As the air turns cooler and beckons us outdoors, we can’t help but follow. To make the most of your autumn, think of the new season as a fresh opportunity to get out of the house and explore the world beyond your usual haunts—and beyond Dallas-Fort Worth. You’ll fall head over heels for these underrated road trips in Texas and Oklahoma, offering special family events, exhibits and entirely new attractions ripe for exploring.
Our four favorite travel destinations—one in each cardinal direction—take you on a tour through the Rose and Storybook Capitals of America, a natural gem in our state’s capital, and a new attraction honoring an Indigenous tribe that’s flourishing once again.
Plus, you’ll find each of these unique stops within a 2- to 3-hour drive from Dallas-Fort Worth, so you can discover the natural beauty, cultural history and imaginative experiences all in one weekend and be back in time to prep for the school week ahead.
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South—Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin
Founded in 1982 by its namesake—the Texas native and former First Lady “Lady Bird” Johnson—in the Texas capital city, the wildflower center now spans 284 acres and bursts with wildlife, native trees and plants. You’ll see the variety of fall-blooming flowers, like fall aster and prairie goldenrod, for yourself when you come to play in Fortlandia, a collection of custom forts designed by local architects, designers and artists and open to the public for imaginative play Oct. 4, 2021, through Jan. 30, 2022.
You’ll find six forts in the center’s Mollie Steves Zachry Texas Arboretum. One playhouse design from a group called the Masketeers was inspired by discarded masks—a recognizable symbol of the pandemic—which the group has reframed as a symbol of hope and environmental education. Plus, you’ll find a a bonus fort along the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake.
In addition to the Fortlandia exhibit, kids can play on Fort Build, the Wildflower Center’s year-round build-your-own-fort nature play area, and on select Saturdays this fall, join free drop-in activities to learn about trees and leaves.
Whenever you visit, be sure to pack a picnic to eat al fresco, or grab a bite from the center’s on-site Wildflower Café. Admission is $12 for adults, $6 for children, and free for 4 and younger, and reservations open seven days in advance for daily admission from 9am–5pm.
To make the most of your road trip, you’ve also got access (included with admission) to silvana, an immersive light maze on display for the first time in North America. From Dec. 2 through Jan. 30, both the silvana and Fortlandia exhibits light up at nights for the Luminations series.
512/232-0100; wildflower.org/fortlandia
North—Choctaw Cultural Center in Calera, Oklahoma
To truly honor Native American Heritage Month as your family this November, you can start by honoring the 14,000-year legacy of the Chahta people with a visit to the Choctaw Cultural Center. Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma’s brand new cultural center debuted in July 2021 in Calera, Oklahoma, only 1 hour and 20 minutes north of Dallas, with several interactive attractions and exhibits—each created from the Choctaw perspective—that make visit well worth the miles.
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You’ll discover a replica of an ancient spiritual mound at the center’s outdoor Living Village, along with traditional dancing and stickball game demonstrations on the field. A giant turtle (Luksi) welcomes families to the Luksi Activity Center, a children’s activity area with traditional Choctaw houses and a miniature forest to explore. The temporary exhibit now on view, Long Ago: Stories of the Choctaw People, delves deeper into the tribe’s history via artistry of oral storytelling and allows you to interact with stories themselves.
With a teaching kitchen for learning how to make traditional meals—and the Champuli Café with kid-friendly meal options for when your young historians get hungry—there’s more than enough to fill a day before returning home to Dallas-Fort Worth. Come for scheduled activities or visit the cultural center anytime during open hours Wednesday through Sunday for the regular admission price of $12 for adults, $6 for children, and free for 3 and younger.
One of the best times to celebrate the tribe’s cultural heritage is this November during Native American Heritage Month, or Native November. Visit choctawculturalcenter.com/native-november for all the details about special events and activities, including children’s workshops where kids can learn how to bead, and powwow exhibitions.
West—National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature in Abilene
Plenty of happily-ever-afters begin in small towns, but more so than usual in Abilene, the official Storybook Capital of America and home to the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature (NCCIL). The museum, dedicated solely to the artwork of children’s picture book illustrators, debuts its latest exhibit Golden Legacy: 75 Years of Original Art from Golden Books on display through Dec. 23.
You remember those picture books with the golden foil on the spine? Visit the literature center, open Tuesday through Saturday, to discover even more beautifully illustrated stories than you remember reading as a child. Family Fun Art Saturdays are on hiatus during the COVID pandemic, so check back before your visit to see whether they’ve resumed.
Even more storybook characters await your arrival outside the museum in the form of bronze sculptures on display all around town. Dr. Seuss characters the Lorax, Yertle the Turtle, and Sam I Am from Green Eggs and Ham—they’re at Everman Park in downtown. Dinosaur Bob? You’ll find him towering over Cedar Street staring eye to eye with an orange Volkswagen Beetle.
You can find every one of the city’s collection of public storybook sculptures—the largest of its kind in America, with new sculptures added each year—by visiting the online adventure guide. Turn your sculpture-hunting into a friendly competition by downloading the GooseChase app, selecting Storybook Sculpture Scavenger Hunt, and uploading selfies of your findings for points.
Check the Abilene Cultural Affairs Council’s entertainment calendar for upcoming events that would make your trip out to Abilene even more worth the drive, like Christmas in the Garden on Dec. 3 and a Home Alone screening on Dec. 4.
East—Texas Rose Festival in Tyler
Your travels east of Dallas-Fort Worth may typically halt in Canton (the flea market is legendary), but do yourself a favor by traveling deeper into the Piney Woods to Tyler—where during the annual Texas Rose Festival (returning Oct. 13–16, 2022), you can witness the colorful changing of the fall foliage and roses in bloom. (East Texas roses peak in two seasons: October and April.) The weekend-long festival features events, like the Rose Queen’s tea party, in and around the Tyler Rose Garden, the nation’s largest rose garden with more than more than 35,000 rose bushes and 500 varieties of roses.
An elaborate pageantry of flower-themed costumes honor the town’s history in the rose-growing industry. Don’t miss the Rose Parade, to see the gowns custom-designed by Jacob A. Climer, the Dallas-native costume designer for opera and theater who now lives in New York. The custom-made gowns for each lady of the festival’s royal court represents a different flower: calla lilies, tulips, hydrangea, and on. Make your road trip complete by stopping by the Tyler Rose Museum to see even more gorgeous flower-covered dresses and headpieces from festivals dating back to 1933.
For more nostalgia-meets-family-entertainment, don’t miss the outdoor movie screening of Suspicion, a classic black-and-white film from 1941 starring Cary Grant, and the arts and crafts fair with pony rides and bounce houses in the kids zone, held at a city park with a newly renovated playground—and plenty of roses.
This article was originally published in October 2021.
RELATED: 34 Great Road Trips from Dallas-Fort Worth
Top image of silvana courtesy of Ben Busche of Brut Deluxe
