1. Gaylord Texan
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (817) 778-2000
Address: 1501 Gaylord Trail
Description: You’ll know you’re in Texas when you enter the Gaylord, because everything here is larger than life. At the center of the massive complex is a facade of the Alamo, and pathways leading to various meeting areas, guest rooms, and a multitude of restaurants and shops that emulate San Antonio’s famous River Walk. There are 1,511 luxurious guest rooms, including 127 suites. Each room offers wireless Internet, two phones, in-room coffee, refrigerator, double vanities, and a laptop charger in the safe. Dining includes the posh Old Hickory Steakhouse for Black Angus beef, artisanal cheeses, and a remarkable wine list; Southwestern cuisine in a courtyard setting at Ama Lur; Texan Station, a sports fans’ dream, with two bars and a 52-foot screen; the Riverwalk Café, the everyday family restaurant; and Glass Cactus, a nightclub overlooking Lake Grapevine and offering the largest list of tequilas in the state.
2. Great Wolf Lodge
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (817) 488-6510
Address: 100 Great Wolf Lodge
Description: Just about five minutes from the airport is this 400-room property that is all about keeping moms, dads, and kids happy. Suites sleep from four to eight guests, and each suite has styling that includes granite countertops and mini-refrigerators. Kids sleep in their own “wolf den,” a cave-like area with bunk beds, movies, and Nintendo on their own flat-screen LCD TV. Parents hang out in their own part of the suite, with a queen bed and full-size sleeper sofa. When it’s playtime, the options are mind-boggling: There’s Fort Mackenzie, a four-story interactive treehouse water fort where everyone gets soaked on 12 different levels, complete with slides, bridges, soaker buckets, and more. For teens, there’s the gr8_space, with Internet access, iPod and other mp3 docking stations, all sorts of gaming options, and video watching. An arcade is on-site, too, and for moms (and dads) who need to really chill, there’s a full-service Aveda spa, with massage, manicure, pedicure, facial, and more on the menu. Be sure to ask for packages, many of which may include special room deals at slower times of the year and may be combined with spa and meal options, too.
3. Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Education
Telephone: (817) 251-5200
Address: 3051 Ira E. Woods Ave.
Description: Covering more than 54 square miles, the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD offers 17 traditional schools and two alternative campuses, with a total attendance of about 14,000 students. There are 11 elementary schools, four middle schools, two high schools, two alternative schools, and one early childhood development center. The high school graduation rate is 95 percent.
4. Southlake Carroll Independent School District
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Education
Telephone: (817) 949-8222
Address: 3051 Dove Rd.
Description: A multitude of state awards has gone to Carroll ISD, which offers 11 schools serving nearly 8,000 students. There are five elementary schools, two intermediate schools, two middle schools, and two high schools. Roughly 98 percent of graduating seniors go to college. The football program has been enormously successful, winning several state titles in recent years.
5. La Buena Vida
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 481-9463
Address: 416 East College St.
Description: A winery in Grapevine’s historic quarter offers a tasting room and lovely patio, giving you a place to sip wines from Texas and the world. On weekends, there’s live music, too. Graze on appetizers, shop for wine accessories, and meet other people doing the same.
6. Cowboys Golf Course
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (817) 481-7277
Address: 1600 Fairway Dr.
Description: This jewel is believed to be the world’s first NFL-themed golf club. A sports-fan favorite noted for stone markers that proclaim various Dallas Cowboy achievements, it covers 159 acres. It’s an 18-hole course with private lessons and plenty of pretty scenery.
7. Horseshoe Trails, Snaky Lane Park
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 2099 Hood Lane
Description: A 119-acre park unfolds along Lake Grapevine through the woods, with ribbons of walking trails and mountain-biking paths coursing through. There are picnic tables on one end of the park and soccer fields at adjacent Oak Grove Park.
8. Lake Grapevine
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (817) 481-4541
Address: 110 Fairway Dr.
Description: This is the huge body of water you see when landing at DFW Airport. Around the 8,000-acre lake, look for campgrounds, picnic areas, numerous boat ramps, fishing spots, marinas, and hiking-and-biking trails and trails for horseback riding along 146 miles of shoreline.
9. Dove Pool
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (817) 410-8140
Address: 1509 Hood Lane
Description: You can swim laps here early on Monday and Wednesday mornings. There are swimming lessons, a kids’ pool, diving board, and more.
10. Grapevine Senior Activities Center
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Relocation
Telephone: (817) 410-8130
Address: 421 Church St.
Description: With a gorgeous campus of Georgian redbrick buildings in the elite neighborhood of University Park, this private school with about 11,000 students offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs through seven schools, specifically humanities and sciences; business; the performing, visual, and communication arts; engineering; education and human development; law; and theology. Additional campuses are in Plano and Taos, New Mexico. Of special interest is the statistic that SMU’s 10 libraries house the largest private collection of research materials in the Southwest; SMU was recently ranked in Forbes magazine as the 13th best university in the United States; and it houses a superior collection of Spanish art at the internationally acclaimed Meadows Museum. Founded in 1911, SMU is nonsectarian in its teaching. SMU’s athletic teams are the Mustangs.
11. Design & Grace
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (817) 421-9518
Address: 419 South Main St.
Description: For cooking and entertaining, this is a necessary place. Magnificent finds from Italy, Germany, Denmark, France, and Austria are here, making everything from a coffee gathering to a grand dinner party a pleasure to host. Every imaginable kitchen gadget is stocked here, and there are serving pieces you’d expect to find in shops in New York or San Francisco.
12. Grapevine Mills
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (872) 724-4900
Address: 3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway
Description: Found just two miles north of DFW Airport, this behemoth shopping center offers 1.6 million square feet of shopping and entertainment. More than 180 stores include discounted goods at names like Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret, Forever 21, Old Navy, Group USA, Oakley Vault, Ann Taylor Loft, Coach House Gifts, NIKE outlet, The Disney Store, JCPenney, Marshalls, Neiman Marcus Last Call Clearance Center, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, Banana Republic, and J. Crew. There’s a 30-screen movie theater showing first-run films, and there’s a lot to eat at Rainforest Café, Corner Bakery Café, Starbucks, Steak n Shake, Cozymel’s, and Chili’s Too, among numerous restaurants.
13. Bass Pro Shops
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (972) 724-2018
Address: 2501 Bass Pro Dr.
Description: Get over the idea that Bass Pro Shops are just about fishing. They’ve grown into a place that serves everyone interested in the outdoors, whether for hunting, camping, hiking, outdoor cooking, or more. There are private appointments for gunsmithing, too, and there are workshops for golf, fly-fishing, and hunting.
14. Gameworks At Grapevine Mills Mall
City: Grapevine, TX
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (972) 539-6757
Address: 3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway
Description: Admission is free at this massive play space for young and not-as-young. Games include virtual bowling, Deal or No Deal, UFO Catcher, Sega Rally 3, and much more, plus darts and pool, too. There’s a full restaurant and bar, as well.