highlanderfil

Wife and I (both in our early 30s) are heading out to Dallas in July (15-20). I've been to the city once, during the winter and very briefly, so we could use some help. We will be there for four full days, at the conclusion of which I will have a work day in Irving and we'll fly to L.A. after. But for the long weekend (Friday night to Tuesday afternoon) we'd like to figure out things to do. I remember Uptown being a fun neighborhood, but am a bit wary of staying in the middle of the city for the entirety of the four days given how vast the Metro area is.

We're looking for pretty much any suggestions but especially where to stay (either paid or on points; if you know of any hotel chain discounts like buy 3, get 1 free, so much the better). Outdoorsy stuff is good but it will be hot, so there's that to keep in mind. If there are any lakes around worth checking out, we'd love that. We are likely going to check out the zoo. Maybe a soccer game (Chicago Fire is playing in Dallas on the 16th of July).

Thanks!

swag

For outdoors-y stuff, mornings are your friend. I will hike or bike or paddle here in the summer, but try to be done by around 11 am.

Recreationally, most of the area lakes are aimed at boaters. Not much in the way of good beaches. Motorboat rentals are available at many lakes, if you want to fish or water ski, but I haven't done that in many years.

White Rock Lake is a good spot for biking and paddling. You can Google for bike rental shops near the lake; once at the lake, it's a nice 9-10 mile loop to ride the bike path around the lake.
Kayak and SUP rentals are available from http://whiterockpaddle.com/

For hiking, the best spot is probably Cedar Ridge Preserve. It's a far cry from Colorado, but there are some interesting trails for an hour or two.
http://www.audubondallas.org/cedar-ridge-preserve/

highlanderfil

Yeah, good point. I've driven through Texas in August. Only New Orleans was worse in terms of heat. Given that we will still be on Detroit time, this may not be a big problem even in spite of our sleeping-in proclivity.Now, that's disappointing. May need to find a hotel with a good pool, then.That's not a bad shout, thanks!

Where would you stay? And what would you recommend on the urban flipside as far as activities?

EmailKid

The Perot Museum gets high marks in Dallas, but I'm still a fan of Fort Worth.

Sundance Square, Museum District, and IMHO, Fort Worth Zoo over Dallas, monorail notwithstanding.

To add to White Rock lake which is very nice, I used to ride my bike along trails of Trinity River in Fort Worth (did I mention I was a fan of FW?)

As for hotels, give us a price range

And if you rent a car Fossil Rim Park has a nice safari (southwest of FW).

vh_bu98

Dallas in the summer is not pleasant for outdoor activities. I usually try to stay in air conditioned locations as much as often.

The Dallas Arboretum is nice to take a walk around in the mornings.

The lakes are meh although there are some city lake beaches if you're willing to drive into the suburbs, but it's far from the Dallas core.

The Dallas Farmer's Market and Bishop Art's District isn't bad for outdoors shopping.

NorthPark Center and the Dallas Galleria are where people love to shop especially for expensive items.

Plenty of museums...Perot, DMA, George W Bush library at SMU, etc.

Catch a Texas Rangers baseball game if they are playing in Arlington.

Six Flags or Hurricane Harbor if you're into amusement parks and water parks.

Dinner at the top of Reunion Tower at sunset, but make reservations way in advance.

Uptown, Downtown, Deep Ellum...lots of different neighborhoods.

highlanderfil

Think Holiday Inn Express with anything extra (say, if any special offers are available) being a pleasant surprise upgrade.

Free parking would be good, as would easy access to roads to all the different places folks here have suggested.

Non-NonRev

Add the Kimbell Art Museum to the Fort Worth list. Excellent collection housed in a building by Louis Kahn (architect oh the Salk Institute in San Diego).

aztimm

If you were in town the weekend prior, there's an open water swim happening near Little Elm in Lewisville Lake on Sun 7/10. There's all kinds of options for the swim, from 750m up to 4000m, plus some splash + dash options, and the cost is quite reasonable.
I'll probably come up for it; I'm trying to get my other half to go. I've never been to the DFW area, other than passing through the DFW airport and a day at Six Flags once back in 1990.

Unfortunately, I don't see any swimming events happening when you'll be in town.

highlanderfil

Not super important. We just wanted a lake to splash around in and it looks like there are a few. Sadly, there are no places to stay (major chains, anyways) that don't require driving to get to those lakes.

So how about I make it easier with my request for lodging advice... I'm looking for a Cat 1-4 (for most major programs) property that is in a nice enough neighborhood for an evening walk (i.e., tree-lined street not overlooking a strip mall or a gravel lot and with at least a coffee shop of some sort that is reachable on foot) and within a half hour's drive from Dallas proper. Any ideas?

EmailKid

The only hotel I can think of is Warwick Melrose Hotel, others tend to be more expensive. Lots of trees and walking possible, close to Katy Trail, though it is near the heart of Dallas' alternative lifestyle district. Does not bother me, but it may be a consideration for some.

I'm sure there are others I'm not familiar with.

highlanderfil

We generally tend to like the liberal vibe of those districts, actually. Problem is, Warwick isn't a mainstream point-redeeming property and I'd like to avoid spending cash if I can.

EmailKid

Ah, OK.

There's a Holiday Inn a couple of miles from there on Harry Hines. I've stayed there before for 15K points, but if you look outside ..... well, it's not pretty.

But Uptown and Katy Trail are only a few miles away, and it does have a pool.

And about a quarter mile from Light Rail station.

highlanderfil

I'm looking at the Market Center area - there are a few cheap-ish Hilton properties there with free parking (which, in the areas close to Downtown is impossible to find and gets expensive very fast). Any comment on that area of the city?

vh_bu98

It's not necessary a great part of Dallas, but it's close to I-35 and close to the Dallas core (downtown, uptown, etc). And depending where you are staying, you can be close to the train (DART).

highlanderfil

Gotcha. Can you recommend a better one to look at outside the Down/Uptown area?