Southfork Ranch
3700 Hogge Dr., Parker
972/442-7800
southforkranch.com
Hours: 9am–5pm daily. The last guided tour of the day begins at 4:40pm each day.
General admission: $15 adults; $9 ages 6–12; ages 5 and younger are free.
Parking: Free.
Though the Parker estate was made famous as the setting of Dallas, you don’t have to be a super fan of the mega-hit series or its recent reboot to appreciate a behind-the-scenes look at Southfork Ranch. Spend a few hours at the primetime television set-slash-country farm and learn how a show filmed on a small ranch outside of Dallas gave the city its big-money reputation. While you relive TV history, your kids — who we’re guessing are not Dallas trivia experts — can have their own fun trying on Western wear and getting face time with the friendly animals.
When you arrive, get lost in the larger-than-life gift shop and browse the shelves stocked with gourmet goodies, toys and Texas souvenirs. Then inside the museum, just past the glowing red Dallas sign, peruse memorabilia from the show, including the legendary gun that shot JR. Have fun pointing out to your kids the differences in fashion and film quality from decades before. When you exit the museum, a van will be waiting to take you on the grand tour.
While roaming the ranch, you’ll get a local history lesson about the Duncan family who first inhabited the property as well as the on-screen family who put it on the map. As you explore the modest Ewing Mansion (it actually seems smaller in real life) check out the rooms inspired by iconic scenes in Dallas and leave feeling star-struck. The kids will want to wander the grounds and visit the farm’s current residents: a llama named Bob, two mini horses, and several longhorns and American Paint horses.
Stop by Miss Ellie’s Deli after your tour for a bottle of old-fashioned cream soda and chow down on anything from barbecue sandwiches to hot dogs and Frito pies. Next door you’ll find Lincolns & Longhorns, an upscale Western boutique (built around Jock Ewing’s original 1978 Lincoln Continental) where the kids can pick out their own cowboy hats. Larry Hagman would surely approve.
