It’s the season of love, y’all, but having a great date in Dallas/Fort Worth doesn’t have to be centered on Valentine’s Day-related events whatsoever. The year-round accessibility of these date ideas make them flirty fun any day, any week, any month. So even if you’re stumbling upon this post well into April, you can find ways to celebrate life, love, and the pursuit of conscious coupling long after Cupid’s gone into hibernation. And most of these date ideas even work for platonic friends.
Get high (really high) with your date
Redbird The classic dinner-and-a-show combo always makes for an enjoyable-but-inside-the-box date night, but you can up the ante considerably when the show takes place outside the window of an aircraft. At Delta Charlie’s, you and your sweetheart can enjoy a three-course meal followed by a private sightseeing tour of Dallas after sunset. Prices vary, but it’s worth every penny.
Courtesy of Gondola Adventures, Inc.
Courtesy of Gondola Adventures, Inc.
Capture a Venice vibe on a gondola in Las Colinas
Las Colinas Navigate through the Mandalay Canal and Lake Carolyn on a gondola complete with a gondolier in black-and-white strips carrying a big stick. Choose from breakfast, lunch, and dinner options-fancy or casual-and see the city from a completely different vantage point. Cruises start at $155 and go up to $425 depending on whether you have a meal, plus various other optional upgrades. The best part: It’s gondola tradition to kiss every time you go under a bridge.
Far North Dallas You can get a couples massage at just about any spa these days, but it’s a much rarer treat to learn the proper techniques to massage each other. You can take a group class, but we think a private three-hour class definitely makes for a more personalized date. At $243, it’s almost as affordable as most couples massages, but once you take the class you can massage each other over and over again for free!
Bonton Show how much you care about animals (and people!) by volunteering your time at Bonton Farms. Sign up for weekend and weekday slots and you could soon be feeding baby goats, milking mama goats, harvesting plants, taking care of chickens, or assembling food bags for neighbors in need. It’s an opportunity to get dirty in a field with your date and you won’t even have to join FarmersOnly.com.
Downtown Dallas Curious if your Tinder date is into pre-Raphaelites or digs pop art more? You’ll get your answer at the Dallas Museum of Art. Best of all, general admission to permanent exhibitions remains free while special exhibits can be accessed for a nominal fee. New safety measures include a reduction of gallery capacity, face masks are required, and tickets must be reserved in advance for specific time slots.
North Dallas OK, maybe you can’t perfectly execute a split leap, but-still-what’s more fun than year-round indoor ice skating at the Galleria? Even if you’re both terrible at ice skating, there’s always the fun bonus of either holding hands to brace each other or, if the date isn’t going well, taking them down with you when you fall. It’s a nice metaphor for relationships, if you think about it. Admission is $12 during public skating hours, and skate rental is $5. Social distancing and masks are required throughout your visit.
Frisco Did you forget that you called yourself a “fearless badass who loves to be extreme with five Xs” in your dating profile bio? Now it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. iFly offers indoor skydiving inside a giant wind tunnel. It’s not cheap-as in, $80 for two flights per person “not cheap”-but it’s great for photo ops or proving that, yes, you would totally jump out of a plane without actually having to jump out of a plane. But if you don’t have a fear of flying, mask requirements and other safety measures in effect won’t be a big deal whatsoever.
Stroll all over the city and learn stuff at your own pace
Multiple locations Right now, group sightseeing tours have lost a lot of their appeal. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still learn about our great city. With GPSmyCity, you can take any of 10 self-guided tours around town for an annual subscription of only $12.99. That means you could have 10 dates, each with a different theme ranging from public art in Deep Ellum to an informative stroll around the Arts District. And if things go well, your subscription gets you access to walking tours in 480 cities worldwide-perhaps one would be perfect on your honeymoon.
Fort Worth Zoo
Fort Worth Zoo
Squeal at the baby giraffe & toddler gorilla of Fort Worth Zoo
Fort Worth The Fort Worth Zoo has won awards for how great it is. And, besides, everyone loves getting a photo with a baby animal. Two of the most popular include a new giraffe born last June or the nearly five-year-old toddler gorilla, Gus, the first ever to be born at the Fort Worth Zoo. While there you can experience guided walking tours, see any of its 540 animal species (except elephants, whose Elephant Springs habitat returns later this year at triple the size), or simply relax and take in the calls of the wild. Admission is just $16 (half price on Wednesdays), and tickets must be purchased in advance for specific entry times. Face masks and social distancing required.
Stare in awe at elephants and hippos at Dallas Zoo
South Dallas If a trip to the zoo simply isn’t a trip to the zoo without seeing elephants frolicking around (or Fort Worth is too much of a trek for a first date from your Dallas home base), then Dallas Zoo’s got you covered. The Giants of the Savannah habitat reopened with the entire park and like many sections now requires timed entry to control crowd size. But that’s a bonus because you and your date can have quality canoodling time with fewer people staring you down for PDA in front of pachyderms. In addition to controlled entry times, face masks, social distancing, and advance reservations will all be required for entry to the zoo.
Oak Cliff While the auditorium has reopened to very limited capacity at the historic theater where Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for his role in the JFK assassination, the parking lot behind the theater has become the place to watch a movie that probably doesn’t fit into the typical blockbuster mold (Zombie Death House, perhaps?). Space is limited to 35 vehicles for the $15 – $20-per-car screenings, and upcoming films are announced on their Instagram page first, so that’s worth following to be in-the-know before anyone else. Snacks and beverages can be ordered online in advance or during the screening and delivered right to your car for a truly well-rounded date night.
East Dallas/Fair Park The wildly colorful, completely immersive art experience appropriately known as Rainbow Vomit wants to give you a date night for the record books. Sure, you can join a socially distant, limited-size group for $17 – $40 per person, but if you really want to make an impression, rent out the whole space for an hour. It’s BYOB so it could end up much cheaper than a typical Dallas bar tab for a night out anyway. Plus, unlike any nightspot in town, this one comes with its own life-size dancing unicorn for good measure.
Downtown Dallas Since 2003, the Nasher Sculpture Center has treated Dallas to some of the most stunning works of sculpture in the world-from artists like Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Auguste Rodin. For $10, an afternoon there is the best way to wow your date with real sculpture knowledge or let one of the Nasher’s staff do the heavy lifting by dropping some fascinating sculpture facts on them. The sculpture center, like pretty much everywhere in town, has face mask requirements and contactless admission procedures in place.
Fort Worth Sure, a 1970s sci-fi classic about a society in which anyone over 30 is killed off isn’t necessarily the most obvious theme for a successful date. But the Phillip Johnson-designed Fort Worth Water Gardens, where pivotal scenes in the movie were filmed, still make for a fun time full of hand-holding and puddle-jumping, though a few areas of the gardens may remain closed due to visitors being unable to social distance. Another bonus of the free water gardens-they’re a short distance away from great conversation starters like the twice-daily cattle drives featuring the Fort Worth Herd or Friday and year-round Saturday night rodeos.
Trinity Groves If you’re set on the whole get-to-know-you over a meal thing, at least pair it with a nice view. In the Trinity Groves area, you have your pick of restaurants from Holy Crust for a unique style of pizza to all-things-avocado at AvoEatery and plant-based delights at V-Eats Modern Vegan. Best of all, there are large outdoor patios for socially distant dining al fresco. After you’re done with lunch or dinner, walk over to the Ron Kirk Pedestrian Bridge for a romantic Bridgerton-worthy promenade set against one of the best views of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and the majestic Dallas skyline.
Multiple locations If you’re good at golf, you can impress your date. If you’re bad at golf, you can both laugh at each other. The best part: There are plenty of heaters when it’s cool, and shade and fans at Topgolf when it’s hot. Order some drinks and snacks, and if you want to make it interesting: Loser picks up the tab. Face masks are required upon entry to the building until you get to your bay.
Go on a boat ride for two at White Rock
White Rock Lake Get a little exercise by taking a kayak or canoe ride on White Rock Lake. White Rock Paddle Co. is open daily to get you decked out with your life vest and everything you’ll need to set sail. If you really want to make it special, plan your ride in time to marvel at the sunset, allowing enough time to get back to the dock when the Paddle Co. closes at sundown. Masks are required during the rental process, but once you’re out on the lake, any clothing or accessory removal will be at your discretion.
Downtown/Uptown While this may seem obvious, Klyde Warren Park is truly one of the jewels of Dallas and a superb outdoor space to meet up with a special person once the weather gets a few degrees warmer. The view from the park that connects Downtown and Uptown is always breathtaking, particularly after sunset. You can either bring a packed picnic for two or peruse the vast array of food trucks that always line the park’s edge or order takeout from a nearby restaurant. Some activities and attractions have been limited or closed for safety measures, but movie nights, yoga, and other perfect-for-couples options still remain on the calendar.
Virtual The ultimate test of any relationship is figuring out whether you and your date can cook a meal together without going all Gordon Ramsay on each other. In lieu of their in-studio instruction, you can sign up for online cooking classes for only $29 per household in the comfort of your kitchen or your date’s. Select from global flavors classes, including Greek kabobs or Baja shrimp tacos, as well as summer-friendly fare and cocktail how-to’s. Download the prep kit in advance, buy the necessary ingredients, and you’ll be on your way to a memorable meal in no time. Recreating the Lady & the Tramp spaghetti-eating scene remains optional.
Oak Cliff, South Dallas For an endorphin rush you’ll probably both appreciate, you could certainly do worse than either of these gorgeous multi-mile hikes through hundreds of acres of rolling wilderness and bike/hike trails. Perhaps you can even share your trail mix with each other while assigning names to the river otters and other wildlife scampering across the path in front of you. For a little adrenaline rush, check out Trinity Forest Adventure Park with various ziplines, the longest clocking in at 100-feet.
Fort Worth This special section of Fort Worth’s famous Botanical Garden features strolling paths lined with traditional Japanese landscape as well as ponds. Its breathtaking beauty and tranquility are sure to impress your date and put you both in a calmer state of mind than the one you had when you walked in. Admission is $12, and face masks are only required indoors and when social distancing can’t be observed.
East Dallas/White Rock Lake Not only are the gardens at the Dallas Arboretum perfect for photo ops, it’s also quiet there and usually not too crowded-especially now with no other people within six feet of you and your date. Best of all, because it’s outdoors, face masks aren’t necessary unless you’re in an area where social distancing can’t be practiced. Tickets and parking must be purchased in advance for four-hour chunks of time, which is an acceptable chore for getting some much-needed fresh air and scenic views of White Rock Lake.Sign up here for our daily Dallas email and be the first to get all the food/drink/fun DFW has to offer.
The cold weather in most parts of Australia coinciding with EOFY celebrations is the closest thing that we’ll get to snowy Christmas vibes. And if you’re in dire need of some festive cheer after the first six months of 2023, grab your ugly sweater and head to your nearest Red Rooster for Xmas in July deals.
From June 29 – July 31, 2023, Red Rooster is serving up free food items, a chance to win $10,000 or one of 10 merch packs valued at $400 and other fun prizes. All you have to do is sign up as a Red Royalty member and spend $5 on at a location near you or online.
Each week there’ll be new delicious deals and prizes to win. The week one deals have already dropped and they’re looking pretty tasty. You can get access to them via your Red Royalty account. The more you purchase, the more chances you have to win.
Spoiler alert: you can get 10 chicken nuggets for free, right now. Brb running to Red Rooster.
