Overnight Trip to Santa Fe, Fredricksburg or Charleston.

Santa Fe NM is one of our favorites.

La Fonda is our favorite hotel. Hotels are a HIT or MISS in SF. You can go from 4 stars to 1.5 stars very quickly.

The last time we were there, La Fonda had a great restaurant, Coyotes was a great restaurant, and the French pastry shop had a great pastry and cup of coffee.

We took the Cumbres and Toltec scenic train ride. We loved it. It takes you from Northern NM to Southern CO.

There are some great hiking trails in Santa Fe. You just have too look them up and see what you like best. There a lot of ruins in the area that I find interesting.

They also have a lot of unique shops to browse around. You can spend a day just walking the small town.

Go on their visitors site to see what is going on during on October.

This is when Google is your friend. You can find out everything there is to know. You certainly have enough time. Personally I would do Charleston SC. Although not sure if you would have enough time.

Choose Santa Fe only if you LOVE Southwest anything. I went there to a conference years ago and it wasn't my cup of tea at all. I don't like the desert, don't like turquoise, don't like Southwest cooking, so it just wasn't a match for me.

I have heard wonderful things about Charleston, SC, so that would be my choice.

Do you want to fly or drive?

Texas is a HUGE state...so flying might be better so you have more time.

Santa Fe, NM is beautiful as is Charleston SC.

I've never been to Fredericksburg, TX. So I can't answer that one.

Why not contact a travel agent or use TripAdvisor.com to get some other views as well?

If I had MY choice? I would choose NM. It's the fall when you are going - so I would also look into New England - New Hampshire and Vermont - BEAUTIFUL in October and lots of hiking trails!

Good luck!

Santa Fe is gorgeous in October. And it's a lovely small city that can be done in a few days. You could even include a side trip to Albuquerque to see the Balloon Fiesta if you time it right. I vote for Santa Fe, but I'm partial since I live in New Mexico.

There are direct flights from Dallas to Santa Fe, or you would fly to Albuquerque and drive the hour up to SF. There is tons of hiking - head to the Santa Fe Ski area (signs all over town) and on your way up you'll pass about fifteen signs for trailheads. In October you may hit the aspen season and the entire side of the mountain is ablaze with aspens turning color. You could spend a day or a few hours at Ten Thousand Waves, one of the coolest outdoor spas in the country. Wander around the Plaza and see all the shops and native jewelry vendors.

Top restaurants for tourists: The Shed and Tomasitas. Great food, very typical of northern New Mexico.

If you end up deciding on Santa Fe, send me a PM and I can give you more ideas and restaurant tips.

My husband and I visited Enchanted Rock near Fredricksburg last fall. We hiked the rock twice - at sunset and again the next day to explore the cave. Ask for directions to the cave and how to get down once you exit (we just explored until we figured it out, but I would've preferred some pointers). We hiked most of the trails and stayed two nights, tent camping a short walk from our car. We cooked all of our meals at our site and never visited town (if we'd had another day, we would have). Great trip if you like nature and are a little adventurous.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/enchanted-rock

On (sort of) our way home, we stopped for lunch at http://www.saltlickbbq.com/pages/Driftwood.html and would go again given the opportunity.

This looks fun!
http://www.visitfredericksburgtx.com/events/fredericksbur...

If you only have 3 nights I would stay close so you have more time to enjoy the area you are visiting. Save the NM or SC trip for a time when you have more vacation days.