Traveling Our Purdy World

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If you haven’t been to the Fort Worth Stockyards – you MUST go! The Stockyards is a fun, lively, and unique experience – a true mix of old and new! Imagine a Miami of Texas – bars, shopping, big personalities, eye-catching vehicles all in a country western setting.

Hotel

We stayed at the Springhill Suites by Marriott right at the Stockyards. This hotel was in a fantastic location and had everything we needed for a long weekend – free breakfast, pool, large hotel room with sitting area and desk, accommodating and helpful staff, and super close to all the entertainment.

One downside of this hotel is it is right on a busy street. I did read some negative reviews about this prior to booking (some said they needed ear plugs because the noise was so bad)… Please ignore these reviews as we did not think it was THAT bad! If you do need to sleep in absolute silence then maybe this is not the hotel (frankly, this is not the right area) for you! We did hear an ambulance and a train one night but not enough to keep us up at night.

Pool:

A nice addition to this hotel is the outdoor pool. While we did not go swimming in the pool, it was positioned in a nice relaxing area. It really felt more like a spa then a pool. The pool area was equipped with expensive lounge chairs, umbrellas, and water fountains. We loved to end our evening just laying in the lounge chairs around the pool talking about our adventures for the next day.

Breakfast:

As stated earlier we stayed in Fort Worth for a long weekend, Thursday-Monday. It seemed that the breakfast buffet was different during the week versus on the weekend. On Friday morning were was fruit, eggs, sausage egg & cheese sandwiches, and cereal. However; on the weekend, there was also a waffle maker. The breakfast in general was not amazing, but frankly there aren’t many breakfast locations in the Stockyards, so the hotel breakfast is one of your few choices.

Your best bet may be to go the Biscuit Bar down Mule Alley (about 1 easy mile away). We ate at the hotel once and Biscuit Bar twice. The Biscuit Bar does get very busy on the weekends so make sure you arrive early, but not too early because they don’t open until 8AM. It is important to note that the portions are small and prices are high-ish for the portion sizes. I would recommend it if you want something other then the continental hotel breakfast. Below are pictures of the Biscuit Bar:

Food

Speaking of food, our favorite restaurants were:

• Risckys BBQ – Great biscuit, 1/2 chicken, beer, margaritas, and for dessert – the chocolate explosion — ooey gooey and delicious! Also, if you like to people watch (who doesn’t?) then sit outside and you can see everything!
• Risckys Steakhouse – We ate at the bar. The food was good. The best part was the HUGE, delicious, boozy margaritas!

• Joe T. Garcias – The BEST restaurant! Would 1,000% recommend! The kicker with this restaurant is that there is almost guaranteed to be a wait – and you have to wait in line in the order you came in. The line literally goes for about a block or more… BUT it is SO worth it!!! While waiting, one person in your party can go inside and get margaritas – SO boozy and delicious! Then when its finally your turn to go inside, wala – you are entering into what looks like a tropical rainforest, plants, water fountains — just such a fun unique experience! Also, order the queso to go alongside your chips and salsa – hot and OH SO DELICIOUS! We cannot explain how amazing this restaurant is – you will just have to go see for yourself!

Restaurants we did not care for included:

• Melt Ice-cream – I cannot say how much we LOVE ice-cream… but this was NOT ice-cream! I ordered the chocolate peanut butter and ew, it was the consistency of butter. YUCK!
• The hotel bar called Atico. It was a swanky, expensive restaurant with fancy food. It was a cool atmosphere but definitely gave off the hipster vibes.

Cattle Drive

Twice a day, everyday, the Stockyards hosts what they call a Cattle Drive. Essentially cattle roaming the streets of the Stockyards, no handlers, just coasting alongside real Cowboys riding horses. This fun one-of-a-kind experience is held at 11:30AM and 4:00PM daily. This “event” lasts about 5 minutes from start to finish, but get there early because a true Texas talks about the cattle drive, the Stockyards, Fort Worth, and all its history a few minutes before the cattle drive officially starts. Again, get there early because this is quite the event that many people show up to see.

Shopping

The Stockyards is a great place to go shopping, especially for cowboy and cowgirl boots, western attire, hats, and souvenirs. One thing to note is that shops do not open until 10:00AM. A few of our favorite shops are:

• Pinkies = fun women’s shop, good prices, fun clothes, helpful employees. I got my pink shirt here!
• Lazy Ranch Wear = big selection of boots. I got my pink boots here!
• Cavenders = HUGE room full of boots!! Its eye-opening!
• Walgreens = If you forgot something, there is a Walgreens about a mile away. This store has phone chargers, food, toiletries, etc. However; do not expect souvenirs at this store because they do not have them.

Rodeo

You need to go to the Rodeo in the Stockyards if you have never been to a rodeo – heck, even if you have been to a rodeo, you need to go to this one! The rodeo is pretty inexpensive if you buy your tickets in advance. The rodeo guarantees an evening of excitement, anxt, and all around fun. There’s bull riding, bronco riding, barrel racing, and kids chasing after live animals… Just a very good time.

While we did not buy any food and drink inside the stadium, we did buy some outside before the show from a drink cart. Please note (because they will not tell you) that you cannot take these drinks into the rodeo. The beer cart is in the same building where you buy your tickets, so one would think you can bring them inside the rodeo – nope, you cant. But if you do make the mistake (like us), you can stand outside, watch live performers sing, and people watch. It’s not a terrible mistake if you make it.

General Tips

• Wear cowboy hats, boots, and denim jeans if you want to fit in. Even in 100 degree weather!
• The drive from the Stockyards to the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) airport is about 30 minutes.
• Make sure you print out maps prior to your trip because there aren’t any once you arrive.

Fort Worth Stockyards Trip Review