Lakes Trail Region
McKinney
Downtown’s historic district sports 100 shops, a dozen restaurants and a luxury hotel that housed the 1880s mercantile and opera house of brothers Stephen and John Heard. Stephen Heard’s restored Victorian mansion…
Texas Lakes Trail Cities and Towns
Find your adventure in the cities and towns of the Texas Lakes Trail Region.
Browse Cities
Lakes Trail Region
Mesquite
Few settlers moved to Mesquite until 1873 when the Texas and Pacific Railway built a station and platted the town. The exception was David and Julie Florence who built a clapboard ranch…
Lakes Trail Region
Muenster
Three land agent brothers--Anton, August and Emil Flusche--attracted German immigrants to farm fertile blacklands along lines of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad. A Catholic mass on December 8, 1889 marked the…
Lakes Trail Region
Nocona
For a small town Nocona claims a big heritage with national influence. Taovaya Indians lived for three centuries along the Red River north of town. They moved to Indian Territory by the…
Lakes Trail Region
Paris
PARIS, TEXAS-STYLE The community of Paris, Texas has often endured comparisons to the City of Light, an association that has little to offer beyond the name. The other Paris was, after all…
Lakes Trail Region
Pilot Point
HOME OF “THE REGULATORS” In the mid-1800s, the city of Pilot Point, strategically located along a high ridge, offered a vital waypoint for both settlers and Native Americans traversing the region. The…
Lakes Trail Region
Plano
You may be over one hundred years too late to witness the great cattle drives that once traveled the Shawnee Trail through Plano but you can still see a bronze sculpture commemoration…
Lakes Trail Region
Roanoke
A SHOT AND A CHASER AT SNEAD’S PLACE When you step into the Roanoke Visitors Center and Museum, you’ll be entering a Texas Landmark built in 1886 and constructed of native stone…
Lakes Trail Region
Rockwall
ALL ROCK, ALL NATURAL The citizens of Rockwall have been debating the source of their “rock walls”, subterranean sandstone dikes and surface outcrops that look like human-made walls, for almost a century…
Lakes Trail Region
Royse City
A CITY IN PHOTOGRAPHS When Kentuckian Garrett Burgess Griffin Royse first platted the town site of Royse City in 1886 he undoubtedly had no idea this Texas Main Street City would still…
Lakes Trail Region
Saint Jo
U.S. Army expeditions and California-bound gold seekers drank from the headwaters of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River in 1849. A settlement called Head of Elm served drinks to cattle drovers…
Lakes Trail Region
Seymour
The history of Seymour dates back to prehistoric times. Fossils that were collected in the 1800's and sent to Harvard were stored away until in 1939 when the box of bones were…
Lakes Trail Region
Sulphur Springs
Originally Bright Star, the town became Sulphur Springs in 1871, when entrepreneurs used nearby mineral springs to promote the place as a health resort. In 1894, the town got its own J…
Lakes Trail Region
Terrell
The story of Terrell’s significant WWII history unfolds at the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum. Special exhibits honor the Women Airforce Service Pilots based at Love Field, as well as…
Lakes Trail Region
The Colony
The Colony is known as the City by the Lake since it is built around Lake Lewisville. The Colony was part of the historic Peters colony that covered a large portion of…
Lakes Trail Region
Vernon
A short drive north of Vernon lies a humble adobe building that remains a touchstone of the Texas cowboy culture. In 1881 the first Wilbarger County settlers, the Doan family, built a…
Lakes Trail Region
Waxahachie
Few courthouses inspire like the Romanesque Revival-style 1897 Ellis County Courthouse. Architect J. Riely Gordon used red limestone and pink granite for the iconic edifice, which boasts a nine-story clock tower and…
Lakes Trail Region
Weatherford
Cattle drovers, Hollywood stars and English gardens? Find them all in picturesque Weatherford. Start at the Second Empire-style 1886 Parker County Courthouse in the heart of a lively downtown square with boutique…
Lakes Trail Region
Whitney
The great cattle drives along the Chisholm Trail passed near present day Lake Whitney. Kimball Bend Park is a reminder of Kimball’s Crossing on this important cattle route. Today, it’s a popular…
Lakes Trail Region
Wichita Falls
A statue of Wichita Indians marks the crossing of the Wichita River where a 54-foot waterfall now welcomes visitors to Wichita Falls. The adjacent River Bend Nature Center showcases native ecosystems in…
Lakes Trail Region
Wills Point
Wills Point is on U.S. Highway 80, 50 miles east of Dallas in northwestern Van Zandt County. The name Wills Point, or Wills Place is from the family of tax assessor William…