Living in North Texas means we may not have mountains or national parks right outside our front door, but one thing we DO have is access to some pretty incredible road trips.
Our family has spent years road-tripping from Texas, and some of our favorite adventures have started by simply loading up the car in Dallas and driving. We’ve hiked through red-rock canyons, climbed around caves, stood among giant saguaros, explored national parks, chased waterfalls, and driven some of the prettiest roads in the country.
So if you’re wondering where you can road trip from Dallas, Texas, start here.
I put together six of my favorite road trips from Dallas—from easy Oklahoma and Texas weekend getaways to bucket-list adventures through Arizona, Utah and Colorado.
Save this list for the next time you’re ready to hit the road!
Quick Look: Best Road Trips From Dallas
Texas
Drive time: Approximately 3–8 hours depending on destination
Best for: 2–5 days
Don’t miss: Palo Duro Canyon, Inks Lake, Guadalupe Mountains and Monahans Sandhills
Oklahoma
Drive time: Approximately 2.5–4 hours depending on destination
Best for: 2–4 days
Don’t miss: Wichita Mountains, Turner Falls, Natural Falls and Alabaster Caverns
New Mexico
Drive time: Approximately 7–10+ hours depending on destination
Best for: 4–7 days
Don’t miss: White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, Bandelier and Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks
Colorado
Drive time: Approximately 10–14+ hours depending on destination
Best for: 4–7 days
Don’t miss: Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Ouray, Durango and Telluride
Arizona
Drive time: Approximately 13–16+ hours depending on destination
Best for: 5–7 days
Don’t miss: Saguaro, Sedona, Grand Canyon and Chiricahua
Utah
Drive time: Approximately 14–17+ hours depending on destination
Best for: 5–7+ days
Don’t miss: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef
Road Trip Queen Tip: These drive times are approximate from the Dallas area and will vary depending on your exact destination, route, traffic and stops. On our longer road trips, we sometimes break up the drive with an overnight stop—and that can be part of the adventure too!
1. Texas Road Trip
Best for: Long weekend to 5 days
Drive time from Dallas: Approximately 3–8 hours, depending on where you’re headed
Highlights: Canyons • Lakes • Mountains • Sand Dunes
Before you even leave Texas, there are some wildly different landscapes to explore.
One of the things I love about Texas road trips is just how different one part of the state can look from another. You can hike through the second-largest canyon system in the United States, jump from rocky cliffs into the water, climb a mountain and slide down giant sand dunes—all without crossing the state line.
Palo Duro Canyon State Park
If you’ve never visited Palo Duro Canyon, put it on your Texas bucket list.
Located near Amarillo, Palo Duro is often called the Grand Canyon of Texas, and it’s one of those places that makes you wonder if you’re actually still in Texas.
Spend your time hiking through colorful canyon walls, stopping at scenic overlooks and driving the park road down onto the canyon floor.
Don’t miss: The Lighthouse Trail, scenic overlooks and the drive through the canyon.
Inks Lake State Park
Inks Lake is one of my favorite warm-weather road trips from Dallas.
The big attraction for us is Devil’s Waterhole, where you’ll find beautiful blue water surrounded by pink granite rock formations. Kayaking is a great way to explore the lake, and there are hiking trails throughout the park too.
This is an especially good choice when you want a Texas road trip that combines outdoor adventure with time on the water.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Yes, Texas has mountains!
Guadalupe Mountains National Park in West Texas is home to the highest point in the state and offers a completely different landscape from what most people picture when they think of Texas.
Serious hikers can tackle Guadalupe Peak, but you don’t have to summit the mountain to enjoy this national park. There are shorter hikes, scenic desert landscapes and beautiful mountain views throughout the area.
Bonus: Carlsbad Caverns National Park is close enough that I highly recommend combining the two parks into one trip.
Monahans Sandhills State Park
Imagine enormous rolling sand dunes in the middle of West Texas. That’s Monahans Sandhills.
Bring or rent a sand disk and spend a few hours sliding down the dunes. This makes an especially fun stop when you’re already heading west toward Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns or New Mexico.
How I’d Plan It
You don’t need to combine all four destinations into a single trip. Think of this section as four great Texas road trips from Dallas that can stand alone or be incorporated into a larger West Texas itinerary.
2. Arizona Road Trip
Best for: 5–7 days
Drive time from Dallas: Approximately 13–16+ hours depending on your first stop
Highlights: Deserts • Red Rocks • National Parks • Epic Views
Arizona is easily one of my favorite states for a road trip because the scenery changes constantly.
You can go from towering saguaros to red-rock mountains to alpine forests to the Grand Canyon, all in one trip.
Saguaro National Park
If you’ve never stood beside a giant saguaro cactus, photos don’t really prepare you for how impressive they are.
Saguaro National Park surrounds Tucson and is divided into two districts. We especially loved the classic Arizona desert scenery here.
Go around sunrise or sunset if you can—the desert light is incredible.
Chiricahua National Monument
This is one of Arizona’s most underrated destinations.
Chiricahua is filled with towering rock formations and hoodoos that make the landscape look almost otherworldly.
The Echo Canyon Loop is a great way to experience the rock formations up close.
Sedona
Sedona absolutely deserves the hype.
The red-rock scenery is gorgeous from practically everywhere in town, and there are hikes for a wide range of ability levels.
Even if you only have one day, take time for a scenic drive, hike and sunset among the red rocks.
Grand Canyon National Park
There’s a reason the Grand Canyon is on so many bucket lists.
No matter how many photos you’ve seen, standing at the rim for the first time is completely different.
Give yourself time to walk along the rim, stop at multiple viewpoints and watch how the colors of the canyon change throughout the day.
Bonus Stop: Canyon de Chelly National Monument
If your route allows, Canyon de Chelly is another incredible Arizona stop and one that many Southwest itineraries overlook.
The canyon’s scenery is spectacular, but its cultural and historical significance makes it especially worth visiting.
How I’d Plan It
For a weeklong Arizona road trip from Texas, I’d build a route through Tucson/Saguaro → Chiricahua → Sedona → Grand Canyon, adding Canyon de Chelly if you have enough time.
3. Oklahoma Road Trip
Best for: 2–4 days
Drive time from Dallas: Approximately 2.5–4 hours for many of these destinations
Highlights: Mountains • Waterfalls • Caves • Wildlife
Oklahoma is one of my favorite answers when someone asks me where they can go for a quick road trip from Dallas.
You can leave North Texas and be somewhere that feels completely different within a few hours.
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
The Wichita Mountains are one of my favorite easy road trips from Dallas.
Expect rugged mountains, hiking trails, scenic drives and wildlife—including bison and longhorn cattle.
Drive up Mount Scott for incredible views, hike among the rocks and make time to explore the refuge.
Turner Falls Park
Turner Falls is home to a 77-foot waterfall and is an easy getaway from Dallas.
In warmer weather, the swimming areas make this especially fun for families. You’ll also find caves, trails and the ruins of Collings Castle to explore.
Natural Falls State Park
Head farther northeast and Oklahoma gets surprisingly green.
Natural Falls State Park features a beautiful 77-foot waterfall surrounded by lush vegetation. It’s a completely different Oklahoma experience from the Wichita Mountains.
Alabaster Caverns State Park
Here’s another Oklahoma surprise: you can go underground.
Alabaster Caverns State Park is home to a gypsum cave system and makes a really unique addition to an Oklahoma road trip.
How I’d Plan It
I wouldn’t try to combine all four into one rushed weekend because they’re spread across the state.
Instead, use these as building blocks for multiple Oklahoma road trips from Dallas. Wichita Mountains + Turner Falls works particularly well for a shorter trip, while Natural Falls and Alabaster Caverns can anchor separate Oklahoma adventures.
4. New Mexico Road Trip
Best for: 4–7 days
Drive time from Dallas: Approximately 7–10+ hours depending on your first destination
Highlights: Deserts • Caves • Ancient Landscapes • National Parks
New Mexico might be one of the most underrated road-trip states near Texas.
And it’s not just desert.
Within one road trip you can walk across bright white gypsum dunes, descend deep underground into enormous caverns, explore ancient Pueblo history and hike through unusual volcanic landscapes.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Carlsbad Caverns is one of those places that’s hard to appreciate until you’re actually standing inside it.
The caverns are enormous.
If you’re able, I recommend entering through the Natural Entrance rather than only taking the elevator down. Once inside, explore the Big Room before taking the elevator back to the surface.
White Sands National Park
White Sands looks like snow in the middle of the desert.
Miles of brilliant white gypsum dunes stretch toward the mountains, creating one of the most unusual landscapes in the Southwest.
Bring or buy a sled because sledding down the dunes is part of the fun.
Sunset here is incredible.
Bandelier National Monument
Bandelier combines outdoor adventure with fascinating history.
Trails lead through Frijoles Canyon past ancestral Pueblo structures, cliff dwellings and petroglyphs.
One of the things we loved about Bandelier was that it felt completely different from White Sands and Carlsbad despite being part of the same New Mexico trip.
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
Tent Rocks is another landscape that doesn’t quite look real.
Cone-shaped rock formations rise from the desert, and the area is known for its unique geology and beautiful scenery.
Important: Access, hours and reservation requirements at Tent Rocks have changed over the years, so check current visiting information before building it into your itinerary.
How I’d Plan It
For a larger New Mexico loop from Dallas, consider:
Dallas → Carlsbad Caverns → White Sands → Tent Rocks → Bandelier → Dallas
You could also pair Carlsbad Caverns with nearby Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas.
5. Colorado Road Trip
Best for: 4–7+ days
Drive time from Dallas: Approximately 10–14+ hours depending on destination
Highlights: Mountains • National Parks • Scenic Drives • Mountain Towns
If we’re talking about road trips that are truly worth the drive from Texas, Colorado has to be on the list.
Colorado gives you the dramatic mountain scenery that we simply don’t have in North Texas—and summer can provide a welcome break from the Texas heat.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park is an obvious Colorado bucket-list stop for a reason.
Spend a day driving Trail Ridge Road, look for elk and other wildlife, and choose a hike around Bear Lake or one of the park’s many other trails.
Estes Park makes a convenient base for exploring the park.
Estes Park
Don’t treat Estes Park as just the gateway to RMNP.
Walk downtown, enjoy the mountain views and give yourself time to slow down between adventures.
Ouray
Ouray might be one of my favorite Colorado mountain towns.
Nicknamed the Switzerland of America, it’s surrounded by mountains and waterfalls.
If you’re road-tripping through southwest Colorado, the drive itself becomes part of the experience.
Telluride
Telluride combines a gorgeous mountain setting with one of Colorado’s most recognizable mountain-town experiences.
Ride the gondola, explore downtown and take in the views.
Durango
Durango makes another great base for southwest Colorado, particularly if you’re combining mountain scenery with other destinations in the Four Corners region.
How I’d Plan It
Colorado is another state where I’d choose a region instead of trying to see everything.
For a shorter trip, concentrate on Estes Park + Rocky Mountain National Park.
With a full week, southwest Colorado—Ouray + Telluride + Durango—makes an incredible road trip of its own.
6. Utah Road Trip
Best for: 5–7+ days
Drive time from Dallas: Approximately 14–17+ hours depending on destination
Highlights: National Parks • Red Rocks • Scenic Drives • Incredible Hikes
Utah is the road trip you take when you’re ready to go BIG.
The landscapes are almost ridiculous—in the best possible way.
Utah has five national parks, and each one feels completely different from the others.
Zion National Park
Zion is spectacular from the moment you drive into the park.
Towering canyon walls surround you, and there are hikes ranging from relatively easy walks to bucket-list adventures.
Even simply driving through the area is unforgettable.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon’s hoodoos make it unlike anywhere else on this list.
Walk along the rim, but if you’re able, hike down into the amphitheater. Seeing the formations from below gives you an entirely different perspective.
Arches National Park
Arches is home to more than 2,000 documented natural stone arches.
Delicate Arch may be the icon, but there are formations and viewpoints throughout the park worth exploring.
Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands feels enormous and wild.
If you’re staying around Moab, the Island in the Sky district makes it relatively easy to combine Canyonlands with Arches.
Capitol Reef National Park
Capitol Reef sometimes gets overshadowed by Utah’s better-known national parks, which is exactly why I think it deserves a spot on a road trip.
The scenic drives, red-rock formations and relative quiet make it a great addition between Bryce Canyon and the Moab area.
How I’d Plan It
If you have enough time for Utah’s Mighty Five:
Zion → Bryce Canyon → Capitol Reef → Arches → Canyonlands
If you only have 5–7 days including your drive from Texas, I would not try to cram all five parks into the trip. Pick two or three and actually enjoy them.
Which Road Trip From Dallas Should You Choose?
If you only have a weekend, start with Texas or Oklahoma.
If you have 4–5 days, look at New Mexico or one region of Colorado.
If you have a full week, Arizona, Colorado or Utah become much more realistic.
And if you’re looking for the biggest Southwest road-trip adventure, it’s hard to beat Arizona or Utah.
But here’s the thing I’ve learned after years of road trips:
You don’t need two weeks of vacation or a plane ticket to have an incredible adventure.
Sometimes you just need a few days, a full tank of gas and somewhere new to point the car.
Road Trip Tips From a Texas Family Who Actually Drives These Routes
Start early. We often leave Dallas early enough that the first long driving day still gets us somewhere interesting by afternoon or evening.
Don’t judge a road trip only by the final destination. Some of our favorite memories have happened at stops we added along the way.
Build in breathing room. Trying to check off every attraction usually makes a road trip less enjoyable, not more.
Download offline maps. Cell service can disappear quickly in national parks and remote areas of the Southwest.
Check park requirements before leaving. National park reservations, timed-entry systems, road closures and shuttle requirements can change.
Pack for changing weather. Desert temperatures can swing dramatically, and mountain weather can change quickly.
Let the drive be part of the trip. Scenic highways, roadside stops and unexpected detours are part of why we road trip in the first place.
Ready to Hit the Road?
Whether you have a three-day weekend or an entire week, there are so many incredible road trips from Dallas, Texas that don’t require getting on an airplane.
Start close to home with Texas or Oklahoma, head west into New Mexico, or make the longer drive to Colorado, Arizona or Utah.
We’ve made some of our favorite family memories on these roads—and there are still plenty more left to explore.
Which road trip would you take first?
Save this guide for later, send it to your favorite road-trip partner, and follow Road Trip Queen for more real road trips from Texas.
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