Stockyards Museum
Fort Worth sure does put the "cow" in "cowboys." When this town boomed in the 1890s, it was because it had the Southwest's biggest livestock market, where millions of cattle -- as well as horses, mules, hogs, and sheep -- were shipped north along the Chisholm Trail. That's how Fort Worth got the nickname "Cowtown," and the Stockyards are where the city's Old West heritage burns brightest.
Two miles north of downtown Fort Worth, the 125-acre Stockyards District, with its Spanish-flavored architecture, is still a lively place to hang out -- only now it's tourists, not cattlemen, thronging the sidewalks along Exchange Street. Commercial it may be, but its robust Western vibe is infectious. Twice a day, at 11:30am and 4pm, duded-up cowhands drive about 15 head of longhorn steers down the red-brick street past the Stockyards. Former hog and sheep pens have been turned into Stockyards Station, a festival mall of Western-themed shops and restaurants, where the city's most authentic boots and Stetson hats are for sale. The old horse and mule barns have been turned into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, 128 E. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/626-7131; www.texascowboyhalloffame.com), a magnet for rodeo fans. Inside the Livestock Exchange Building, 131 E. Exchange Ave., the nerve center of the old livestock business, the small Stockyards Museum (tel. 817/625-5082; www.stockyardsmuseum.org) displays artifacts such as guns, barbed wire, furniture, and clothing. Western music and movie stars, such as Gene Autry, Dale Evans, Roy Rogers, and Bob Wills, are honored in bronze along Exchange Avenue's Trail of Fame.
Keeping the kids busy around here is no problemo. Across from Stockyards Station, they can get lost in the Cowtown Cattlepen Maze, 145 E. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/624-6666; www.cowtowncattlepenmaze.com), a wooden labyrinth built to look like cattle pens. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad (tel. 817/410-3123; www.gvrr.com) runs two different daily routes from the Stockyards, one to downtown Fort Worth, the other out to Grapevine, Texas. The Stockyards' Arena & Livery, 128 E. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/624-3446), offers guided horseback rides out along the Trinity River. On most weekend nights, there's rodeo action at the Cowtown Coliseum, 121 E. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/625-1025; www.cowtowncoliseum.com), the world's first indoor rodeo arena. Billy Bob's Texas, 2520 Rodeo Plaza (tel. 817/624-7117; www.billybobstexas.com), known as the world's largest honky-tonk, offers families line-dancing lessons every Thursday evening.
Nearest Airport: Dallas–Fort Worth International.
Where to Stay: $ Residence Inn Fort Worth University, 1701 S. University Dr., Ft. Worth (tel. 888/236-2427 or 817/870-1011; www.marriott.com). $$$ Stockyards Hotel, 109 E. Exchange Ave., Ft. Worth (tel. 800/423-8471 or 817/625-6427; www.stockyardshotel.com).
Fort Worth sure does put the "cow" in "cowboys." When this town boomed in the 1890s, it was because it had the Southwest's biggest livestock market, where millions of cattle -- as well as horses, mules, hogs, and sheep -- were shipped north along the Chisholm Trail. That's how Fort Worth got the nickname "Cowtown," and the Stockyards are where the city's Old West heritage burns brightest.
Two miles north of downtown Fort Worth, the 125-acre Stockyards District, with its Spanish-flavored architecture, is still a lively place to hang out -- only now it's tourists, not cattlemen, thronging the sidewalks along Exchange Street. Commercial it may be, but its robust Western vibe is infectious. Twice a day, at 11:30am and 4pm, duded-up cowhands drive about 15 head of longhorn steers down the red-brick street past the Stockyards. Former hog and sheep pens have been turned into Stockyards Station, a festival mall of Western-themed shops and restaurants, where the city's most authentic boots and Stetson hats are for sale. The old horse and mule barns have been turned into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, 128 E. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/626-7131; www.texascowboyhalloffame.com), a magnet for rodeo fans. Inside the Livestock Exchange Building, 131 E. Exchange Ave., the nerve center of the old livestock business, the small Stockyards Museum (tel. 817/625-5082; www.stockyardsmuseum.org) displays artifacts such as guns, barbed wire, furniture, and clothing. Western music and movie stars, such as Gene Autry, Dale Evans, Roy Rogers, and Bob Wills, are honored in bronze along Exchange Avenue's Trail of Fame.
Keeping the kids busy around here is no problemo. Across from Stockyards Station, they can get lost in the Cowtown Cattlepen Maze, 145 E. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/624-6666; www.cowtowncattlepenmaze.com), a wooden labyrinth built to look like cattle pens. The Grapevine Vintage Railroad (tel. 817/410-3123; www.gvrr.com) runs two different daily routes from the Stockyards, one to downtown Fort Worth, the other out to Grapevine, Texas. The Stockyards' Arena & Livery, 128 E. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/624-3446), offers guided horseback rides out along the Trinity River. On most weekend nights, there's rodeo action at the Cowtown Coliseum, 121 E. Exchange Ave. (tel. 817/625-1025; www.cowtowncoliseum.com), the world's first indoor rodeo arena. Billy Bob's Texas, 2520 Rodeo Plaza (tel. 817/624-7117; www.billybobstexas.com), known as the world's largest honky-tonk, offers families line-dancing lessons every Thursday evening.
Nearest Airport: Dallas–Fort Worth International.
Where to Stay: $ Residence Inn Fort Worth University, 1701 S. University Dr., Ft. Worth (tel. 888/236-2427 or 817/870-1011; www.marriott.com). $$$ Stockyards Hotel, 109 E. Exchange Ave., Ft. Worth (tel. 800/423-8471 or 817/625-6427; www.stockyardshotel.com).
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