AN AMAZING DAY AT FORT WORTH STOCKYARDS WITH KIDS

by Alex Millsupdated on November 16, 2024March 7, 20221 Comment

A TRADITIONAL TEXAN TOWN

If you’re visiting Texas, a day at Fort Worth Stockyards with kids is something I highly reccomend. Here you’ll discover a traditonal Texan town that is perfect for all the family. We took a day trip here while staying in Dallas and I would absolutely recommend it! Our son was just over two-years-old at the time.

A little warning though. This historic town is extremely touristy, but hey, we’re a tourists! We visited on a beautiful, sunny Saturday in February. If possible, try to visit mid-week to avoid the crowds.

Here is our full guide on things to do and tips to enjoy Fort Worth Stockyards as a family.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
A FAMILY GUIDE TO DALLAS, TEXAS

WE ALSO HAVE GUIDES ON:
– ATLANTA – NASHVILLE – NEW ORLEANS – NEW YORK – CHARLESTON –

things to do in Stockyards Fort Worth as a family

Disclaimer: this post containes affiliate links. If you shop through one of my links, I may earn a small commission, there is no additional cost to you and I am extremely grateful as this helps me to run my blog!

GETTING TO FORT WORT STOCKAYRDS

Stockyards is a very easy day trip from Downtown Dallas where we were staying (read my post on that HERE). We took a TRE train from Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station to Fort Worth Central Station which took about an hour. Then, a number 15 bus to “Main & Exchange – 24th”. This was roughly half an hour.

If you’re taking this trip from Fort Worth you can skip the train and just take the bus!

A Regional ticket cost $12 per adult and covered the train and the bus.

THE HISTORY OF FORT WORTH STOCKYARDS

Stockyards has remained a traditional Texan town, located just outside Fort Worth. The brick streets are lined with saloons, general stores, historic buildings and places to eat. I thought there was a really great atmosphere here.

Cowboys or Drovers used to herd millions of cattle through Fort Worth. Eventually, with the arrival of the Railroad, Fort Worth became a major point for trading livestock. From this Stockyards was born, which was also known as “The Wall Street of the West” due to the livestock exchanged there.

TOP TIP: A lot of the outdoor vendors, for example, the children’s train ride, was cash only. SO make sure to take some with you!

THINGS TO DO AT FORT WORTH STOCKYARDS WITH KIDS

WATCH THE CATTLE DRIVE

The cattle drive is the main attraction at Stockyards, so you womnt want to miss it! Daily, at 11:30 am and 4 pm people line the street to see the town’s cattle drive. Drovers or “cowboys” walk the livestock through the town so you can see them close up. The bulls are huge and have a horn span of up to 6 feet!

SEE A LONGHORN UP CLOSE

Some of the bulls stand at the edge of the street. For $5 you can sit on/ pet/ pose for a photo with one.

I’m usually against things like this but the longhorns looked well looked after. Also, they seemed to work in shifts so they weren’t stood there for too long.

VISIT A HONKY TONK

There are a lot of choices of places to eat and drink however as this is a traditional Texan town, you should check out a Honky Tonk. Honky Tonk essentially means bar with music.

We went to Second Rodeo Brewing for a drink and some food and it was suprisingly child-friendly. There was a live musician playing and the atmosphere was brilliant. It’s also spacious and had room for our toddler to run about and dance.

CHILDRENS ENTERTAINMENT

Kids will be spoilt for choice as there are so many things to entetrtain them here! Sadly, we didnt have time to do them all, so we let him pick his favourites. Of course, he chose to ride on the little train and he absolutely loved it! He also had a pony ride. Some of the other options include a petting zoo and a corn maze!

There are also free lawn games for everyone (especialy kids) to enjoy.

BROWSE THE SHOPS

This is not exactyly a toddler friendly activity but we liek to do something for everyone when we travel. There are plenty of shops located on a street called Mule Alley to enjoy browsing in. If you’re looking for a Texan souvenir you’ll definitely find cowboy hats and boots here!

If you have a similar fashion sense to me, you should check out Flea Style – I enjoyed browsing in there!

OTHER THINGS TO DO AT STOCKYARDS

There are quite a lot more things to do here that we ran out of time for. These include:

Watching a Rodeo Show – one of the most popular things to do when visiting Stockyards.
Look for Celebrities names on the Texan walk of Fame – you’ll see bronze Hollywood style stars in sidewallk with famous Fort Wort names.
Visit the Livestock Exchange – originally where livestock was traded but has since been chanded in to a small Stockyards Museum.
Horseback Riding
Horse and Cart Rides

Stockyards is a very small place so it’s easy to explore and pick your favourite things to do!

Exploring Fort Worth Stockyards really is a great day out and visiting this Texan town is definitely something to tick off your bucket list!

Thank you for reading our guide to Fort Worth Stockyards, we hope you have the best time there!