8 Day Historic Grapevine, Texas & Oklahoma Self Drive

Arrive at Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport and historic Grapevine, Texas. Grapevine is centrally located between Dallas and Fort Worth and is the ideal base for exploring all that the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has to offer. Here you can connect with the locals while you walk, shop, and eat your way through this fun historic town. Spend the next three nights in Grapevine.

Start your day with a coffee from one of the many Main Street cafés. Take in the view of the surrounding Grapevine area from 150- feet up at the Grapevine Observation Tower. 360-degree views include the skylines of Dallas and Fort Worth, DFW Airport and beautiful Lake Grapevine. Explore the Historic Main Street District with an optional Grapevine Food Tour. This three-hour optional walking tour highlights the history of Grapevine as well as a taste of some of Grapevine’s local cuisine. View the Grapevine Glockenspiel, the only Glockenspiel in North America featuring the Would-Be Train Robbers, Nat Barrett, and Willy Majors. May we suggest visiting the Grapevine’s working artisans, including Holder Dane Gallery, Vetro Glassblowing Studio & Gallery, and the R Town. You will find their work throughout Grapevine during your stay. Visit Grapevine’s Settlement to City Museum, which tells the story of Grapevine’s settlement in 1844 to our days as a farming community to how we got to where we are today as a thriving tourism destination (Open Friday –Sunday). Enjoy a leisurely afternoon exploring the shops, chocolatiers, winery tasting rooms and galleries of the Historic Main Street District. Be sure to drop into Bermuda Gold to view the newspaper clippings and learn more about the robbery that took place at this former bank location years before. North Texas was a hotbed of bootlegging activity during the 1930s and 1940s. Fast forward to today, where Texas is now the fifth largest producer of wine in the United States. Enjoy a glass or a flight of wine along the Grapevine Urban Wine Trail, with eight winery tasting rooms located within the Historic Main Street District. Enjoy dinner in the Historic Main Street District followed by live entertainment at the Historic Palace theatre. (Be sure to check the schedule and cost). From the historic theatre to the great evening live entertainment in the Historic Main Street District, Grapevine is the place to be.

Enjoy breakfast at one of Grapevine’s popular breakfast diners. Spend the morning exploring Grapevine Mills a 1.8-million-sq. ft shopping and entertainment complex or board the Grapevine Vintage Railroad (Saturday & Sunday only) or TEXRail (daily schedule) for the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District. There you can explore the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and Stockyards Station, where legends are immortalized, and unique Texas gifts abound. Do not miss the Fort Worth Herd in the world’s only twice daily cattle drive –Texas Longhorns driven by genuine Texas cowhands. Saddle up at the bar at one of the local saloons or purchase yourself some western wear at one of the local shops before heading to dinner. See why Texas is known for their steaks at Cattlemen’s or H3 Steakhouse. We suggest attending the Stockyards Champions Rodeo at Cowtown Coliseum (Friday & Saturday evenings only). After the rodeo, scoot on over to Billy Bob’s Texas, the largest Honky Tonk in the World!

Depart Grapevine for Oklahoma City which is a 3-hour drive. Check-in to your hotel and spend the afternoon exploring. Get ready for an evening of fun in Stockyards City. Arrive at Stockyards City for some shopping at one of the many businesses that cater to the working cowboy. Pick up a pair of Wranglers, grab a pair of boots, or have a hat custom shaped just for you, so many things to explore. Venture off to one of the salons for a beverage before you settle into your seat at the Rodeo Opry (Saturday evening performances only). Known as Oklahoma’s official country music show, this evening will feature rising stars from around the state, veterans of the Opry stage and an occasional country star. Non-Saturday options—check out a performance (tickets required) at the Criterion Tower Theatre, Lyric Theatre or enjoy a stop at one of the many live performance venues spread out across the diverse districts of Oklahoma City. (Live music venues are celebrated across the city, with Oklahoma City’s districts including: The Paseo, Midtown, Uptown, Downtown, Film Row, and 23rd St). Stockyard City is the home of the largest stocker/feeder cattle market in the world. Since its inception, more than 102,000,000 head of livestock have passed through the iron gates leading to the Stockyards operation Cattle auctions are held Monday and Tuesday each week. Spend the next two nights in Oklahoma City.

Take a leisurely walk through The Myriad Gardens or Scissortail Park to enjoy flora and fauna. Continue your day with a visit to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. From fine art, pop culture and halls of fame to Native American objects, historical cowboy gear, shopping and dining, the figure of the cowboy tells America’s Western story at this unique museum. The First Americans Museum (One Place, Many Nations) offers visitor experiences of collective histories of thirty-nine distinctive First American Nations in Oklahoma today. Visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, one of the city’s most notable destinations. Head on over to the Bricktown District and stop in at the American Banjo Museum. Here you will find the largest collection of banjos on public display in the world, as the nation’s only museum dedicated to America’s instrument. A 40-minute trip on the Bricktown Water Taxi is the perfect way to tour through Bricktown. Guests will learn history about the  Oklahoma City buildings they pass, as well as fun facts along the one-mile canal. Head on over to Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill for dinner. Toby Keith is one of Oklahoma’s famous country music stars. Everything about this place is bigger and badder, just like its namesake. The menu reflects the same attitude—nothing fancy here, but lots of down-home favourites. Evening spends the remainder of the evening checking out other local bars in the district.

Enjoy breakfast and depart Oklahoma City for Tulsa along Route 66. Oklahoma boasts more than 643 kms of Route 66 – more than any other state. Stop in at POPS Soda Ranch and the Round Barn in Arcadia. Visit the Route 66 Interpretive Center in Chandler, lunch at the Rock Café in Stroud and enjoy the Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum and the World’s Largest Gas Pump in Sapulpa. You will find a mix of historic and modern experiences along the route as Oklahoma is home to some of the mother roads most iconic landmarks, attractions and destination dining before arriving in Tulsa. Long called one of the country’s best kept secrets, Tulsa is known for its art deco architecture and underground arts scene. Check out one of Tulsa’s unique districts such as Brookside, Cherry Street or Blue Dome for dinner and entertainment. The city is packed with live music, fantastic restaurants and craft breweries to enjoy the better-than-the coast food and drink scene. Spend the next two nights in Tulsa.

Start your day off at the Center of the Universe. A short walk away you will find the Woody Guthrie Center, which will give you a glimpse inside the life of one of America’s greatest folksingers. Born in Okemah, Woody Guthrie made a name for himself with hits like “This Land Is Your Land,” “Pastures of Plenty,” “Talking Dust Bowl Blues” and “Do Re Mi.” Just down the block is the Bob Dylan Center. Dedicated to the study and appreciation of Bob Dylan and his worldwide cultural significance, this experience is everything Bob Dylan. Enjoy lunch from a food truck at Guthrie Green (just across the street) or head on down further into the Tulsa Arts District and enjoy one of its numerous restaurant offerings. The Outsiders House Museum stands on a quiet Tulsa Street corner in Crutchfield. This modest bungalow where the scrappy, close-knit Greasers lived, loved, fought, and reconciled, sits as a tangible testament to the cinematic legend. This house has been painstakingly restored to reflect its appearance in the movie and contains one of- a-kind exhibits, collections and memorabilia associated with the movie. Continue your day at The Church Studio in the Pearl District. This historic church was turned into a recording studio and the home office to Shelter Records in the early 1970’s. Leon Russell purchased the church in 1972 and The Church Studio was conceived. Russell was a music legend for 50 years and an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. Today, the studio has been remodelled and brought back to a working recording studio. Other must-see attractions include the Greenwood Rising Black Wall St. History Center and the Philbrook Museum and Gardens. Have dinner at Mother Road Market, where you can select from a sampling of local restaurants housed under one roof, along with a variety of retail shops.

Depart Tulsa early in the morning and drive south heading back towards Dallas Fort Worth. Add on an optional post night stay in Grapevine (extra cost), alternatively return your car at the airport before your departure flight.