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11 Coolest Things to Do in Dallas, TX

Bugs Bunny Boomtown is the kid-friendly section at Six Flags Over Texas
Bugs Bunny Boomtown is the kid-friendly section at Six Flags Over Texas | © Robie Capps Photographer / © Six Flags

A city with a wide range of amusement parks, museums, and attractions all designed for families, Dallas is a top kid-friendly destination. Whether you’re looking for thrills or love to explore the outdoors with your kids, here’s a list of the best things to do in Dallas as a family.

AT&T Stadium

Architectural Landmark, Stadium, Sports Center

American Football Player
Andrey Yurlov/Shutterstock

You don’t have to be a Cowboys fan to tour the Dallas Cowboy Stadium. The AT&T Stadium is full of endless fun and facts as the world’s largest domed structure. Tour the locker rooms, walk through the tunnel or simply admire its contemporary art. Guests have the option of choosing from four daily tours: Self-Guided, VIP-Guided, Art Tour or an Educational Tour. Enjoy a quick bite at the café, shop the Official Dallas Cowboys Gift Shop, or toss the football around (bring your own) on the actual field for as long as you want. The AT&T Stadium located in Arlington is an experience sure to appeal to everyone.

Six Flags Over Texas

Amusement Park

Six Flags Over Texas
© Six Flags Over Texas
This place is a classic theme park, but an ultimate goody. Located in Arlington, about 15 miles outside of Dallas, Six Flags Over Texas offers thrilling roller coasters, great entertainment shows, carnival-style games and plenty of restaurants. From massive roller coasters like the Titan and the Texas Giant for teens and adults to softer rides like Daffy Duck Bucket Blasters and Bugs Bunny Boomtown for toddlers and small children, there truly is something for everyone. With over 45 rides, including five water rides, be sure to grab an all-access fast pass to enjoy all Six Flags Over Texas has to offer.

Perot Museum of Nature and Science

Building, Museum

Perot Museum of Nature and Science
© Jenifer McNeil Baker / Perot Museum of Nature and Science
Thom Mayne, a winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, designed the astoundingly beautiful Perot Museum of Nature and Science. The building is cube-shaped with the idea of bringing together the building and the environment. It’s a prime example of sustainability with a full acre of green-landscaped roof that hosts native grasses and plants that will thrive in the Texas climate. There’s 11 permanent exhibit halls at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science that offer hands-on science experiences for kids, the likes of which include activities that focus on minerals, geology, energy, fossils, and technology. Architecture tours, speakers, and experiments are other ways the Perot Museum engages visitors of all ages.

Dallas Zoo

Park, Zoo

Tiger at Dallas Zoo
josephqamar/Shutterstock
The Dallas Zoo is the oldest and largest zoological park in Texas with over 2,000 animals representing 406 species. Filled with your typical monkeys, lions, tigers, and bears, the Dallas Zoo is also one of only ten zoos in the country to house a koala exhibit. Children of all ages can explore their wild side at the Lacerte Family Children’s Zoo that features plenty of activities like crawling eye-level with bugs and rodents and visiting the petting zoo full of gentle, friendly goats. Catch a show of soaring birds, hop on a hump for a camel ride, or get up close and personal to feed lettuce to a giraffe. Make sure you have your walking shoes on because this 100+ acre (40.5 hectares) park is the perfect place to spend an afternoon.

Klyde Warren Park

Dog Park, Park

Klyde Warren Park is a popular spot to hang out or attend a festival
© Klyde Warren Park
Most parks are just open green spaces for people to stroll around for fresh air, but Klyde Warren Park is not “most parks.” This public space is located on top of Woodall Rogers Freeway and hosts a hub of activities and events all year long. For the body, enjoy Sunday morning yoga, Wednesday night Zumba, or Saturday afternoon Tai chi and boot camp. For the mind, attend a pleasant outdoor meditation or take a guided tour of the city skyline and learn historical facts about Dallas. For the appetite, there are a variety of food trucks at the park nearly every day, even an ice cream truck to help beat the Texas heat. You can also take a free art class or listen to a concert, and if you want a more traditional park experience, you can relax in the sun, play chess, bring your dog to the dog park, or participate in a group sport.

Dallas World Aquarium

Aquarium

Copperband Butterflyfish
QoalaLens/Shutterstock
An experience that feels like walking through a rain forest, the Dallas World Aquarium is more than just about fish. There are tons of different animals to see, including monkeys, sloths, birds, penguins, frogs, and turtles. Plan to spend several hours admiring the wonderful animal exhibits, using the interactive touchscreens, listening to the lectures, or even catching a crocodile or feeding a shark. Then top the visit off by grabbing a bite to eat at one of three cafés. Long after the visit, families can stay engaged by visiting the Dallas World Aquarium’s website to view the shark or manatee water web cam.

Epic Waters Water Park

Amusement Park

The slides at Epic Waters Indoor Water Park can be enjoyed year-round in Dallas
© Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark

Outdoor water parks in North Texas must shut their doors when winter comes around, but not Epic Waters Water Park. This indoor water park just opened in 2018 in Grand Prairie, Texas, and it’s seriously making waves. You’ll find the basics here like pools and a snack bar, plus some pretty thrilling, one-of-a-kind rides. They have the nation’s tallest indoor Aqualoop slide, named the Lasso Loop. The Yellow Jacket Drop is a combination of the Boomerango and Constrictor slides, and it’s the first to ever be placed indoors. On this slide, inner tubers speed through an enclosed slide and experience a zero-gravity drop. Those with friends will want to try the Aquanaut, the first indoor, double rider, Aquasphere, inner tube ride. If those rides seem too thrilling for you, keep in mind that Epic Waters has a wide array of other rides and slides.

Trinity Forest Adventure Park

Amusement Park, Park

Learn to work together and get closer as a family at Trinity Forest Adventure Park. This park is an aerial obstacle course that consists of rope courses suspended in the air between trees. Here there are over 70 elements, including wobble bridges, tight ropes, ladders, 20 zip lines, and cargo nets. Families with kids as young as four years can participate and choose the level of course that fits their needs. This course is self-guided, so you can go at your own pace and have fun how you and your family see fit. Just remember: don’t look down! Some parts of the course are 50 feet (15 meters) high.

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden

Botanical Garden

Dallas Blooms is a yearly festival of blooms at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
© Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens features 66 acres of gardens, from the ornamental to the sunken and colorful. This beautiful serene place is a year-round attraction that’s fun for all ages. Children are sure to enjoy over 150 activities in the 8-acre (3.2-hectare) Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden that features The Texas Skywalk, The Moody Oasis, a Walk in the Clouds, and much more. Grab lunch to-go from one of the many restaurants, and have a picnic on the lawn while soaking in the sun, or sit back and relax at a summer evening concert. With plenty of family activities like indoor and outdoor learning galleries, a scavenger hunt, and tons of interactive exhibits, it’s not hard to see why the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is one of the best family-friendly attractions in Dallas. Don’t forget your camera, as there are plenty of photo ops.

Great Wolf Lodge Water Park | Grapevine

Amusement Park

Stay, swim and play at the Great Wolf Lodge of Grapevine. Choose your cabin-style suite that’s an experience in itself, filled with either single beds or log style bunkbeds, a refrigerator and a flat screen TV. Then head over to the outdoor/indoor 84 degrees waterpark featuring nine water slides, six pools, a giant water fort bucket, a lazy river, an obstacle course and basketball hoops. With so many attractions, activities, and interactive games, your children will be begging to stay an extra day. Nightly rates can change during peak season, so be sure to check out their specials.

Grapevine Mills

Shopping Mall

Grapevine Mills Mall is the ultimate family experience and only 30 minutes from Dallas. From LEGOLAND Discovery Center to Sea Life Grapevine Aquarium to the Rainforest Café to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, these are many fun activities for kids. Parents can also take advantage of the great shopping discounts offered from factory stores like Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Disney and Nike. Grapevine Mills Malls offers so much more, so families might have to make it a two-day trip.

Article by Alex Temblador, with additional content from Nicole Overton

About the author

Alex Temblador is the author of SECRETS OF THE CASA ROSADA and a travel writer based in Dallas, Texas. You can connect with her on social media at @alextemblador or on her website, alextemblador.com.

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