One of my favorite things about moving to Texas is having an entire new world of places to see and things to do open to me. Everywhere we go there’s a new restaurant, a new park, and a new experience to be had. One of the places I had the chance to explore a bit this summer was Grapevine, Texas. Grapevine is just about twenty minutes from our new home and full of great things for kids and adults alike. If you’re ever in the DFW area, make sure to try out these five things to do in Grapevine, Texas!
#1 – Explore the Gaylord Texan Resort
I had the chance to stay at The Gaylord Texan Resort for the Travel Media Showcase and loved it, especially as a newcomer to Texas. The Texan theming, the newly renovated water park and pool, and the fun Alice in Wonderland summer activities bumped it up to the top of my list of places for families to explore in Grapevine. And best of all, you don’t have to be actually staying at the resort to take advantage of all of their upcoming holiday activities like ICE, snow tubing, and more! It’s a great place to enjoy an afternoon as a family, doing things you can’t do anywhere else.
Want more info about Gaylord Texan? My friend Kim wrote up an entire article about how to enjoy the down-home Texas luxury at the Gaylord Texan.
#2 – Visit Grapevine Mills
Every Wednesday my son and I go on an adventure together and so far most of our adventures have been to Grapevine Mills. Whether it’s eating dinosaur chicken tenders at Rainforest Cafe, trying to save the princess from the dragon at Legoland Discovery Center or searching for every single fish and frog at the Sea Life Aquarium, there’s bound to be something your family enjoys. My 3-year-old loves all three.
#3 – Watch a Texas sunset
One of the first things I noticed when I moved to Texas was the sunsets. I was generously given a Mitsubishi Outlander by DriveShop to drive during my first trip in Texas, and it was hard to ignore the orange and pink clouds staring back at me in the Outlander’s sideview mirrors. I was that crazy person who had to pull off the side of the road just to take a picture. Or make that pictures because I’m pretty sure I took pictures of sunsets for the first month we were here.
Watching a Texas sunset isn’t just limited to the Grapevine area – it’s one of my favorite things to do in Galveston too!
The Mitsubishi Outlander was a bigger SUV than I normally drive and because I’m so short, it took a bit of time getting used to the sheer size of the thing. But I was in Texas and everything is bigger in Texas, so I fit right in. Other than the size, the Outlander had a number of other features that I didn’t know I needed but now wish I had in my own car. Things like a pop-up radio/navigation screen that was much easier to see than one in the dash, safety features telling me when I got too close to the person in front of me on the highway, a fold-down back seat with slideable middle seats for extra space.
And the most innovative feature? The Outlander shows you your speed, navigation directions, gas, etc. all right in your front window. It took a bit of time to get used to seeing it there but once I did, I never looked down at the main dash again. So much safer! If we ever move to a bigger car than a standard-size crossover, I’d definitely take the Outlander for a test drive again.
#4 – Stay at Great Wolf Lodge
I haven’t had the chance to stay at Great Wolf Grapevine yet, but I’m already planning out our trip for sometime this fall because after just walking through and doing the tour, I know my son will love it. And I love anything that helps us have fun together as a family. With an 80,000 square foot indoor/outdoor water park, character appearances from Wiley the wolf and his friends, a nighttime PJ party, and tons of other activities included with your hotel stay, Great Wolf Lodge is a fun place to spend a night or weekend with your family. And if you want to spend a bit extra to make your stay even more fun, they have additional activities like the howlers peak ropes course and my favorite, MagiQuest!
And pretty please try the fudge, even if it’s just for me. Yum!
#5 – Catch an event or festival on main street.
There is always something going on in Grapevine, Texas. From the annual Grapefest in September to North Pole train rides on the Grapevine Vintage railroad for the holidays, you just have to search the Grapevine calendar or this great guide to Grapevine to find something fun to do. And those are just the big seasonal events. On any given weekend you can find a food truck festival, farmer’s market, live music to enjoy, and more.
And don’t forget Christmas in Grapevine. It’s not known as the Christmas capitol of Texas for nothing. On my bucket list for the upcoming fall and holiday season are the fall round-up, butterfly flutterby, and of course a north pole train ride to see Santa! If I can get tickets that is, they sell out fast!
What’s on your list of things to do in Grapevine?
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