Epic weekend road trip through Caddo Lake, Daingerfield State Park, Piney Woods Wine Trail and Jefferson.
Explore stunning hidden gems and nature wonders only 2h30 away from Dallas.
The more I travel through Texas, the more I’m convinced the Lone Star State is an underrated travel destination, that does not get half of the attention it deserves. Texas rocks!
Last fall I embarked on a special adventure near Dallas that kept my jaw dropped the entire way. And changed my heart on Northeast Texas.
Full disclosure: I’ve had a love affair with Texas for a while now, but I’ve always thought that to experience the best of it you needed to travel a lot of miles from Dallas towards south or west. Boy I was wrong – and I’ve never felt happier to be so wrong LOL.
Daingerfield State Park, Enoch’s Stomp Vineyard & Winery (part of the Piney Woods Wine Trail), Jefferson and Caddo Lake State Park were the places I visited in this trip. All more than worth the drive.
Here I share with you the ups and downs of my fall weekend road trip through East Texas. The best things to do and must-sees in Jefferson and surroundings, to make the most of your short trip from Dallas. Look into it and make your own plans to visit these Northeast Texas hidden gems. You won’t regret!
East Texas Road Trip from Dallas
This last-minute spontaneous trip took me through East Texas travel destinations 2h00 – 2h30 from Dallas. It was done in a weekend (one day and a half to be more precise) and time frame felt just right. But if you have more time available, even better.
My favorite places? Hard – very hard – to tell. I’ve loved every inch of this route and will definitively be back to explore it in a slower pace!
Daingerfield State Park was absolutely gorgeous with the tall pine trees reflecting on Little Pine Trail. Enoch’s Stomp Vineyards and Jefferson made me crave for another visit. Caddo Lake was out of this world and seemed like a dream – was that place for real?
Follow below my impressions on these places. Make your adjustments and hit the road!
DAY 1
Daingerfield State Park
137 miles/ 2 h 00 from Dallas
Daingerfield State Park is considered one of the best places for fall foliage in Texas by several publications. And it was looking for the best places to spot the fall colors in northeast Texas, near Dallas, that I stumbled upon this gem.
I went there not expecting much to be honest. Yes, it was top-rated, but I had never heard of it and seemed like a small local park. I’m SO glad I didn’t listen to myself LOL (I love to do that).
Daingerfield State Park is STUNNING. The fall foliage reflecting on the lake was breathtaking. The tall and imposing pine trees made me feel like I had been transported to the mountains. The trail we took surrounding the lake – Rustling Leaves Trail, an easy 2.4-mile hike – was one of my favorites ever.
Daingerfield is a small and secluded park perfect for disconnecting from the outer world and dive into nature. There you can swim, fish, boat, paddle and hike, among other activities. They also offer cabins and camping. I left the park at sunset and could see people setting up their tents and lighting the fires. Seemed pretty amazing and made me crave for a weekend camping there.
But not right now. We had other places to explore…
Enoch's Stomp Vineyards & Winery
35 miles/ 45 min from Daingerfield State Park
Did you know northeast Texas has its own wine trail? With around 20 wineries and vineyards?
I didn’t. I always thought the Texas Hill Country was the Texan wine mecca and was surprised to find out about the Piney Woods Wine Trail recently. As Enoch’s Stomp Vineyards, part of it, was sort of in the range of my route for the weekend, I decided to give it a try. We headed there to have dinner after leaving Daingerfield State Park.
And WOW! The place totally exceeded our expectations and made us crave for more – another place to be back soon.
Enoch’s Stomp Vineyards was gorgeous, the service outstanding – Ellen made us feel home – and the wines delicious. We tasted local and international wines at their tasting room, and I wandered outside (of course!) to check on the vineyards.
I’ll have to be back to tour the vineyards during the day! – tours are offered Fridays and Saturdays afternoon (reservations required) and afterwards you can taste wine watching the sunset framed by the vines.
There was a wedding going on during our visit (in an indoor room, didn’t spoil the experience at all) and no live music in the tasting room because of that. But most Friday and Saturday nights you can enjoy live music while you taste local and international wines in the cutest wine sampling display ever (life is in the details).
Afterwards we headed to our hotel to recharge our wanderer batteries for the next day adventures.
DAY 2
Jefferson
19 miles/ 25 min from Enoch's Stomp Vineyards & Winery
Jefferson is considered the Bed & Breakfast capital of Texas. It is the perfect place to spend the night in a charming and cozy historic home, and it is central to all attractions we visited in this trip, so I highly recommend you staying there… but we didn’t. For purely practical reasons.
As it was a last-minute trip and we only needed a place to sleep, we opted for taking a room on the go through Booking at a chain hotel in nearby Marshall and visited Jefferson next morning.
Our visit to Jefferson was more of a terrain recognition trip for future visits, as we knew that on Sundays Jefferson resumes its slow pace and most places are closed. Plan to be there on Friday and Saturday nights, when the weekend buzz happens, and the city is lively and full of entertainment options.
Jefferson proved to be as charming as expected.
We strolled through Jefferson Historic Square and its antique shops and historic landmarks, such as the Old Mill Antiques, Jay Gould Railroad Car, Jefferson Historic Museum and Kahn Saloon (there is a cafe inside the historic building, perfect for a break). Visited the General Store – probably my favorite small-town store ever.
Walked a pleasant and short trail at Port Jefferson History & Nature Center, a small outdoor green area open to the public, crossed by the train tracks, and home to an over a century old train trestle.
And checked on the infamous The Grove, considered one of the top 12 most haunted houses in the US. Seemed harmless under the daylight, but I wouldn’t be back at nighttime LOL.
Other interesting attractions offered in Jefferson are Ghost Walk Tours, every Friday and Saturday night (reservations required), the Gone with the Wind museum and carriage rides.
Top-rated places to eat are McGarity’s Saloon, Joseph’s Riverport Barbecue and Stillwater Inn. These are the ones in my bucket list for a future trip, because we opted to head to our next destination and have lunch in a restaurant overlooking Caddo Lake instead -a must, read next.
Caddo Lake
13 miles/ 19 min from Jefferson
First and foremost, I need to state: I’m in love with Caddo Lake. It is one of the most impressive places I’ve been in my life – and I’ve had my fair share of travelling around the world. The landscape looked as a painting or fairy-tale, something out of this world.
Caddo Lake is a must for those visiting Jefferson. It is Texas’ only natural lake and home to the largest bald cypress tree forest in the world.
It’s also home to alligators! But don’t let it scare you. I took a long time to visit Caddo Lake because I travel with small kids in tow and the alligator thing made me feel unease. But talk to locals eased my mind. The gators are mostly seen at night and away from inhabited areas. There is a specific tour at night to spot them, which takes you deep into the swamp. The Caddo Lake State Park area is pretty much safe – use common sense though, as always.
Plan to have lunch at Caddo Lake. We tried Riverbend Restaurant on Caddo and weren’t disappointed. The catfish, beans, coleslaw and cheesecake were delicious. The lake views amazing. It will certainly become a family tradition every time we visit Caddo Lake!
You have a few ways to explore Caddo Lake. The first and most popular one, through a boat tour that takes you into the swamp. We did it…partially. Unfortunately, our boat broke 20 minutes into the trip, and it had to be cancelled. Bummer. But I live by the motto ’embrace the detours’ (when life gives you lemons, make lemonades also works LOL). So, we changed plans and I’m SO glad it happened now!
We ended up visiting Caddo Lake State Park, just next door, which wasn’t initially in our plans for this trip due to lack of time. There we hiked the Caddo Forest Trail – which was beautiful with the fall colors -, walked along the Big Cypress Bayou and admired Saw Mill Pond. Make sure to stop by Saw Mill Pond. Its landscape resembles the one you find at the Caddo Lake swamp and oh my God! We were there right before sunset, aka golden time, and I don’t even have words to describe the beauty of it. There is a pier into the pond, and you can also rent a canoe there to paddle through the cypress trees.
Caddo Lake State Park offers cabins and camping, and fishing is another popular activity in the area. Seemed like an amazing place to spend the weekend into the woods (another trip to add to my already extensive bucket list LOL).
Time to go home. Gladly, we are only 2h 30m away from it! Who could tell we could experience such beauty so close to Dallas? This was a weekend to remember for years to come. This short weekend trip recharged our mental batteries to the fullest and made us all fall in bed exhausted on Sunday night, but for the right reasons : )
Summing Up
This weekend trip itinerary is perfect for whenever you need a quick weekend escape from Dallas. Visit incredible places in Texas without having to drive tons of miles.
Only 2h30 driving from Dallas, this trip is a breeze and takes you to stunning destinations, from the most amazing nature gems Daingerfield State Park and Caddo Lake, to cozy and heartwarming places such as Jefferson and the Texas Piney Woods Wine Trail.
In this post you found everything you need to know to plan your short trip through East Texas and enjoy it to the fullest. I hope it’s helpful, and inspires you to wander through Dallas beautiful surroundings and live life to the fullest!
Do you know of any amazing place to spend the weekend close to Dallas? Have you ever been to Caddo Lake? Were you as blown away by its beauty as I was? Leave a comment bellow!
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