Help us plan our trip! Texas.
Hey guys. We are planning an approx 2 week camping trip in the hte beginning of July to Texas. We'd like to visit 2 areas, and one will need to be near Dallas, as we have family there we will be vis...
Forum Discussion
4runnerguy wrote:
Another option would be the Ozarks or Ouachitas in Arkansas. Since they're a little higher in elevation, it's a little cooler there by 4 or 5 degrees. Plus, they're on the way from Detroit. Lake Ouachita is amazingly clear with a variety of camping options including COE and an SP.
Though I was exiled to Texas by the US Navy 27 years ago, my home is always Arkansas.
We literally grew up on a lake in foothills of the Ouachitas - Lake Greeson - averaged camping 25-30 weekends and two full weeks a year from the time I was 12 to 18.
We had a ski boat - and how that little 60 hp Johnson lasted 20-24 hours of use that many weekends for 15 years is beyond belief.
Even took my grandkids to Lake Ouachita for two weeks last summer.
That said - while the exact temps might be a few degrees lower than Texas - the humidity makes the heat index higher. It is harder to escape the humidity than the heat.
RVs don't do high humidity well - the AC's don't have the capacity to dissipate the heat, especially when everyone stays indoors.
Central Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma and southern Missouri are an option. The idea of spending a week another full day drive past Dallas vs spending that week a full day drive closer to Detroit might make more sense.
It will eliminate two driving days from the vacation trip - and make the final leg home easier.
patperry2766 wrote:
It would be a long drive if you were planning to go to Dallas on a daily basis
This is an important point.
I live on the northeast edge of the DFW metroplex - six miles from Lake Lavon.
The poster who mentioned the distance lives - at least 60 freeway and toll road driving miles from my home. That's a minimum of one hour drive in the late evening - maybe 1 1/2 hour mid-day - and can easily be two hours if the traffic is heavy. For me as a Navy retiree to go to the NAS at Carswell I always plan for 2 hours driving each way.
There is extensive road construction across the north freeways of Dallas (I-635) and Fort Worth (I-820). Nothing which really bothers a resident of the area - but would be awful to a visitor.
The DFW area is 75-80 miles wide and 50-60 miles tall. You should concentrate your visits to a general area. It would be very easy to spend three to four hours per day driving to attractions, tourist locations - and 200 miles per day in the DFW area.
