Fort Worth is the 12th-largest city in the United States, known for Texas hospitality and a dozen remarkable districts full of culture and fun. In only a few days, you can enjoy an incredible range of unexpected things to do in Fort Worth, making for an awesome Fort Worth bucket list.
Check out some of our absolute favorite activities in Fort Worth that are worth adding to your bucket list.
Fort Worth Bucket List
Fort Worth Zoo
No Fort Worth bucket list would be complete without a visit to the Fort Worth Zoo. It’s home to more than 7,000 native and exotic animals and several indoor and outdoor exhibits. The Fort Worth Zoo provides an entire day of fun for any family.
Some of the different habitats at the zoo include the African Savanna, Elephant Springs, Stingray Cove, Australian Outback, Flamingo Bay, and Parrot Paradise.
Additionally, the Fort Worth Zoo’s Museum of Living Art (MOLA) is a premier, award-winning herpetarium. It brings guests eye-to-eye with some of the most exotic and endangered species on the planet. The 30,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor facility houses more than 250 amphibian and reptile species, representing more than 5,700 animals.
Safari Splash is a new addition at the Fort Worth Zoo. It’s a 14,000 square-foot splash area equipped with four slides, a water dump tower, a fill wall for your water toys, animal-shaped water cannons, and a designated toddler play area.
For an additional $5 with Zoo admission, enjoy Safari Splash before or after a trip through the Zoo.
Let’s not forget the Outdoor Learning Theater complete with shaded seating and a stage with behind-the-scenes areas. The Outdoor Learning Theater offers the zoo an opportunity to share invaluable conservation information through live animal shows by Animal Outreach staff featuring native Texas animals such as a great horned owl and alligators.
With all these activities and more, it’s easy to understand why the Fort Worth Zoo is ranked one of the top zoos in the country each year.
Fort Worth Stockyards
Once home to cowboys, cattlemen, and outlaws, today the Stockyards National Historic District is one of the most popular attractions in Texas. Day and night, visitors come to the Stockyards to get a taste of the true American West.
The Old West comes to life before your eyes during the world’s only twice-daily cattle drive presented by the Fort Worth Herd. Real Texas cowhands drive a herd of Texas longhorns down East Exchange Avenue in the Stockyards National Historic District every day at 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m..
Stockyards Station is full of shopping surprises, with more than 20 spots to browse for cowboy boots, leather goods, jewelry, and souvenirs. Additionally, Mule Alley is lined with exclusive stores by Lucchese Bootmaker, Wrangler, and MB Mercantile.
The Stockyards are filled with Texas-style cuisine at restaurants like Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, Hunter Brothers’ H3 Ranch, or Cattlemen’s Steak House.
Billy Bob’s Texas is the world’s largest honky-tonk. The club has almost three acres under one roof with its own indoor rodeo arena for exciting live bull riding every Friday and Saturday, a Texas-sized dance floor, dozens of bar stations, a full restaurant featuring delicious food, a late night pizza kitchen, arcade games, a Wall of Fame with celebrity handprints, and a gift shop.
The Cattle Pen Maze is another unique form of entertainment for the entire family found at Fort Worth Stockyards. With over 5,400 square feet of frequently changed wooden pathways, resembling the cattlepens of the Old West, the maze is always a challenge. Maze runners can compete against the clock and each other, attempting to locate checkpoints throughout the maze.
SeaQuest Interactive Aquarium
SeaQuest Interactive Aquarium Fort Worth takes you on an adventure through rainforests, deserts, and the depths of the seas. With exciting exhibits and activities for families and children of all ages, you’ll be able to get wet with the stingrays, feed the toucans, marvel at the sharks, interact with sloths, take selfies with the snakes, and more.
National Cowgirl Museum
The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth is the only museum in the world dedicated to honoring women of the American West. This vibrant museum is an entertaining and intriguing look at the contributions of bold women who have displayed extraordinary courage and a pioneering spirit in their trail blazing efforts.
You’ll be amazed as you walk through the 33,000 square feet of space devoted to interactive exhibits, rare photographs, fascinating artifacts, a traveling exhibit gallery, and theater presentations.
Botanic Gardens
The captivating beauty of the oldest botanic garden in Texas was the most surprisingly amazing visit during our Fort Worth experiences. Home to more than 2,500 species of plants in its 23 specialty gardens, Fort Worth’s Botanic Gardens are like stepping into a fairytale.
Plan a visit to the world-renowned Japanese Garden, where the koi-filled pools, sculptured hillsides, crafted stonework and dramatic waterfalls provide a view of exotic conservation. Or explore the winding paths of luxuriant tropical foliage in the 10,000-square-foot Conservatory.
Don’t miss the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens.
iFLY Fort Worth
At iFLY Fort Worth, you get all the excitement of skydiving without having to jump out of an airplane.
iFLY’s vertical wind tunnel creates a wall-to-wall cushion of air on which you can safely float. Children as young as three, to adults as old (or young at heart) as 103 can fly at iFLY. It’s safe for kids yet still challenging for adults.
Bowlounge
With a curated craft beer program, extensive whiskey collection, scratch kitchen, and loads of games, including vintage Brunswick pinsetters that bring back the true entertainment of bowling, Bowlounge is the perfect place for an evening of entertainment for the entire family.
Fort Worth Bucket List Accommodations
Hyatt Place TCU Fort Worth
Hyatt Place TCU offers150 guest rooms, the rooftop Lot12 bar, free breakfast, 3500 square foot ballroom with partition-ready meeting and conference spaces, swimming pool and deck, and multiple-use public spaces.
Named after the original TCU lot 12 parking area, the shaded and breezy rooftop bar serves up breathtaking views of the campus and Downtown Fort Worth. Its menu features a selection of beer, wine, and cocktails, along with shareable bites like peanut butter and jelly wings, sandwiches, loaded nachos, and fries.
Fort Worth Bucket List Food at Lot 12 TCU
TAILGATE FRIES
Shiner Bock beer cheese fondue, queso fresco, pico, and hardwood smoked bacon
Among Lot 12’s most notable highlights are two Topgolf Swing Suites. They are outfitted with simulation technology that allow guests to play a virtual round of golf, baseball, football, or a number of other sports. The only other site that has Topgolf simulators is in Houston, putting Lot 12 TCU on the top of our Fort Worth bucket list for accommodations and entertainment.
Omni Fort Worth Hotel
Omni Fort Worth Hotel is another Fort Worth bucket list option if you want to experience the heart of Fort Worth’s exciting downtown. The hotel stands adjacent to the expanded Fort Worth Convention Center and within walking distance from the city’s burgeoning cultural centers, restaurants, and nightlife.
Omni Fort Worth Hotel offers CDC-Certified Enhanced Cleaning Procedures, 614 guest rooms & suites, free & paid WiFi, 24-hour fully equipped fitness center, Mokara Spa, heated outdoor pool and bar, Bob’s Steak & Chop House, concierge, Starbucks Coffee, and valet parking. You could make an entire bucket list just for Omni Fort Worth Hotel.
