a glamping retreat on 10 private acres outside a Central Texas railroad town, that is a big deal. Here is what the magazine said, why it matters, and how to plan the Elgin weekend the story describes.

What Texas Highways said about Zenfulcove

The guide is a classic Texas Highways road-trip feature: where to eat, shop, stay and celebrate in one town, with photography by Tiffany Hofeldt. In the Stay section, the magazine recommends exactly one place: Zenfulcove.

The write-up calls Zenfulcove “part glamping domes, part new homes” and highlights:

• Five retreats about a 10-minute drive from Elgin's historic downtown
• Fairy tale-like geodomes with well-equipped kitchens
• Curved windows with panoramic views of oak trees and the pond
• Rentals starting at $199 per night at the time of publication

One of the article's photos also features the property, captioned with our distance from downtown Elgin.

Why a Texas Highways feature matters

Texas Highways is published by the Texas Department of Transportation and has been encouraging travel to and within the Lone Star State since the 1970s. Its road-trip guides are editorial picks, written and photographed by the magazine's own contributors, and they are one of the first places Texans look when planning a weekend.

Being the single lodging pick in its Elgin guide means that when someone asks where to stay in Elgin, Texas, the state's own travel magazine points them to Zenfulcove.

Meet the five stays Texas Highways wrote about

Every Zenfulcove stay sits on the same private 10-acre property with a 2-acre lagoon, kayaks, walking trails and private fire pits. Each one has its own personality:

• The Fairy House (sleeps 6): two curved-glass concrete domes joined by a cottage with 16-foot ceilings, a lagoon view, a four-person sauna, an outdoor soaking tub, rooftop putt-putt and a paddleboat. The most “fairy tale” of them all.
• The Sky Castle (sleeps 6): castle-inspired arches and a dome, two murals, four decks, rooftop mini golf, a sauna and a soaking tub, right on the water.
• The Bird House (sleeps 8): two 21-foot geodomes and a loft in the forest with a sauna, outdoor tub and big decks. Our pick for groups, families and retreats.
• The Desert Rose (sleeps 3): a Mediterranean-style forest geodome with a kitchenette, made for couples and quiet stays.
• The Doodle House (sleeps 3): a lakefront tiny home hand-drawn inside and out, with its own mini golf. The queen bed is in a ladder loft.

Not sure which fits your trip? Compare all five stays side by side.

Plan the Elgin weekend from the article

The best part of the Texas Highways guide is that it reads like an itinerary. Elgin, founded in 1872 as a railroad junction about 25 miles east of Austin, has nearly tripled in population since 2000, and new shops and restaurants now sit alongside businesses that have been around for more than a century. Here is how to use the guide with Zenfulcove as your home base.

Eat: Elgin's famous sausage

Elgin is the official Sausage Capital of Texas, by a 1995 resolution of the Texas Legislature. The magazine sends readers to Southside Market & Barbecue on US 290, home of the original beef smoked sausage, which traces back to the “hot guts” links first sold in Elgin in 1882. Grab links to take back to your stay's grill, or eat in and save the fire pit for s'mores.

Coffee and pastries: Lo-Fi Coffee House and Studio

Start a morning in town at Lo-Fi Coffee House and Studio, which the guide notes now occupies the original 1888 Southside Barbecue space. Look for fresh sourdough and baked goods alongside the coffee.

Shop: Main Street and the Depot District

Elgin is also known as the “Brick Capital of the Southwest,” and its downtown is lined with late-19th-century brick buildings. The guide recommends Elgin Dry Goods for gifts, Carmona's for Western wear, Double R Hat House for a custom felt or straw hat, and Things Celtic for kilts, jewelry and shortbread from all six Celtic nations. Since 2024, the Depot District has allowed locally bought beer and wine to be sipped in designated areas.

Celebrate: Hogeye Festival

Every October, Elgin's three-day Hogeye Festival brings around 15,000 visitors downtown for a car show, pet parade, two live-music stages, a hog-calling contest, a barbecue pork cook-off and the town's famous cow patty bingo. It is one of the most fun weekends of the year to stay nearby, so book early. See the festival's own site for next year's dates.

A sample Texas Highways-inspired weekend

• Friday: Check in at 3 PM, take a kayak out on the lagoon at sunset, and light your fire pit.
• Saturday morning: Coffee and pastries at Lo-Fi, then an hour or two on Main Street.
• Saturday lunch: Sausage at Southside Market & Barbecue.
• Saturday evening: Back to Zenfulcove for the sauna and soaking tub (Fairy House, Sky Castle and Bird House), a grill dinner on the deck and stars over the oaks.
• Sunday: A slow breakfast with the view through those curved windows, then check out at 11 AM.

For more ideas nearby, see our guide to things to do near Elgin.

Getting to Zenfulcove

Zenfulcove is at 103 Potato Smith Road, Unit C, Elgin, TX 78621, about 35 minutes east of downtown Austin via US-290. Texas Highways lists Elgin as roughly 30 minutes from Austin, 1 hour 45 minutes from San Antonio, 2 hours from Houston and 3 hours from Dallas, which puts Zenfulcove within easy weekend reach of most of Texas.

Frequently asked questions

Was Zenfulcove featured in Texas Highways?

Yes. Texas Highways, the official travel magazine of Texas, featured Zenfulcove as the place to stay in “A ‘Perfectly Situated’ Getaway in Elgin” by Amanda Albee, a road-trip guide published May 1, 2026 and in the magazine's May 2026 issue.

Where should I stay in Elgin, Texas?

Texas Highways recommends Zenfulcove, a glamping retreat with five geodome and tiny-home stays on 10 private acres about 10 to 15 minutes from downtown Elgin and 35 minutes from Austin. Stays sleep 3 to 8 guests and include kayaks, fire pits and lagoon or forest views.

What did Texas Highways say about Zenfulcove?

The magazine described Zenfulcove as part glamping domes, part new homes, with five retreats a 10-minute drive from downtown Elgin, fairy tale-like geodomes with well-equipped kitchens, and curved windows with panoramic views of oak trees and a pond.

How much does it cost to stay at Zenfulcove?

Texas Highways listed rentals starting at $199 per night at the time of publication. Rates vary by stay, date and group size; current prices and availability are on the Zenfulcove booking page.

How far is Zenfulcove from Austin?

Zenfulcove is about 35 minutes east of downtown Austin via US-290, at 103 Potato Smith Road, Unit C, Elgin, TX 78621.

What is Elgin, Texas known for?

Elgin is the official Sausage Capital of Texas, home to Southside Market & Barbecue, and is known as the Brick Capital of the Southwest for its historic brick downtown. It also hosts the annual Hogeye Festival each October.

See what Texas Highways saw. Check availability and book direct, or call 512-273-7962.

Source: Amanda Albee, “A ‘Perfectly Situated’ Getaway in Elgin,” Texas Highways, May 2026.