Driving in Texas, starting from Dallas
 

All - my first time to the board but it looks great!

I am flying into Dallas in 2 weeks primarily for business, but I have almost an entire day that Saturday to myself. I would like to get in the car and drive, but I'm not sure whereto. I've never been to Dallas before and only one to TX in general, but was only in Houston (and for business). After looking at the map, it looks like I can head north to Oklahoma City, east to Schreveport, or south in the direction of Austin or Houston. Abilene is to the west but I'm not sure if there's anything in particular to see on the way, or even in that city.

I love driving and dont mind being in the car for a number of hours. I would just like to drive through and see the sights briefly, in that part of the country.

So what are your thoughts? I'm excited but there are too many options...

Austin is a 3-4 hour drive depending on where in Dallas you are, and traffic. Oklahoma city is about the same, Shreveport a little closer. That would leave you in the car most of the day and its really not an interesting driive either way. I suggest you spend some time in FW - the Botanical Gardens and the Kimball Museum would be my suggestions.

There is nothing to see between Dallas and OKC, trust me as I make that drive way too often.

I agree with Austin on staying in town and visiting Ft Worth and parts of Dallas.

www.traveltex.com through the Hill Country to Austin

San Antonio if time...lots to see and do...

ther prettiest drive for me in that area nice roads too.

classic.mapquest.com directions distances

Was just out at Dallas came up through

through Shreveport pretty much a dump

unless you want some not great casino action.

OKC same...

Great - thanks so much for the ideas.

Is there anything to taking the main highway (35E) down and the 281 back up? Is there any nice country off the 281 or other sites, or would that just be the long way back up to Dallas?

It takes about 5 hours to get from San Antonio to DFW via 281, as compared to 4 hours on I-35. 281 is a nice drive along the edge of the Hill Country. There are many small town cafes where you can get a good meal, cute shops, etc. Marble Falls has a cute downtown and lakefront area, and highway 290 between Johnson City and Fredericksburg has many wineries with tasting rooms, etc.

There is absolutely nothing between Fort Worth and Abilene otehr than a few gas stations. I make that drive monthly for business. I agree with BeachGirl that the drive to/from OKC is the same!

When I visited my daughter when she was stationed in San Angelo, I discovered the best steakhouse outside a big city.
The Lowake Steak House in Rowena, TX http://www.yelp.com/biz/lowake-steak-house-rowena
When we went there, the place was packed and the steaks and other food was good.

Lowake Steak House is wonderful! Back when I attended Angelo State, the students and professors all went there!

I agree that you should just stay in Fort Worth (lots to see there) and Dallas. I-35 from the D/FW area to Austin and then San Antonio is not particularly scenic, in my opinion, and there probably will be lots of traffic. Frankly, given the heat of summer and the long-term drought, I would think there won't be much in the way of scenic drives no matter which direction you pick.

If you REALLY want to take a drive out of town, however, you could go to Waco. It's 2-2.5 hours from Dallas. It is not the most impressive city, to be honest, but it is home to such attractions as the Armstrong Browning Library (as in Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning) on the campus of Baylor University, the Dr Pepper Museum, the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum (law enforcement, not baseball), and the Waco Mammoth Site (bones of prehistoric mammoths). I have been to the first two but not the latter two.

http://www.browninglibrary.org/index.php?id=47427

http://www.drpeppermuseum.com/

http://www.texasranger.org/index.htm

http://www.wacomammoth.org/

Check out http://www.wacocvb.com/visitor.asp for more info on Waco as well.

It is soooooo darn hot, and the triple digit temps are predicted to continue for coming weeks. When you get here, be ready for 100 degree days with a "cooldown" into the 80's (and that doesn't occur til wee hours of morning). Under these weather conditions, a long road trip may not be particularly appealing.

JBX is right. I live in Central Texas. It's 4:00 PM and the temperature is 102. We are in the middle of a major drought and even the Hill Country is looking pretty parched right now. If you are determined to take a drive, I'd take one of the more scenic drives a shorter distance and stop long enough to enjoy some local color. 281 is a nicer drive than IH35 which is a major highway with sometimes heavy traffic and not particularly scenic. Austin is great, but you don't have a lot of time to see much if you are driving both ways on Saturday.
I'd stay in town and take in the sights of Dallas/Fort Worth, too.

I vote to stay in town as well. You don't have enough time for Hill Country or Austin and it's so darn hot that everything is turning brown so not much to see anyway.