thinking of going to dinosaur valley st park and thinking of staying in either waco or ft worth, looking for things to do in waco and don't see much on TripAdvisor etc...

Call Art Briles & the Waco PD. They will keep you out of trouble no matter what you do. It's the Waco way!

It pains me to contribute to a things to do in Waco thread but... I guess if you're already going to be there:

Texas Ranger Hall of Fame
Dr. Pepper Museum
The Silos
The Bear Pit (I assume they still have that)

Must have a Big-O at George's

I think you can tour the Balcones Distillery, I'm not sure about that.
There's a brewery called Bare Arms that's not bad - it's just off "The Circle".

There's some model airplane flying out at Speegleville Park.
If you're into mountain biking, allegedly Cameron Park is supposed to be pretty good.

A walk across the Suspension bridge is always fun - just be sure to come back across.

And of course, you can drive through all the crappy neighborhoods where Chip and Joanna have remodeled houses. And you can also cruise through the old Woodway neighborhoods from the 60s-70s since those show up a lot on their show.

All kidding aside, there's enough to do to keep from dying of boredom.

And depending on when you're going, there are lots of seasonal events.

Plenty of places to spend time:

Mayborne museum (great for kids)
Cameron park zoo (fun with or w/o kids)
Mammoth park (not much but still fun)
Silos a checklist item. As a local we don't go there, overpriced and touristy but still a good visit
Dr Pepper museum
Ranger hall of fame
Cameron park is fun for hiking and walking (don't go after dark)
Lots of other parks around the area
Balcones distillery does do tours and tastings.

I disagree on George's. Can't stand the food. Beer is cold but that's about it.

Food places:
Food trucks downtown
Diamondbacks for fancy steaks (it's ok, tried to be a Ruth's Chris, but not quite as good)
Ninfas is decent
Lolita's or leals for bfast burritos
Griffs for fried fish (if on a Friday)
Portifinos downtown for pizza or Italian. Their chicken Alfredo/spinach pizza is heart clogging perfection

Silos?

GoAgs92 said:

---

Silos?

---

Old grain silos that are kind of a centerpiece in a small, newish retail and culinary district downtown

GoAgs92 said:

---

Silos?

---

https://magnolia.com/silos/

What, no Hooters.

A lot depends on who is with you. Is your spouse going to come? Are either of y'all shoppers? If so the Magnolia Silos may be on a list to visit. If you've got kids with you, the zoo and Mayborn would probably be on the list. Sports nut? There's a Texas Sports Hall of Fame that's ok. The mammoth site is now a part of the national park system... I haven't been, but some people get their kicks from that. The bear pit is on Baylor campus, but it's pretty cool if it's warmish outside. They're active and there's several views of them so you can get close. I think Balcones requires tour registration, but I could be wrong there.

George's is like a local and slightly better Chili's but the Big O is a giant, very cold beer.
There's a couple BBQ trucks that are decent and worth checking out, Honky Tonk Kid BBQ was good, and Guess Family BBQ.
Our hole in the wall Italian place of choice is Baris. It's not otherworldly, but consistently solid and good price.

Thanks, will have kids and we all hate shopping.

Two teens and a 10 year old...forced into this low key vacation by the older 2 getting braces and killing the budget

just my opinion, go on to Fort Worth

GoAgs92 said:

---

Thanks, will have kids and we all hate shopping.

Two teens and a 10 year old...forced into this low key vacation by the older 2 getting braces and killing the budget

---

If you end up coming to Waco, I think we have some passes to the zoo and mayborne museum. We are annual members and always get a few free passes to give out to friends. Let me know and I would be happy to send you a couple to each place.

Yeah, with what you described, FW may be a more likable option for the teens.

must have bbq at Guess Family Barbecue (Thursday/Friday/Saturday)

https://www.facebook.com/guessfamilybarbecue/

We like to do Jacob's Ladder in Cameron Park. Also some of the hikes (during the day) are really good there.

The Farmer's Market on Saturday morning in downtown is pretty good. Hope it gets moved back by the river soon.

If you drive a bit, Meridian State Park is pretty nice. Don't have to go too far west to be darn near out in the Hill Country.

If you decide on Waco, suggest Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and I think the Texas Sports Hall of Fame is also there. Zoo is great for a small zoo, and the children's museum is also wonderful, but your kids may be a little old for it. Warmer weather has some water park type things but not for now.

Go to Crickets and drink beer

Made the Trek to Waco:

Went to Dinosaur Valley Park and it was a nice day so it was pretty fun
Ate at Portifino's, thanks for the suggestion
Drank beer at crickets and watched NCAA, thanks for the suggestion burger was good.
Went to the Mayborn Museum and it was a good little museum, even the older kids liked it.
Hiked up and down Jacob's ladder, would have been a deathtrap if still all wood and wet.
Went across the suspension bridge and back, took some good pics
Checked out the Baylor Bear habitat, it was hot so they were inside napping.

They were having "Spring at the Silos" which I thought would be a big flea market of antiques and eclectic crap but it was just a bunch of vendors selling the same stuff you can get anywhere (candles, clothes). The line to get into the Magnolia Bakery and market was way too long so we just walked around the outside, which was fine with me. Took the shuttle from McLane Stadium, it really did smell like raw sewage...Bano on the Brazos indeed!

the Guess food truck was at the silo event so we ended up eating BBQ at Coach's per a local guy's recommendation....it was good but small portions on the meat.

All in all I liked Waco quite a bit, seems like a nice place to live but not much of a vacation place and two to three days is about right.

Thought about hitting up the Fossil Rim animal thing but it was closed by the time we were done at Dinosaur Valley....seemed pricey for what you got anyhow.

and what exactly happens when it gets dark in Cameron park?

meth?

GoAgs92 said:

---

Thought about hitting up the Fossil Rim animal thing but it was closed by the time we were done at Dinosaur Valley....seemed pricey for what you got anyhow.

---

I've got some great pics of the kids in Fossil Rim. It's really pretty neat. Only place I've ever been where you can feed a giraffe from your window. It came right in through the sunroof too in order to get the food. The boys had loads of fun at that place.

GoAgs92 said:

---

and what exactly happens when it gets dark in Cameron park?

meth?

---

ACross the river is some less than desireable neighborhoods, the majority of which are subsidized or free housing for very low income tenants. A lot of criminal activity and drug dealing occurs in that area of town.... at night they tend to roam across the river into the Park and downtown areas. There is also a couple of homeless shanty tent homes hidden around, and again at night they tend to be more active.

GoAgs92 said:

---

and what exactly happens when it gets dark in Cameron park?

meth?

---

a friend who works Narcotics for Waco PD tells me that drugs are racial. Black people aren't meth users so, I doubt you'd find any meth in Cameron Park after dark.

I don't know if your Coach's BBQ is the same as the on in McGregor but, I love the Coach's BBQ in McGregor.

What is going on in Waco this weekend? Trying to find a hotel room for Friday when I'm down seeing my parents and everything is either sold or 40% higher than usual.

I'm 92% sure it isn't the Folsom Street leather festival.

I didn't even look at the users on this thread -- are you in Waco now HW??

No clue. Big weekend this past weekend, haven't heard of much going on this weekend. Have you checked the hotels on south 35 Robinson/Lorena or Woodway area?

HollywoodBQ said:

---

GoAgs92 said:

---

and what exactly happens when it gets dark in Cameron park?

meth?

---

a friend who works Narcotics for Waco PD tells me that drugs are racial. Black people aren't meth users so, I doubt you'd find any meth in Cameron Park after dark.

---

Your buddy wouldn't have the initials of K.C.? Guy I know in WaconPd narc has told me the same.

Whites meth
Mexicans weed
Blacks -crack/weed

Heck, you don't need a narcs connection to tell you that. I worked at La Vega and could've told you that... except all races like the ganja.

Quote:

---

Have you checked the hotels on south 35 Robinson/Lorena or Woodway area?

---

The Woodway area is basically where I stay because my parents live around there, though in Waco's city limits. Hampton Inn south, where we don't really stay anymore, is 40 bucks higher than the HIGHEST I've ever seen it there.

It isn't that big of a deal.

SoulSlaveAG2005 said:

---

HollywoodBQ said:

---

GoAgs92 said:

---

and what exactly happens when it gets dark in Cameron park?

meth?

---

a friend who works Narcotics for Waco PD tells me that drugs are racial. Black people aren't meth users so, I doubt you'd find any meth in Cameron Park after dark.

---

Your buddy wouldn't have the initials of K.C.? Guy I know in WaconPd narc has told me the same.

Whites meth
Mexicans weed
Blacks -crack/weed

---

No, initials G.G.

91AggieLawyer said:

---

I didn't even look at the users on this thread -- are you in Waco now HW??

---

Headed to Waco Friday night for the weekend.