DFW North Texas Scenic Drive suggestions

Good afternoon,

I am looking for some suggestions on where to drive my car outside of the city. I know there have been many events with the FCA (DFW) & other clubs that toured through more rural roads with curves, etc. I remember one that ended on a bluff where we had lunch.

I’ve been trying to find some routes on maps, but think it would be much better to get your suggestions. I’m looking to stay in North Dallas if possible.

Thanks in advance.

Tim


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FM455 from Pilot Point through Celina then straight across 289 all the way to 75. not a bad quick drive.

 

FM 455 and FM121 (not state highway 121) are both great driving roads. Go as far east or west from Central Hgwy 75 as you want.

 

All of these are FM (Farm Market) roads, west of I-35 and north of the Metroplex.

455, Slidell to Forestburg. Watch for wildlife/livestock up here. I've seen guinea fowl, javelina, feral hogs, deer and cattle on/near the road, infrequently, but enough to make you mindful when going around blind turns and when your view is blocked by hills.

730, from FM455 south to Decatur (be mindful of your speeds close to Decatur), esp. on US380 and US81/287.

1655, from Forestburg to Alvord.

922, Forestburg to Era.

373 from the junction with 922 to Muenster. This has been recently re-paved, but can be busy w/ frack trucks and the like.

677, Forestburg to St Jo (avoid when Rednecks w/ Paychecks events are on-going!)

1204 in and around Greenwood. Be careful though, the roads gets rough as you approach FM730. They're paved, but can be rutted.

Any of the roads north of US 82 from St Jo - Muenster are fun). Small towns to look up in that area w/ good roads are Capps Corner, Bulcher, Spanish Fort, Illinois Bend. There are a few wineries up near Bulcher - which is a ghost town - where you can day trip with SO, friends, etc. like Blue Ostrich, Arche, etc. but you will have to go off-pavement for a little bit near the final destination.

T

 

The portion of FM455 that goes over the dam is a nearly perfectly straight (small bend in the middle) 3 mile stretch with good visibility that makes an ideal place to do a high speed alignment check on your F-car. Run radar though as the Sanger popo have become a little more active up & around there in the past few years....T

 

I always loved the ride home to Bonham, from Sherman....FM69....

 

There are short stretches of US 69 from Lindale (hometown of the lovely & talented Miranda Lambert) to Emory that are fun in a sporty car...T

 

I just saw where the stretch of FM455 between Pilot Point and the Collin County line is beginning major construction and will be light controlled one lane traffic. There are ways around that section and I would shoot north to Tioga and grab FM121 east.

 

FM 121 east of Tioga is a nice stretch. I recall more suburbia encroachment the last time I drove it.

A little further north, FM 902 near Lake Kiowa is an OK drive. 3164 from Woodbine to the junction with 902 is better IMO. Just run radar as the popo have been known to stalk 3164.

In the same neighborhood, 372 from Gainesville to 922 junction is good. Just don't speed through the ghost town of Burns City. Sheriff is often there.

Lone Oak from 922 to I-35 is also good in that vicinity.

T

 

All of these look good but I second using FM 455 in Collin County. Start in Celina at State Highway 289 (also know as Preston Road here in the city) and follow it east to Highway 75 (Central Expressway) near Anna. This is a rural road with no run off or shoulders so don't go too crazy with the drifting. You will end up approximately 8 miles north of McKinney. Enjoy and report back.

 

Most of the roads suggested have been FM (Farm to Market) roads which living in Plano I drive quite a bit. I am also a member of the NTX car club which has a monthly drive through north Collin county and south Grayson county. We also use a lot of CR (County Roads) which intersect with the FM roads. Those are also good driving but you have to be careful as some of them are not as well maintained as the FM roads. The best bet is to just explore, you will end up somewhere interesting for sure.

 

Any good driving CRs to suggest out that way?

I tend to stay on FMs in Collin & Grayson County since I'm not as familiar and not sure which CRs are paved/unpaved. To be honest, I've taken to largely avoiding Collin County as it has become pretty overrun with suburban sprawl in the past decade.

I'm more familiar with Cooke, Denton, Montague and Wise. CRs there tend to be unpaved or pretty rough. There are some nice CRs in and around Greenwood in Wise County. Almost all paved, a few rough though.

T

P.s. In the past I used to take our Honda Ridgeline first to check out the roads before taking the F or P car for a run. There's more than a few CRs that start out paved and then get very rough and unpaved.

 

I'll be making a run out there in the next few weeks and I will see if I can come up with some numbers for you. As I said you do need to be careful on the CRs so pre running them first is a necessity . Up until I sold it last year I used to drive these roads in a 1,000+ HP Nissan GTR and it did get sketchy at times.

 

I took a drive yesterday on one of my favorite roads. I found it in good shape however since it involves mostly county roads (CR) they are a bit narrower, more crowned and with very limited shoulders. So the driver should beware. The route starts off of SH 121, northeast of McKinney. Turn off on to CR475. There is construction at that intersection but the road is open. Proceed south on CR475 being aware that at the bottom of the first hill the direction sign indicates a sharp turn left when in fact the road turns right and becomes CR472. Continue on that road south to FM 545. At that intersection you can go either east or west as FM545 is nice in either direction. Going east with lead you to SH 78 and going west will lead to US 75. Hope you enjoy the drive.

 

Thanks Tom.