If you’re in search of the perfect summer list of Day Trips from Fort Worth and North Texas, this is for you. If you’re having too much fun, I’ve even included places to stay to extend your trip!
1. Grand Prairie (25 minutes)
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Grand Prairie is home to Joe Pool Lake, which includes Loyd and Lynn Creek Park.
Loyd Park has camping, a beach, boat ramp, hiking and a playground.
Lynn Creek is a Day Use Park with picnic tables.
Lynn Creek Marina, currently being remodeled, rents boats, jet skis, kayak and paddleboards. They also offer a big 2-decker party boat, The Wave (formerly the big Kahuna) with a captain to take out on the lake! Want to get a boat but not sure what kind? Check out the Boat Club, which allows you to use their bass boats, pontoons, ski boats with membership.
There’s always something new at Ripley’s Believe It or Not.
Lone Star Park has live horse racing during the Spring, Summer and Fall. Family-friendly, mark your calendars for June 25 and 26th for their Extreme Racing with zebras, ostrich and camels! There are usually family events and an incredible fireworks show on July 3rd and 4th!
Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark is a great way to keep cool all year long!
Play Grand Adventures is Grand Prairie’s huge all-abilities park, and it’s a fun time for everyone!
Action Park is a skate-boarding and bmx track with a new RC park!
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Chicken and Pickle is SO much fun! Really good food and pickle ball (similar to tennis on a shorter court) plus a big yard for games like corn hole and a huge battleship board!
Firehouse Gastro Park is another fun, outdoor patio restaurant in Downtown Grand Prairie! Great food, live music and a laid-back atmosphere make this a Summer Must!
Blue Sunshine Patio Bar and Grill, formerly the Oasis on Joe Pool Lake is one of the few waterfront dining in DFW, and they offer live music on weekends. Their large patio is a great place to spend an afternoon or evening watching the boats come in and out of the marina!
- Waco (1 hr 45 min)
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Visit the Mayborn Museum
Cameron Park Zoo
Waco Mammoth Museum
Dr Pepper Museum
Paddleboarding in the Brazos River
Magnolia Market
Spice Village
The Findery
Homestead Craft Village.
Eat
Arrive EARLY for breakfast at Magnolia Table, before the lines begin, or enjoy the huge patio at The Backyard Bar Stage and Grill.
Stay
I love the Waco Hotel Indigo, near the Riverwalk.
4. Granbury (1 hr 11 min)
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Always one of my favorites, spend a day playing on the FREE Granbury City Beach Park, with imported sand from South Padre Island. After dark, visit the Brazos Drive In Theater, or take a Ghost Tour on the Square.
Eat
We love Ketzler’s Schnitzel Haus and Beirgarten on the Historic Courthouse Square.
Stay
The Hilton Garden Inn is Lakefront and located next to the City Beach.
5. Frisco and The Colony
Grandscape is a huge destination in The Colony, with a state of the art, like you’ve never seen before ferris wheel, great stores, Andretti Karting, The Puttery (an adults-only drink while you play putt-putt indoors) and neat restaurants. I love The Truckyard, a big patio-type bar that is family and fido-friendly. This Summer, your kids will Marvel Avengers Station, a new immersive exhibit!
Frisco is always fun with the National Videogame Museum, Sci-Tech Discovery Center, and the Rough Riders AA Rangers Franchise Baseball. Minor League Baseball is just so much better! On Sundays, families can play in the lazy river!
5. Lake Murray State Park, OK (1 hr 23 min)
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The clear blue waters of this Oklahoma Lake with call you with fun water activities, boat rentals, horseback riding and much, much more!
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Make a weekend of it in a floating cabin!
6. McKinney (37 min)
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Another Historic Couthouse Square with dining and shopping, plus the Heard Nature Museum and head to Towne Lake to take out the swan paddle boats, a favorite of mine!
Eat
I love Spoons Café, which serves breakfast all day!
Stay
There are several Bed and Breakfast in McKinney, and the Grand Hotel makes a fun place for a Girl’s Weekend!
7. Glen Rose (1 hr 19 min)
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The “Dinosaur Capital of Texas” there is so much to do in this town on the Texas Rolling Plains! Visit Dinosaur Valley State Park to see actual dinosaur footprints and swim in the Blue Hole, tube or canoe down the Brazos River, feed the free-roaming animals from your car at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, or explore the dinosaurs at Dinosaur World!
Eat
Young kids will love Storiebook Café or enjoy a drive in the country to Coyote Loco.
Stay
Your stay in Glen Rose is only limited by your imagination. Stay in a Safari tent at Fossil Rim, a treehouse at Tres Rios Resort or along the river at a VRBO. The state park has camping sites.
8. Mineral Wells (1 hr 17 min)
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Take the kids fossil hunting at the FREE Mineral Wells Fossil Park, then take a scenic 1-day canoe trip down the Brazos with Rochelle’s Canoe Rental, which also offers overnight, 3 and 4 day trips! Go rock climbing, hiking or fishing at Mineral Wells State Park, jump into the chilly spring water at Unk’s Lake (Perrin), or relax in a mineral bath at the Crazy Bath House.
Eat
We love the chicken-fried rib eye at Brazos Market and Bistro on Fridays.
Stay
The Crazy Bath House also offers rooms in their early 1900’s home.
9. Turner Falls, OK (1 hr 51 min)
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Swim in the chilly water of Honey Creek under the 70 ft waterfall, zip line across the canyon, hike to Bridal Falls or explore the castle ruins or try fishing in the creek.
Eat
We can’t drive past Smokin’ Joe’s Rib Ranch in Davis, it’s amazing!
Stay
Camp in the park, or rent a cabin. Make a trip to the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulfur.
10. Rockwall (51 min)
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Take a sunset cruise on Lake Ray Hubbard with Sail With Scott. Bring your own drinks and snacks for a lovely cruise on the lake!
Eat
The Fatted Calf in Historic Downtown Rockwall has a unique upscale twist on classic Southern favorites.
Stay
The Hilton Rockwall Lakefront offers a beautiful view of the lake and a fun pool!
Keep Having Fun in the Texas Sun!
Michelle
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