My parents and I recently took Turner on a quick family getaway to Farmers Branch, Texas! I was so impressed with the area and loved that it is only a 2.5 hour drive from where I live in Northeast Texas. It’s also literally in the heart of the DFW Metroplex and only takes 15 minutes to get to downtown Dallas!
Where To Stay
There are many places to stay in the Farmers Branch area but we stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Dallas near the Galleria. We really liked that it was only minutes from restaurants, attractions, and shopping. It was quiet and clean plus the room was a nice size for the four of us. The hotel has a bar downstairs if you fancy a cocktail, an outdoor pool and Starbuck’s coffee on hand. I would definitely stay in this hotel again!
What to Do
On a hot summer day the best place to be is be in the water to cool off! We spent an afternoon at Frog Pond and there truly was something for every age group.
We spent our time in the kids area where there are smaller slides, water features and a bucket of water dumps every 10 minutes! I liked that the water was shallow and we could sit along the edge so Turner could play.
The other area of the park is geared toward older kids and adults. It has a few large waterslides that I contemplated going on! It also has a lazy river with floats and a lagoon pool. I really appreciated that there were plenty of lifeguards keeping everyone safe in both areas.
There were plenty of umbrellas and pavilions for shade plus chairs and picnic tables. They had concessions available and they were very affordable. You can also pay a small fee to bring in your own cooler! Overall, we really enjoyed our time at Frog Pond and would love to return sometime.
Another cool summer activity we did was visit the Dallas Aquarium! It was only 15 minutes from our hotel. We skipped through the first few floors pretty quickly in order to get to more of the sea life since Turner’s attention span is pretty short currently. It was fun to see all the different animals throughout the aquarium. Kids under 2 are free!
We went close to opening time and there were more people than I thought would be there at that time on a weekday. It still wasn’t overly crowded though. You could get around pretty easily even with a stroller.
There were other things we didn’t get a chance to do like catch a show at the local Firehouse Theater, visit the Rose Gardens, or check out all of the newly built Mustang Station. Other things to do within a 15 minute drive of Farmers Branch: Galleria Mall, Dallas Zoo, American Airlines Center, Perot Museum, Dallas Arboretum, and Dallas Museum of Art.
Where to Eat
We had lunch at Bay 34th Street Pizzeria. The owners are transplants from New Jersey. They have a lunch deal that is pizza by the slice plus a drink. It’s not only delicious but also very affordable!
We had breakfast at the Starwood Cafe that consisted of breakfast burritos and cinnamon roll French toast. Yum! It came out quickly and we enjoyed it all. It was super cute inside too.
We grabbed coffee at Native Coffee which is a great spot to also catch up on a little work. It has WiFi and plenty of places to get comfy.
We ended up having Salt Grass Steakhouse for dinner because it was across the road from our hotel and Turner needed to eat ASAP. It was good as always! A few places we wanted to check out but didn’t get to: Nuevo Leon Mexican Restaurant, Cattleack BBQ, and C Poke Bowls. I have heard good things about them all!
Overall, I liked how easy the Farmers Branch area was to navigate. We never encountered any traffic and felt safe the entire time! It’s such a quick and easy trip plus I feel like there’s a little bit of everything for families to do. Do you have questions about our trip to Farmers Branch, Texas? Let me know in the comments and I’ll be glad to answer!