Grapevine is one of the fastest-growing cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and one of the most rewarding short trips in north Texas. Located right between Dallas and Fort Worth, just minutes from DFW International Airport, the city of around 50,000 people punches well above its weight as a destination, with two of the most famous resort hotels in the state, an enormous freshwater lake, a charming historic Main Street, year-round festivals, world-class shopping and easy access to professional sports, theme parks and the wider Dallas-Fort Worth attractions. This 2025 guide walks through the top hotels, the outdoor activities, the family attractions, the food and the practical details for planning a trip.
Why Visit Grapevine
Grapevine has built a reputation as the “Christmas Capital of Texas” thanks to its enormous holiday festival, but the city is a year-round destination. The historic Main Street holds more than 80 boutique shops, art galleries and restaurants in restored 19th-century buildings. The Texas wine industry has its roots here, with eight working tasting rooms in the downtown alone. Grapevine Lake offers boating, fishing and hiking right inside the city limits, and the location 5 minutes from DFW airport makes it one of the most convenient bases in Texas for exploring the wider metroplex.
The city was founded in 1844, which makes it the oldest settlement in Tarrant County, and the original wild mustang grapes that gave the area its name still grow on local vines. Today Grapevine combines that long Texan history with one of the most ambitious visitor industries in the state.
Hotel Accommodations
Grapevine is famous for two huge resort hotels that draw visitors from across the country.
Gaylord Texan Resort
The Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center opened on 4 April 2004 and remains the largest hotel in Texas outside of Las Colinas, with around 1,800 guest rooms set under a massive 4.5-acre glass atrium. The atrium recreates Texas landscapes inside, including the Hill Country, the Riverwalk and the Alamo, and feels more like a small indoor city than a hotel lobby.
The Gaylord Texan hosts weekly conventions on every imaginable theme, from car clubs and video game tournaments to medical conferences and family reunions. The most famous event runs every November through early January, when the resort hosts the spectacular ICE! exhibit. Around two million pounds of ice are carved by professional artists from Harbin, China, into walk-through scenes kept at a constant 9 degrees Fahrenheit (the resort provides parka jackets at the entrance). The exhibit is the centrepiece of the wider Lone Star Christmas festival, with over two million holiday lights, a snow tubing hill, gingerbread workshops and indoor “snowfall” shows.
The resort also offers the Glass Cactus nightclub with views over Lake Grapevine, the Relache Spa, several restaurants and the Paradise Springs water park with a lazy river, water slides and a kid-friendly splash zone.
Great Wolf Lodge
The Great Wolf Lodge opened in 2007, just a few blocks down from the Gaylord Texan, and has become one of the most popular family destinations in north Texas. The lodge is known for two main features. First, the indoor water park, kept at a comfortable 84 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, holds more than 80,000 square feet of waterslides, wave pools, water playgrounds and the famous Howlin’ Tornado funnel slide. Day passes are reserved for hotel guests only.
Second, the lodge runs MagiQuest, a huge interactive adventure game that turns the entire hotel into a fantasy world. Children buy a magic wand and use it throughout the property to perform quests, defeat dragons, find treasures and unlock new powers. The combination of the water park and MagiQuest keeps families busy for days without ever leaving the hotel.
Other Great Wolf Lodge features include a bowling alley, a rope course, a mini golf course, several themed restaurants, a kids’ spa and nightly story time around the fireplace in the great hall.
Other Hotel Options in Grapevine
Beyond the two resort giants, Grapevine offers a wide range of other accommodation, including the historic Hotel Vin in the heart of downtown Main Street, the upscale Embassy Suites by Hilton DFW Airport North and a long list of family-friendly chain hotels around the airport for travellers who need easy access to flights.
Outdoor Activities
Grapevine Lake
You can walk straight from the Gaylord Texan to Grapevine Lake, an 8,000-acre reservoir that runs along the northern edge of the city and offers water sports, hiking, swimming and fishing. The lake is best known for its catfish and sand bass, with black bass a close third for serious anglers. Several hiking trails run around the lake, including the highly recommended McPherson Slough on the western shore, which combines wetland birdwatching with quiet wooded paths.
The Silver Lake Marina on the south shore offers boats, jet skis and pontoon rentals, including a large party boat that can hold over 20 people and forms one of the main lake attractions for groups. The Twin Coves Park on the north shore offers camping, swimming beaches, paddleboard rentals and a quiet alternative to the busier southern shore.
Lake Lewisville
A few miles north of Lake Grapevine sits Lake Lewisville, one of the most popular lakes in the entire Dallas-Fort Worth area. Lake Lewisville is famous for its huge catfish and active boating scene. If you have a boat and like to party, head to Party Cove on the south side of Old Lake Dallas, just north of the old dam, which fills with hundreds of boats on warm summer weekends.
Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden
If you do not mind a short drive, the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden sits on the shore of White Rock Lake and offers 66 acres of stunning gardens. The most famous events include Dallas Blooms in spring, with more than 500,000 spring bulbs, and the Pumpkin Village in autumn, with over 90,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash arranged into a series of themed displays. The arboretum is consistently ranked among the best botanical gardens in the United States.
Fort Worth Stockyards
If you head west into Fort Worth, you can visit the famous Fort Worth Stockyards, the historic livestock market district that preserves the cowboy heritage of north Texas. The stockyards hold daily cattle drives at 11:30 and 16:00, plus rodeos, western boutiques, the legendary Billy Bob’s Texas honky-tonk and a wide range of cowboy restaurants. You can even catch the historic Grapevine Vintage Railroad from Grapevine Main Street directly to the Stockyards and back, riding behind a real steam locomotive.
Family Attractions in and Around Grapevine
Grapevine Mills Mall and Adjoining Attractions
Grapevine Mills Mall, about a mile from the major hotels, is one of the largest shopping centres in north Texas with over 180 outlet stores, restaurants and family attractions. The mall holds three major attractions worth visiting in their own right:
- SEA LIFE Grapevine Aquarium. An 180,000-gallon aquarium with sharks, rays, jellyfish, octopus, seahorses and a 360-degree underwater tunnel.
- LEGOLAND Discovery Center. An indoor LEGO playground with rides, building zones, a 4D cinema and a miniland recreation of Texas landmarks.
- Peppa Pig World of Play. A themed indoor attraction for younger children based on the popular animated series.
The famous Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World is also located just outside Grapevine Mills and works as a destination in itself, with a giant aquarium, archery range and indoor waterfall.
The Grapevine Vintage Railroad
The historic Grapevine Vintage Railroad runs daily excursions from the restored 1888 Cotton Belt Depot on Main Street to the Fort Worth Stockyards, pulled by either a 1896 steam locomotive (Puffy) or a 1953 GP-7 diesel. The full round trip takes about three hours and includes a layover at the Stockyards for lunch and shopping.
Main Street Grapevine
Historic Main Street is one of the most popular destinations in town. The restored 19th-century street holds more than 80 small shops, country boutiques, art galleries, wine tasting rooms and family-owned restaurants. You can watch glass blowers create art at Vetro Glassblowing Studio, browse antiques, taste Texas wines from the local vineyards or pick up handmade leather goods. The whole district is walkable and free to explore, and several public art pieces and historical markers add interest along the way.
Grapevine has earned the title of “Christmas Capital of Texas”, and Main Street is the heart of the celebrations every November and December, with parades, lights, live music and the famous Twinkle Light Boat Parade on Lake Grapevine.
Texas Wine Country
Grapevine sits at the heart of one of the oldest wine-producing regions in Texas. The city holds eight working winery tasting rooms within walking distance on and around Main Street, including Messina Hof Winery, Grape Vine Springs Winery, Llano Estacado tasting room, Umbra Winery, Sloan and Williams, Hi Wire Wines, D’Vine Wine and Homestead Winery. The annual GrapeFest in September is the largest wine festival in the southwestern United States.
Sports and Entertainment Around Grapevine
Grapevine sits within a 30-minute drive of every major professional sports team in north Texas:
- Dallas Cowboys (NFL) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
- Texas Rangers (MLB) at Globe Life Field, also in Arlington.
- Dallas Mavericks (NBA) at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas.
- Dallas Stars (NHL) at the same American Airlines Center.
- FC Dallas (MLS) at Toyota Stadium in Frisco.
The Texas Motor Speedway just north of Fort Worth hosts NASCAR Cup Series and IndyCar races throughout the year and ranks as one of the most famous racing venues in America. Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor in Arlington round out the theme park scene for families.
Nightlife and Comedy
Downtown Dallas and Fort Worth both offer plenty of evening activities and a lively party scene. Several comedy clubs operate across the metroplex, including the famously funny Hyena’s Comedy Nightclub, with locations in Fort Worth and Plano. Billy Bob’s Texas in the Fort Worth Stockyards calls itself the world’s largest honky-tonk and offers live country music, dancing and even indoor bull riding most nights.
More Outdoor and Family Activities Nearby
- Cabela’s, the famous outdoor sporting goods store, sits just north of Fort Worth and is worth a visit for the indoor aquarium and wildlife displays alone.
- Flower Mound, located northwest of Dallas, runs a large pumpkin patch every October and a Christmas tree lot every December.
- Galleria Dallas, north of downtown Dallas, holds an indoor ice rink under one of the most spectacular shopping mall atriums in the country.
- Vista Ridge Mall in Lewisville and Stonebriar Centre in Frisco add even more shopping options within a short drive.
- Pinstack and Main Event entertainment centres offer bowling, laser tag, escape rooms and arcade games for rainy days.
For a unique experience, the Galaxy Drive-In Theater in Ennis (south of Dallas) and the Coyote Drive-In in Fort Worth both run double features under the stars on big outdoor screens.
Lake Grapevine Fireworks and Special Events
Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the Gaylord Texan sponsors free fireworks every Friday night over Lake Grapevine. The annual calendar of events also includes the Main Street Fest in May, GrapeFest in September, Christmas Capital of Texas celebrations from late November through December, and the famous Carol of Lights parade.
Shopping
Grapevine and the surrounding area offer some of the best shopping in north Texas. Beyond Grapevine Mills, you find Vista Ridge Mall in Lewisville and the upscale Stonebriar Centre in Frisco, plus the boutique shops along Main Street Grapevine. Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s anchor the outdoor sporting goods scene, and outlet stores at Grapevine Mills offer some of the best discounts in the region.
Movies, IMAX and Drive-Ins
Grapevine and the surrounding area hold a wide range of cinemas, including standard multiplexes, dollar movie theatres for budget viewers, IMAX 3D theatres and luxury dine-in cinemas. For something different, the Galaxy Drive-In in Ennis south of Dallas and the recently opened Coyote Drive-In in Fort Worth both run nightly double features the old-fashioned way.
How to Get to Grapevine
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) sits just south of Grapevine, with most of the runways within the city limits, which makes Grapevine the closest hotel district to the airport. Several other regional airports, including Dallas Love Field (DAL), are within a 30-minute drive. Rental cars are widely available at DFW, and ride-share services such as Uber and Lyft cover the entire area.
Grapevine sits at the intersection of Highway 114 and Highway 121, which gives easy access to both Dallas (about 25 minutes) and Fort Worth (about 30 minutes). The TEXRail commuter train line connects Grapevine Main Street directly to downtown Fort Worth and DFW Airport.
Best Time to Visit Grapevine
- Spring (March to May). Mild temperatures, blooming bluebonnets and the famous Main Street Fest in May.
- Summer (June to August). Hot and sunny, ideal for Lake Grapevine, water parks and Friday night fireworks. Daytime highs often reach 35 degrees Celsius.
- Autumn (September to November). Pleasant weather, GrapeFest in September and the start of the Lone Star Christmas season at the Gaylord Texan in November.
- Winter (December to February). The Christmas Capital of Texas comes alive with millions of lights, ICE! at the Gaylord Texan and dozens of holiday events along Main Street.
Practical Tips
- Currency. US dollar (USD). Cards are accepted everywhere.
- Getting around. A rental car is the easiest way to explore the wider metroplex, although Main Street Grapevine and the area around the major hotels are walkable.
- Plan around events. Major Cowboys home games, the State Fair of Texas in October and the Christmas Capital of Texas season all push hotel prices up sharply. Book several months ahead.
- Combine with DFW. Grapevine works as a base for exploring Dallas, Fort Worth and the wider metroplex, with everything within 30 to 45 minutes by car.
- Family travel. The combination of the Great Wolf Lodge, the Gaylord Texan, Grapevine Mills Mall and Lake Grapevine makes Grapevine one of the best family destinations in Texas.
Final Thoughts
Whatever you are looking for, Grapevine and the surrounding area has it. You can find anything you want within 30 to 45 minutes by car, and most of the activities sit within 15 minutes of the heart of Grapevine. From the spectacular ICE! exhibit at the Gaylord Texan to the indoor water park at Great Wolf Lodge, from the wineries of Main Street to the catfish of Lake Grapevine, from the Fort Worth Stockyards to the bright lights of downtown Dallas, this growing Texan city has built itself into one of the most rewarding short-trip destinations in the southwest. Whether you come for a weekend, a week or just a layover at DFW airport, Grapevine offers a slice of Texas hospitality and entertainment that few cities its size can match.
