East side of Dallas eclipse viewing planning

April 6, 2024 9:32 AM

A little late to the game here but I posted previously with a plan for plane travel but we came to Dallas by car instead. So, I need ideas for where to go on the East side of town to have a good view of the eclipse, and I need help figuring out how early to leave our hotel to get to that side of town to avoid being stuck on the interstate somewhere when the eclipse starts. We are staying at The Colony.
posted by crunchy potato to Travel & Transportation around Dallas, TX (10 answers total)

Near me in east Dallas: Bath House Cultural Center. I would honestly double any Apple/Google travel times on Monday because traffic is expected to be terrible and so will parking be. Also the local paper sent me an email telling me they're closing a bunch of highway exits around downtown on Monday, which doesn't immediately affect you, but will have knock-on effects as people try to figure alternate routes.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 5:01 PM on April 6

Do you mean east of Dallas or the east part of Dallas the city? Dallas metro trails off pretty quickly east of Dallas itself. East of Dallas the city is everything east of us75 highway. I think the bathhouse or power dam at white rock lake might be a good idea, and a place you can get to early and bike or walk to. Fair park might be a second option. You can take Dart rail to there to avoid driving. You can park to the north and ride there on the Dart train.

Klyde Warren park downtown might be another option. Again I recommend the Dart train to downtown and then walk.
posted by The_Vegetables at 5:08 PM on April 6

There is also a part of the city called old east Dallas but I don’t know any place here since I’ve only visited.
posted by The_Vegetables at 5:11 PM on April 6

Response by poster: We are trying to find something east of highway 175/I635, so east of the city itself. Ideally farther east than the Arboretum/Bath House area pointed back towards I20.
posted by crunchy potato at 6:52 PM on April 6

Could you clarify whether you’re staying in The Colony, a suburb of Dallas that’s north of the city/close to Frisco, or some other place called the colony? I looked around google maps at the area by 175 and 635- I’m not personally familiar with it as a person from the Dallas area but it has a reputation as a bit great part of town. Are you trying to view it east to avoid traffic? I’d personally stay closer to your hotel (if it’s in the Colony)- are you trying to beat traffic by watching on the very edge of the metro area because you need to hit the road home right after the eclipse?
posted by MadamM at 7:52 PM on April 6

Canton and Tyler are to the east. Tyler is called rose city and has a big rose garden. It’s farther away. Canton is smaller and known for a big flea market thing. Rockwell is closer and on the edge of a lake but it’s right in Dallas suburbs and I’d bet traffic there will be horrible so plan to stay a while.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:40 PM on April 6

Yes, The Colony + east of Dallas are entirely different directions, so this is a bit confusing without more information about what you're looking for and why. Traffic will be garbage no matter what you do but it might be worth checking out the goings-on in Rockwall/Rowlett near Lake Ray Hubbard. You could stop anywhere in theory but based on my 2017 experience, being in a crowd during the totality really adds to it. (I expect that East Dallas/White Rock Lake area will be a great viewing experience, cloud cover permitting, but also a giant pain in the ass to navigate tomorrow.)
posted by wormtales at 10:25 AM on April 7

Response by poster: We are at The Colony close to Frisco, trying to head towards Shreveport after the eclipse. My travel partner doesn't want to deal with the post-eclipse traffic and seems to think if we go farther east before the eclipse, it will be easier to navigate the traffic afterwards. He's trying to go to the Lake Tawakoni State Park thinking it will keep is from being trapped in as much traffic as we go. I was looking at going to one of the parks in McKinney and taking back roads from there but he would prefer to go farther east first. I'm worried about getting stuck in traffic en route to wherever we go tomorrow morning as the traffic overall is just terrible around here and we don't know the area well enough to find alternate routes confidently. But, if local people think we can get to Lake Tawakoni park easily from The Colony by Frisco leaving by 930 or 10, then I'll take your word on it and stop being so hesitant to do it that way.
posted by crunchy potato at 6:40 PM on April 7

It looks like that would give you about 3-4 hours to make a trip that with no traffic takes not quite an hour and a half. I would feel ok about that plan personally but I have no idea what kind of wild traffic is expected tomorrow. It does look like passes into the park are sold out for tomorrow, so hopefully you’re ok with just watching in that general area!
posted by MadamM at 8:04 PM on April 7 [1 favorite]

So I think I get it now. You are asking if it's acceptable take I30 to Lake Tawakoni or if traffic will be too bad...I see google maps is giving me The Colony to McKinney to Greenville to East Tawakoni, mostly via highway 380. If you have a map app and a serviceable car, I'd take the option vs going down to I30 on a busy travel day. It should be fine.

The 2nd fastest option it's giving me is a partially a toll road, you don't want to take that.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:56 PM on April 7 [1 favorite]