Day Trippin' › Texas › From Dallas › Within 4 hours
99 places are worth the drive within 4 hours of Dallas, counted by road time from ZIP 75201: 8 under 1 hour, 18 1 to 2 hours, 24 2 to 3 hours and 49 3 to 4 hours.
The mix leans toward hikes, history and wildlife, mostly to the south and southwest. Four hours each way is weekend territory: most of these work best with a night away, so check the places to stay on the state page.
The headline places are Fort Worth Stockyards, Magnolia Market at the Silos and Dinosaur Valley State Park, and the closest real day trip is Cedar Hill State Park (29 min).
Under 1 hour 1 to 2 hours 2 to 3 hours 3 to 4 hours
Photo: Renelibrary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Historic site · 36 min west
Fort Worth's Old West district, where the Fort Worth Herd runs the world's only daily cattle drive and rodeos fill the historic Cowtown Coliseum.
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0
State park · 29 min southwest
Big park on Joe Pool Lake with a gravel swimming beach, the DORBA mountain bike trail and the historic Penn Farm.
Photo: Renelibrary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Family fun · 36 min west
Large Fort Worth garden that includes a Japanese Garden.
Photo: Eric Kilby from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
Zoo · 38 min west
Large, popular zoo in Fort Worth with half-price admission every Wednesday.
Bike trail · 52 min north
A 20-mile trail corridor from Ray Roberts Dam to Lake Lewisville; 10 miles are for hiking and biking only and 12 miles are open to horses.
Photo: Morcup, CC BY-SA 4.0
State park · 58 min north
Lake park with two units, Isle du Bois and Johnson Branch, offering swimming beaches, fishing, camping and paved and dirt multiuse trails.
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0
Family fun · 1 hr 24 min south
Busy shopping and food complex in Waco with shops, places to eat and a big turf lawn.
State park · 1 hr 27 min southwest
Walk in real dinosaur tracks in the Paluxy River bed near Glen Rose, with about 20 miles of trails for hiking and mountain biking.
Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town · 1 hr 11 min southwest
Lake town with a historic square and Lake Granbury, voted USA Today's Best Historic Small Town several times, with festivals all year.
Photo: Res2216firestar, CC BY-SA 3.0
Zoo · 1 hr 23 min southwest
Conservation center near Glen Rose where you drive a scenic route among roaming endangered and exotic animals and can feed them from your car.
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0
National park · 1 hr 26 min south
See mammoth fossils left where they were found, on a guided tour of the dig shelter in Waco.
Photo: NetherlandishYankee (talk), Public domain
Historic site · 1 hr 31 min west
Original 1860s buildings of a big frontier Army post at Jacksboro, plus the 9-mile (one way) Lost Creek Reservoir State Trailway for hiking, biking and riding and a sand beach on Lake Jacksboro.
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0
State park · 2 hr 33 min east
Paddle Big Cypress Bayou under bald cypress draped in Spanish moss at the edge of 26,810-acre Caddo Lake, with 2.5 miles of trails and historic CCC cabins.
Photo: Downtown Austin, Public domain
Swimming · 2 hr 52 min south
A three-acre spring-fed pool in Austin's Zilker Park that stays around 68-70 degrees all year. It is home to the endangered Barton Springs salamander.
Photo: Nsaum75, CC BY-SA 3.0
Historic site · 2 hr 17 min southeast
Three earthen mounds at Alto from a Caddo village and ceremonial center about 1,200 years old, with exhibits and a reconstructed grass house.
Photo: Renelibrary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town · 2 hr 26 min east
Pre-Civil War town with nearly 100 historic landmarks, historic hotels and B&Bs, walking tours and bayou fun near Caddo Lake.
Photo: mr_t_77, CC BY-SA 2.0
Zoo · 2 hr 36 min west
A family zoo with giraffe feeding, a train and a carousel.
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0
Bike trail · 2 hr 57 min south
A 2.8-mile hard-surfaced trail inside McKinney Falls State Park that suits road bikes, strollers and easy walks.
Photo: Eric in SF, CC BY-SA 3.0
Swimming · 3 hr 23 min southwest
A swimming hole under a roughly 50-foot waterfall in a box canyon west of Austin. A short, steep, rocky trail leads down to it.
Photo: Renelibrary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Town · 3 hr 29 min south
A 15-acre historic district on the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels, with old township buildings, local shops, food and free live music daily.
Photo: ljpelletier, CC BY-SA 2.0
Theme park · 3 hr 33 min south
A big riverside waterpark in New Braunfels with about 45 rivers, rides and slides in four sections, each with a lazy river and kids' area.
Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0
Cave · 3 hr 47 min southwest
Big show cave near New Braunfels named for the natural limestone bridge at its entrance. Two guided cavern tours plus zip lines, a maze and gem mining above ground.
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
Historic site · 3 hr 57 min southwest
The famous mission and 1836 battle site in downtown San Antonio. You can walk the grounds and visit Alamo Church.
Photo: Jenbooks, CC BY-SA 2.0
Zoo · 3 hr 4 min south
A rescue zoo in southwest Austin with a small train, a hoofstock feeding area and daily keeper chats.
Our picks, by drive time, include Fort Worth Stockyards (36 min), Cedar Hill State Park (29 min), Fort Worth Botanic Garden (36 min), Fort Worth Zoo (38 min) and Ray Roberts Greenbelt (52 min). The full list on this page has 99 places, each with its drive time and direction from Dallas.
26 places within 2 hours, 50 within 3 hours and 99 within 4 hours of Dallas, by road from ZIP 75201.
24 of the 99 places need no pass or fee, such as Fort Worth Stockyards, Granbury and Magnolia Market at the Silos. Fees and passes change, so check each place before you go.
95 places are marked good for kids, including Cameron Park Zoo, Cedar Hill State Park and Cleburne State Park.
They are by real roads on a typical day, from the middle of ZIP 75201 to each place (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Traffic, weather and closures can change them. Places under 25 minutes from the city center count as in town, not a day trip, so they are left out.
Yes. Type your ZIP code into Day Trippin' and it shows everything by drive time. Your ZIP is used for that one search and is not saved.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP <class 'zip'> (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.