The Best Things To Do In Grand Prairie, Texas

Nestled between Fort Worth and Dallas, Grand Prairie is a must for Texas travelers.

About 15 miles west of Dallas and 20 miles east of Fort Worth sits Grand Prairie, Texas, a great place to explore while road tripping, enjoying a long weekend, or waiting out an airport layover. (DFW International Airport is minutes away.) In this small Texas town, you'll find world-class performances, delicious barbecue, plenty of space to roam, and a great sense of community. Here are our favorite ways to spend time Grand Prairie, Texas.

See A Show

With the Texas Trust CU Theatre and Uptown Theater, Grand Prairie has lots to offer in the realm of live entertainment. Texas Trust CU Theatre can seat more than 6,000 people inside its space, and hosts world-renowned artists and events. Dolly Parton, Eagles, Sturgill Simpson, Steve Martin, and Tyler Perry have all performed here, and there's even shows geared toward children with favorites like Paw Patrol and Jojo Siwa. For a smaller, more intimate live show, Uptown Theater is just the ticket. The theater opened in 1950 as a movie hall, and today has an art gallery space and stadium seating. Here, you'll find local performers doing their take on everything from Moana to The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Go Local At The Farmers Market

In downtown Grand Prairie from April through mid-December, check out the farmers market at Market Square for local goods and handcrafted items. Vendors proudly display their handmade soaps, lotions, and crafts, and hawk homegrown vegetables, plants, local honey, and meats from local farms and ranches. Don't miss specialty items such as tamales, baked goods, dips, relishes, fresh pastas, teas, spices, and homemade salsas. Special events are held throughout the year and include live music, crawfish boils, and community walks.

Go Shopping At Traders Village

Since 1973, shoppers have flocked to Traders Village in Grand Prairie for a variety of items and oddities. Spread across 160 acres, thousands of dealers offer everything including toys, tires, clothing, decor, furniture, electronics, jewelry, and so much more. One of the best parts about Traders Village though is haggling over pricing with dealers, who are often willing to negotiate, or even barter. Don't leave before trying some tasty items from food vendors, who sell fair favorites such as corn dogs and turkey legs, plus authentic Mexican street tacos, burgers, and of course, funnel cakes.

Play Games At Chicken N Pickle

With 11 pickleball courts, shuffleboard courts, an outdoor game yard, a game room with ping pong and TVs, and a bar and entertainment space, Chicken N Pickle is a great option for those wanting to get some exercise or let the kids have some fun. Courts are both indoors and outside, so you get to choose where to play. There's also an on-site restaurant here serving salads, sandwiches, snack foods, and more, and the Tiki Shack has fun cocktails like the Purple Haze, which includes blackberry-infused rum, pineapple juice, lime juice, and toasted coconut rum.

Eat Texas Barbecue At Zavala's

There's barbecue, and then there's Texas barbecue, and Zavala's Barbecue is doing it right in Grand Prairie. The eatery, on the corner of Brisket and Main streets, puts out top-notch barbecue that's been deemed some of the best in Texas. Owner Joe Zavala takes barbecue staples such as brisket, ribs, and sausage and combines them with Tex-Mex flavors like fresh flour tortillas, pico de gallo, cheesy jalapeno hominy, and homemade salsas for a barbecue-Tex-Mex fusion that'll leave you planning a return trip to town. Weekly specials rotate constantly, but include items like fajitas, brisket burgers, beef ribs, and stuffed jalapeno pepper poppers.

Visit Asia Times Square

You wouldn't often think about visiting a grocery store while creating a travel itinerary, but Asia Times Square is worth a visit, as it's so much more than your average grocery store. As one of the largest Asian grocery stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Asia Times Square has a huge selection of Asian goods from Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, and other countries. Their produce, meats, and live seafood selection is worth a stop alone, and the store holds cultural events like Lunar New Year that bring fun and education to the community.

Loyd Park On Joe Pool Lake

For outdoor fun, head out to Loyd Park on Joe Pool Lake. Sitting on the western shoreline of the lake, Loyd Park encompasses about 791 acres and is full of recreational activities such as swimming, fishing, hiking, and more. Loyd Park has campsites, cabins, a hiking trail, off-road bicycle trails, equestrian trails, a beach, playground, boat docks, softball field, fishing docks, and the Walnut Creek Paddling Trail. Individual campsites each have a picnic table, pavilion, grill, and a fire ring for roasting up s'mores. If roughing it isn't your thing, stay at Loyd Lodge, in one of the cabins, or even in a yurt.

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