Best part of Dallas, TX for an April eclipse visit?

November 16, 2023 8:38 AM

Looking at booking a hotel in Dallas to see the eclipse. I want an area that is safe and affordable, that is easy to get to from the airport (DFW) via rental or Lyft. Which neighborhoods should I consider and which ones should I avoid?

Also if you have any suggestions for where to plan to BE during the actual eclipse, whether because it is picaresque in general, or ample free parking so we can get there not super early and still have somewhere to sit, that would be great.

posted by crunchy potato to Travel & Transportation around Dallas, TX (7 answers total)

You can take a train DART to many parts of Dallas directly from DFW airport. In general north of downtown is safe, and south is more dangerous, but that's a serious abstraction mostly due to racism. Dallas is a big suburb, so unless you are interested in staying in the city of Dallas specifically, then Irving is nearby the airport, has nice enough hotels, and there are big parking lots everywhere.

If you specifically mean Dallas, you can go to near downtown and find some parking garages or parking lots or whatever to see the sky.

Is there anything else you want to see while there?
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:55 AM on November 16, 2023

There is an argument to just fly in to Dallas, watch the eclipse _from_ the airport, then get on a plane back home. I mean, it's an airport, good sky views come with the territory.

(Is it a good argument? Ecccch. But if it's just frequent flyer miles that were expiring anyway....)
posted by Kyol at 9:12 AM on November 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

DFW isn't particularly close to downtown Dallas, so if you're looking for someplace safe with ample free parking, I'd take advantage of the suburban sprawl and either stay close to the airport in Grapevine or Irving, or head up to the Farmer's Branch / Addison / Carrollton / Richardson area. Hotels will be much cheaper there, too.

I'm not sure if the are any events planned around Lewisville Lake, but the south and east sides are in the path of totality, and there's a huge park in Little Elm with lots of space to hang out. If you do want to go down into Dallas, the Arboretum is beautiful, you'd just have to get tickets beforehand.

It's not picturesque, but in Frisco, there's an Ikea and a massive shopping mall called Stonebriar Centre; they have big parking lots and Stonebriar might have a garage that you can head to the top of.
posted by neushoorn at 10:33 AM on November 16, 2023

Dallas resident here. One of the suggestions Texas Monthly had for a really good view was go to a state park. This map will help you find one near DFW.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 10:46 AM on November 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

I’m from the Dallas suburbs and if I were home for the eclipse I would go here: Arbor Hills Nature Preserve. Large park, has some high ground and good views, near a lot of hotels/food/retail that’s actually walkable on Legacy just to the north of the park (you could probably walk to the park from the Shops at Legacy/Legacy West area but it’s likely not a comfortable walk), and an easy shortish drive from DFW. Downside is if I, a Plano native, am thinking of it, so are a lot of other people probably so it may be crowded! There may be similar setups in the suburbs closer to the airport but I’m not personally familiar with any. Anywhere in the north metroplex suburbs is pretty much safe- it’s all just different flavors of suburban sprawl.
posted by MadamM at 11:55 AM on November 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

I am planning to be in Dallas (fly in to DFW the day before the eclipse) but don't have any plans beyond that. But reading this thread made me think of something you might want to consider: stay away from streetlights. You don't want the daytime darkness to be ruined by having all of the street lights come on.
posted by Hatashran at 12:29 PM on November 16, 2023 [3 favorites]

I am planning to be in Dallas (fly in to DFW the day before the eclipse) but don't have any plans beyond that. But reading this thread made me think of something you might want to consider: stay away from streetlights. You don't want the daytime darkness to be ruined by having all of the street lights come on.

Well if you are thinking like that, just know that the Dallas/Ft Worth metro area is larger than the state of Connecticut, but fortunately DFW the airport is on the northern side of town, so you probably just have to drive like 30-45 minutes to the northwest to find a rural spot without streetlights.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:38 PM on November 16, 2023