Perfect Day Trip or Weekend Getaway from Dallas, Texas.

6 Best Weekend Getaway from Dallas, Texas.

If you are from Dallas or planning a vacation via Dallas and you are confused figuring out the unique yet beautiful places you want to visit in a day then here is the list of 6 best day trips one should take when in Dallas, Texas.

1. The River Walk at San Antonio, Texas(4 hr 30 mins).

River Walk is a 15 miles pathway alongside San Antonio river and you get to see lush greens, arched stone bridges and a stretch of vibrant and iconic umbrellas at the restaurants as you walk through the caved path. Riverwalk is open 24/7 so you can stroll around the pathway and get immersed in its beauty or you can go on a guided boat tour for 30 mins and get an insight of the city`s eternal charm. The captain or the guide will keep you engaged throughout the tour with their interesting stories about the history, architecture, and culture of the city.

What's fascinating is that most of the hotels around the San Antonio river have a private pathway which leads to the river walk.

Boat Tour Fee:12$

Hours: 9 am-10 pm.

'The River Walk at San Antonio, Texas'.

2.Inner space Cavern at Georgetown, Texas(2 hr 26 min).

Inner Space Cavern is a cave located in Georgetown which is 170 miles away from Dallas, Texas. It is said that cave is discovered by Texas highway department during the construction of I-35 later on after some testings and carvings passage of 1.2 miles cave is made open to the public and since then thousands of visitors have explored this historical cave.
Cave offers 3 types of tours:

1.Adventure Tour:

This is a standard/classic tour that runs for an hour. The tour guide will lead a batch of 10-15 tourists and walk you through the paved and lit trail explaining the history, formations, and discovery of the cavern. It is advised to stay with the batch all the time because they turn off the lights once we move from one room to another room of formations.

Fee:20$

Duration: 1 Hour

2.Hidden Passages Tour:

This is an intermediate tour that runs for 1 hr 30 mins. You get to explore an advanced section of the cave on the underdeveloped trail along with your guide. You can explore delicate formations at the shortest distance with a flashlight you will be offered on the tour.

Fee:25$

Duration: 1 Hour 30 Mins.

3.Wild Cave Tour:

This is an adventurous tour which involves crawling and climbing through the deep holes of the cave along with your guide. You get to explore the cave and formations in depth.

Fee: 100$

Duration: 4 Hours.

They follow first come first serve method for the tickets so if you are going on a weekend just make sure you are there before noon and grab a ticket. You are allowed to carry your own camera inside the cave and take as many pictures as you like just make sure you take pics really fast because you need to stick with your tour batch and lastly food, Food is allowed at the premises but not inside the cave.

'Inner Space Cavern at Georgetown, Texas'

 

3. Hamilton Pool Preserve at Austin, Texas(3 hr 21 mins).

Hamilton Pool Preserve is located around 220 miles away from Dallas, Texas.

This emerald colored natural swimming hole is located in dripping springs which are 220 miles away from Dallas, Texas. You need to make a reservation if you are going during summer, We went there during off season so I had to make no reservation we drove in and brought a ticket.

We made our way down the rocky and steep hike of 0.4 miles to reach the Hamilton Pool. though the hike is uneven and rocky, the view and walk through lush green woods alongside the river makes you feel mesmerized. At the end of the hike and the trail of woods is Hamilton Pool Preserve. As we walked in towards the swimming pool we were awestruck by mother nature I mean all the canyons, clear bluish-green pool, 50-foot waterfall dripping from limestone canyon and the flora around made us feel like we were in a private island.

Water in the pool was so clear that we were able to see fish and turtles swimming around and since we went during off season(Sept-Oct) crowd was way less than what we expected and the place looked way more beautiful than the pictures.

Entry Fee:11$ (Reservation is a must during summer).

Hours: 9 am-6 pm.

'Hamilton Pool Preserve at Austin, Texas'.

4. Natural Bridge Cavern at San Antonio, Texas(4 hrs).

Natural Bridge Cavern is located 261 miles away from Dallas, Texas. The name is obtained from 60 feet natural limestone bridge situated at the cavern's entrance. Whether you are a caver or not you do not get overwhelmed with this tour, this 2-mile tour will help you understand how cavern and the unique formation was discovered and made accessible to the public. They offer a wide variety of tour and one can opt the tour based on the kind of exposure and experience they want. If you are one such person who is not into the cave and you are forced to go because its a family vacation, do not worry because they do not just offer guided tours they also offer adventurous games/activities for both kids and adults like zip lines, sky tykes, maze.

Admission fee:22$(varies based on the tour choices).

Hours: 9 am-7 pm.

'Natural Bridge Cavern at San Antonio, Texas'.

5.The Oasis on Lake Travis at Austin, Texas(3 hr 5 mins).

Stretch of restaurants located 450 feet above Lake Travis is referred to as “Sunset Capital of Texas” because of the breathtaking views it offers to hundreds of diners.

People usually go here with their loved ones to enjoy the delicious food, Live music and the stunning sunset view it offers.

Sometimes(Weekends) you will be welcomed by overwhelming crowd so I would suggest you go early and make a reservation and if you plan to go during a weekday then you do not have to worry about reservation because crowd will be less and you will be able to walk in to the restaurant and enjoy everything this place offers without any hassle. Now you might wonder if you can enjoy just the view without getting into any of the restaurants?? Well, Absolutely!! There is a tiny place where you can stand and enjoy the awesome sunset or the breathtaking view in between these fancy restaurants without paying a dime.

Admission Fee: free

Hours: 11 am-10 pm.

'The Oasis on Lake Travis at Austin, Texas'.

6.Turner falls at Davis, Oklahoma(1 hr 59 mins).

Turner Falls is located 128 miles away from Dallas, Texas. The falls is located on Honey Creek in the mountains in Oklahoma. This beautiful and stunning 77 feet waterfall dropping into a natural swimming pool is considered as the tallest waterfall in Oklahoma.

This family-friendly park offers quite a lot of fun activities where you can enjoy a relaxing swim in the natural swimming pool, rent an RV and go camping, go on a hike, go fishing and after an active day with kids, you can have a relaxing bath at the bath house.

If you are tired after an awesome day at Turner fall park and want to rest before you drive back to Dallas then you can rent the cabins offered by the park.

Entry Fee:12$

Hours: 7 am-10 pm.

Go TINY DOOR hunting this summer.

Tiny Door ATL in Atlanta, Georgia.

I relocated to Atlanta, Georgia recently and it took me a while to adapt and sink into Atlanta's weather and surroundings.

I got to interact with fellow hikers on a trail the other day. Once they learned that I was new to Atlanta they started pouring in some suggestions about must visit places in Atlanta. I shortlisted few of the places and went on to visit, soon do I realize that these are the hyped go to places with long queues, overpriced entry, and parking fee. Although I liked visiting these popular and trendy places, I would love to explore not so popular yet interesting places.

After some research, I came across the Tiny Door ATL project. Now you might wonder, What is a tiny door project??

"POP UP door at Atlanta BeltLine"

It is an Atlanta based art project started in 2014 by two artists named Karen Anderson and Sarah Meng. They go around the city installing 6 inch artistically crafted and curated tiny doors. They have installed more than 12 doors so far and each door is uniquely arranged and decorated to fit its surroundings.

These are so little that you often walk past tiny whiny doors for days or even months and never see them. I went treasure hunting on Belt Line and it took me few walks to spot them and once I was on spot glancing these miniatures I realized these are designed flawlessly to fit the wall and the surroundings.

And then your curious self-starts throwing some questions like what is behind these doors? do you see a garden once you open the door just like it did in Alice in Wonderland? Well, it is left to your wild and creative imagination because you cannot open these doors.

One of the best thing about this creative project is, There is no headache of standing in the queue and buying overly priced entry ticket because Tiny Door ATL provides free access to all. So, Explore as many as you can. Go with your Friends/Kids/Girl Friend/Boy Friend be it anybody and trust me they will love it.

Information about the location of ATL Tiny Doors:

" ATL at Georgia aquarium"

1. Krog Street tunnel.
2. Pop up door at BeltLine.
3. Inman park pet works.
4. Aquarium Door at Georgia Aquarium
5. The tree door located near Carter Center
6. Little shop of stores located in Decatur Square.
7. Another one at BeltLine-Paris on Ponce near the Eiffel Tower.
8. Westside Trail - Atlanta BeltLine.
9. The tiny door at Center for Puppetry Art.
10. Tiny Door at Grant Park Farmers Market.
11. Miltown Arms Tavern: This one is famous for engraving names on brick and if you look carefully you will even find a marriage proposal (she said yes!).
12. Grant Park Tree Door.
13. Charis Books and More located at an old bookstore.

I have come across several artistic projects but this is so unique that it stole my heart. Karen and Sarah do not just design door they also interact and host community events like tiny birthday, Tiny door opening, Ribbon cutting. So if you guys want to interact with the team and know more about ATL then go ahead and attend one of their events.