Dallas to Buffalo road trip: Best stops, distance & time

Planning a Dallas to Buffalo road trip itinerary

The Dallas to Buffalo drive connects north Texas to Lake Erie in New York State.

Dallas has plenty of high quality cultural attractions. These include the Nasher Scupture Center, Pioneer Square and the Perot Museum of Science and Nature.

But for many visitors, the main reason to visit Dallas is the JFK assassination. Yes, you can go up to the Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly took his shot from.

Top Dallas experiences include a JFK Assassination and Museum tour, the GeO-Deck at Reunion Tower and a self-guided scavenger hunt.

Good places to stay in Dallas with a pool include the sassy Kimpton Pittman downtown and the historic Warwick Melrose near Turtle Creek.

The best way to combine the JFK sites in Dallas is a special themed tour. This takes in the JFK Memorial, Dealey Plaza and the Grassy Knoll before heading to Lee Harvey Oswald’s rooming house. It finishes in the Sixth Floor Museum of the Texas Book Depository. On the way, expert guides take you through the assassination facts and theories. Find out more here.

Buffalo is often written off as the gateway to Niagara Falls, but there’s more to the city than that. Cultural highlights include Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House, the Buffalo Museum of Science and the Buffalo AKG Art Museum.

The waterside Buffalo Harbor State Park, meanwhile, offers paddleboard and kayak rentals plus a beach and playgrounds.

Good experiences in Buffalo include Best of Buffalo double decker bus tours, a history of chicken wings food tour and the Theodore Roosevelt Inauguration National Historic Site.

For excellent places to stay in Buffalo, try the historic landmark Richardson Hotel or the charming Hotel at the Lafayette.

Dallas to Buffalo distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Dallas to Buffalo is 1,369 miles. You can expect a driving time of around 20 hours. The best stops to add to a Dallas to Buffalo road trip itinerary are Hot Springs AR, Nashville TN and Columbus OH. This is based on roughly even distances between stops, but there are plenty of other options.

For more suggestions, check out the guides to the individual legs of the drive.

Dallas to Buffalo road trip attractions: Hot Springs, Arkansas

Hot Springs in the Ouachita Mountains has loads to do. The natural highlight is Hot Springs National Park, which strings thermal springs together on a series of hiking trails. The historic bathhouses are also part of the national park.

There are also several amusement parks, of which Magic Springs is arguably the best as it has a water park.

Other Hot Springs experiences include zip line adventures and the Star Wars and superhero-obsessed Galaxy Connection.  

For well-rated Hot Springs accommodation with charm, go for the Hilltop Manor B&B or the Gables Inn.

Best stops between Dallas and Buffalo: Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is renowned for its country music, but the National Museum of African American Music is also in the Tennessee capital.

The best Nashville experiences include backstage tours of the Grand Ole Opry House, helicopter flights over the city and tasting tours at the Big Machine Distillery. You can also try line dancing classes, the Country Music Hall of Fame and haunted pub crawls. Or, for lavish old homes, visit Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, the Travellers Rest Historic House Museum and Belmont Mansion.

Excellent Nashville accommodation choices include the gloriously evocative Belle Air Mansion and Inn, plus downtown’s grand dame, the Hermitage.

You can save money in Nashville by combining a tour ticket with admission to two top attractions. These combo tickets give you a half day tour of the main sights, plus entrance to the Ryman Auditorium and Country Music Hall of Fame. Find out more here.

Dallas to Buffalo drive: Columbus, Ohio

In Columbus, a three day attractions pass covers most of the top sights. These include the Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. For other Columbus experiences, try scavenger hunts, a town tour aboard the Trolley Pub and the Legoland Discovery Center.

Buffalo, New York.
Buffalo, New York. Photo by bapreston/ Pixabay.

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