Living in such a big city as Dallas, we have to find ways to escape urban life and seek out thrills and adventures along some of the Best RV road trips from Dallas.
What better way to spend a weekend or vacation than to head off into remote areas of Texas or further into Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
There are so many great RV road trip destinations from Dallas. Let’s jump in discuss some Texas road trips.
Space Road Trip – Van Horn, Boca Chica & Huston Mission Control
As you’ll no doubt know from the name of this website and articles I’ve written about Cape Canaveral and Boca Chica, I’m a bit of a space nerd.
Therefore the idea of going on a RV road trip taking in some of the the rocket launch and mission control destinations in Texas sounds like a good trip to me.
Leaving Dallas all packed up in your RV, we would suggest heading west and your first destination on the Texas Space Road Trip is the Blue Origin rocket launch facility near Van Horn.
From there onward to San Antonio and south to Boca Chica near Browsville and South Padre Island.
Last on the trip we suggest heading north to Houston and Space Mission Control Center.
Read later – Can You Swim on South Padre Island Beach
Blue Origin, Van Horn
The Blue Origin space facility is, of course, owned by he of Amazon fame, Jeff Bezos.
So called, “Launch Site One” by his company, the Van Horn location is very much located in splendid isolation in West Texas.
Van Horn is approximately 514 miles from Dallas.
Driving non stop, this is would take you 7.5 Hours. However, it is advisable to factor in rest stops along the way. Van Horn is also 2 Hours from El Paso.
Can you actually see a Blue Origin Launch from Launch Site One?
At present it’s not possible to get close.
During launch windows there are exclusion zone, State Highway 54 will be closed near the facility and Blue Origin are not currently setup to cater for the masses of space tourists who would know doubt be willing to pay a lot to have a prime viewing spot.
About viewing a rocket launch from west Texas
Best case scenario is to follow the masses and take up a viewing spot in Van Horn.
You will not be alone as many people in RVs will equally be lined up trying to catch a launch. Van Horn has a population of 2000 people and is adjusting to it’s place in the limelight.
With each new launch, the infrastructure of this, once sleepy, west Texas village will develop in line with the demands of space Tourism.
We Recommend – Best keep an eye on Blue Origin twitter page for Launch announcements. It will be EPIC no matter where you catch site of it.
SpaceX Boca Chica, Texas
The likelihood of catching a Blue Origin and SpaceX launch within days of one other is slim but it shouldn’t deter you from heading on your way to East along Interstate 10 (I-10) to San Antonio and south to Brownsville.
From here you’re only a hop skip from Boca Chica and it’s wonderful beach. In terms of distance, it is 400 miles from van Horn to San Antonio and a further 300 miles Boca Chica just 5 miles from the Mexican border.
We have written a detailed article about the best place to view a rocket launch in Boca Chica so we won’t go over the same detail here.
However, when there is no launch you can get close to the SpaceX facility either by drive by or kayaking from South Padre Island (one of the top beach party destinations in Texas) across the channel to the launch area.
Generally – There’s always activity in Boca Chica and you won’t be disappointed having taken the long road trip south.
Houston Space Center, Texas
The last stage of the Space Road Trip leads us to Houston and the place where there is so much space history. Houston Space Center Mission Control.
You can venture north from Boca Chica in your RV via Corpus Christi, stopping there to take in this beautiful bay city location along the gulf of Mexico.
The distance from Boca Chica to Houston is 372 miles, with Corpus Christi located halfway between the two places.
For any space buff the ideal space tourist destination is the central hub for so many pieces of space travel history.
We’ve all heard the famous line immortalized by Tom Hanks in the movie Apollo 13 ‘Houston we have a problem’.
It’s past, present and future are on display for all to see at Space Center Houston or JSC (Johnson Space Center). You can check out Space center Houston tickets here, or Houston city pass here.
For your Space Road trip final return to Dallas, it’s a 240 miles journey from Houston back to Dallas along I-45 N.
There is lots of planning needed for this round trip and where to park up your RV along the way.
But with a bit of planning you can make this a great Space tour of Texas and even visit some of the best Texas State Parks for RV camping.
Dinosaur Valley State Park
Dinosaur Valley State Park is among the best places to visit on a Texas Road trip. It’s a great family friendly park and well setup for those visiting in an RV.
If you fancy staying here for a few days the park is perfect for RV hookup.
You can simply set up camp here for a nightly rate of $25. With this you’ll get running water and electric hookups, a fire ring, and picnic table.
Dinosaur Valley is a great place and, with so much to see here you’ll definitely want to stay a few days.
As the name of the park suggests there is a lot of dinosaur related stuff here, including real dinosaur footprints in a riverbed.
Getting to Dinosaur Valley from Dallas
The good part about this road trip from Dallas is that it’s only 67 miles (1 hour 20 mins) away along US-67 South.
The closest town to Dinosaur Valley State Park is Glen Rose.
- Address: 1629 Park Rd 59, Glen Rose, TX 76043
- Price: $7 for adults, free for kids 12 and under
- Website here
San Antonio, TX
A trip to San Antonio is a must while road-tripping in Texas.
A trip to San Antonio is two pronged in that the city is worth a visit, in particular the River Walk and just also in San Antonio you will find the famous Alamo Mission.
San Antonio River Walk
The River Walk is the #1 Tourist Attraction in Texas.
There is so much to see and do around the river banks.
There is approximately 15 miles of river walk with so many events along the river throughout the year such as:
- the Ford Mariachi Festival in April
- the Fourth of July Artisan Show
- the festive season with the Ford Holiday River Parade and River Lighting Ceremony in November just after Thanksgiving Thursday
There is so many diners, eateries and food joints along the river walk it’s hard to choose but you will certainly find what you’re looking for, be it fine dining, a romantic dinner or a quick snack during a busy day along with plenty of live music.
For more information I highly recommend you view the official San Antonio River walk website and plan your trip around some of the many live events.
The Alamo Mission
The epitome of Texas is the the world famous Alamo Mission.
Some say this is Heart of Texas and no trip to Texas, never mind San Antonio is complete without visiting the Alamo.
The Battle of the Alamo took place here at the mission in 1836. The battle itself was part of the Texas Revolution or Texas war for independence from Mexico.
Soon after the Mexican state of Tejas won independence and became a self-governing republic: Texas.
The Alamo Mission Location & Further Information
- Address: 300 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, TX 78205
- Price: Audio tours are $9 per person, guided tours are $40 per Adult, $30 for children (12 & under).
- Website: Official Website and Tickets
Where to stay in San Antonio with an RV
So you gotta plan when you are road tripping with your RV.
Luckily you can get right into the heart of San Antonio and stay within a stone’s throw of both the SA River Walk and The Alamo Mission, Splashtown, Majestic Theater & even the AT&T Center.
Nice Place – We highly recommend you stay at Mission City RV Park formerly know as Alamo City RV Park. Rates start at $50 per day for Full hook up and free Wi-Fi.
Mission City RV Park information
- Address: 1011 GEMBLER ROAD, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78219, USA
- Telephone: (210) 337-6501
- Website: here
- LATITUDE: 29.436103 | LONGITUDE: -98.414725
The Wrap of The Best RV Road Trips from Dallas
Above are just a few of the best RV road trips from Dallas to start with and we’ll be adding more and more road trip destinations within Texas as well as neighboring states soon.
