With the price of gas continuing to rise this year, many families are looking for fun and inexpensive things to do closer to home instead of spending an arm and a leg on gas.
If you have a limited vacation budget this year, don’t fret! Myself and a ton of other bloggers are posting fun STAYCATION IDEAS in our areas!
The whole point of a family vacation is to have fun together, right? You can still have fun together and not spend over half of your vacation budget on gas!!
If you are planning a Staycation in the Dallas area, there is a TON to do. A. TON.
Here are several Staycation ideas for the DALLAS area:
WATERPARKS |
 |
Splash Kingdom in Canton – A family-friendly waterpark whose mission is to “Glorify God while providing a safe and fun recreation experience for families”
Wet Zone in Rowlett – {$10.50 for adults}
Surf & Swim in Garland – {Adults $6, children $5}
Bahama Beach Waterpark in Dallas – {$15 for over 48″ tall, $11 for under 48″ tall}
Hawaiian Falls in Garland – {$23.99 for adults, $16.99 for guest under 48″)
City Splash Parks – Harry Myers Park in Rockwall, The Harbor in Rockwall, and Forney Community Park all have Splash Parks! {FREE!}
OUTDOOR FUN |
 |
Blueberry Hill Farm in Edom – Pick your own blueberries and pay only for what you pick! They also have a great store with Preserves, Blueberries’n Cream Pies, Blueberry muffins, Blueberry Frozen yogurt, and Blueberry Lemonade!
Dallas Arboretum – enjoy a variety of flowers all year round at the Arboretum!
Ham Peach Orchard east of Terrell – Enjoy fresh picked peaches and blackberries and amazing peach ice cream. You can pick your own blackberries, but the peaches are already picked.
WIRED Zip Line and Challenge Course in Canton – WIRED is a unique zip line challenge course combining thrills, safety, easy access, and the beauty of rural Texas terrain. Our course is located on twenty acres of rolling meadow along a meandering creek.
Lake Ray Hubbard – Lots of info here for rentals & lodging
Lake Tawakoni – Lake Tawakoni is still a virtually undiscovered lake in Texas. It is clean and un-crowded, its size making it ideal for recreational water sports & fishing.
Belo Gardens – a fun family park in the heart of Downtown Dallas
Klyde Warren Park – The 5.2-acre deck park is an urban green space built over the recessed Woodall Rodgers Freeway between Pearl and St. Paul streets in downtown Dallas. You can find a Performance Pavilion where regular concerts are held, walking trails, a dog park, a children’s park, and a games area.
SHOPPING |
 |
First Monday Trade Days in Canton – Held the weekend BEFORE the first Monday of the month, thousands of vendors from across the country turn this friendly East Texas community into a shopper’s paradise where you can find rare antiques and collectibles, furniture, fine home decor, arts and crafts, clothing, jewelry, tools, produce, and much more.
The Harbor in Rockwall – The Harbor is one of our favorite places to go in the Dallas area! They have great restaurants right on the lake, a splash park, and live music on most weekends.
Northpark Mall – The kids will love the courtyard in the middle of he mall with lots of green space to run! There’s also a fun water area inside the mall (right in front of Williams Sonoma) with ducks and turtles!
The Galleria – Our kids love going to the Galleria. They recently updated their playground on the 3rd floor right in front of Nordstom’s, and they have a nice ice skating rink in the middle of the mall on the ground floor. If you have younger girls in your family then you might want to make a lunch stop at the American Girl doll store too!
Firewheel Shopping Center in Firewheel – a fun outdoor mall right off of the George Bush Tollroad close to Garland and Sasche.
Antique Stores in Forney – Forney is a hidden gem for antique shoppers! Just take Hwy 80 east out of Dallas and you’ll hit a huge line of antique shops!
ANIMALS |
 |
The Dallas Zoo – Be sure to bring swimsuits for the kids because they have a GREAT water area in the kids’ section!
Fish Hatchery in Athens – {$5.50 for adults, $3.50 for children ages 4-12}
Texas Discovery Gardens – Butterfly House!
East Texas Gators and Wildlife Park – Live Alligators from hatchlings to over 13 feet . The alligator enclosures have been designed to be as close to their natural habitat as possible. They have rocked walkways, an air-conditioned Welcome Center, Bounce House, Concession/Grill, Mister fans, covered Pavilions with picnic tables and shade.
MUSEUMS |
 |
Dallas Museum of Art
The Perot Museum
Blackwell House Museum in Canton
Heritage Park Museum in Edgewood
FAMILY-FRIENDLY ENTERTAINMENT |
 |
Shenaniganz in Rockwall – Bowling, Go-Kartz, Lazer Tag, Arcade, Rock Climbing, Billiards & Shuffleboard {Pay per activity, or $99 for an unlimited ALL-summer pass}
Rockwall Concert By The Lake – Thursday night concert series during the summer at The Harbor in Rockwall, TX {FREE}
Geocaching – Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location. {FREE}
Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine – the prices do tend to be pretty high in the summer (close to $250 per night), but since you’re saving on airfare by staying in the area, why not splurge a little? Being able to take a little break in the hotel room after a morning at the waterpark sure is nice. This one is a perfect place for kids of all ages!
Clear Springs Scuba Park
Official Paintball Games of Texas, Inc. in Forney – See page for pricing options.
This is by no means a comprehensive list, so if you know of any other great things to do in Dallas then please leave a comment below and I’ll add it to the list!
Another thing I didn’t see was glen rose w Dino world and real Dino tracks:-) my kids love it there:-)
Another neat activity is a sailboat cruise on a 40 ft catamaran on Lake Ray Hubbard. It costs $25 per person, but it is a really neat thing to do. Check out http://www.sailwithscott.com for more details.
Great ideas! I didn’t know about the alligator place. We will definitely be making a trip over there! Thanks!
Don’t forget the George W Bush Library at SMU. It’s a very cool museum. They even have a Oval Office replica you can take pictures in.
Thank you so much for your list! We have been in Keller for four years now and there is still so much to see in our area. Your list has given us many more ideas. Thank you!