Dallas to NYC road trip: Best stops, distance and drive time

Planning a Dallas to NYC road trip itinerary

The Dallas to New York City drive takes you from north Texas to the Big Apple.

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.

Highlights of New York City include the Empire State Building, the 9/11 Memorial Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and the American Museum of Natural History.

For great New York tours, try the boat trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, a night time city lights helicopter flight and a Greenwich village food tour.

More unusual options include catacombs tours, a round-Manhattan architecture cruise and a guided exploration of Grand Central Station’s secrets.

You seriously need to shop around to find affordable New York City accommodation. Start looking for deals here.

Dallas to New York City distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Dallas to New York City is 1,552 miles. You can expect a driving time of around 23 hours and 18 minutes. The best stops to add to a Dallas to New York City road trip itinerary are Memphis, Pigeon Forge and Charlottesville.

Best stops between Dallas and New York City: Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee, is a pilgrimage site for Elvis fans. The King’s Graceland mansion is one of the top tourist sites in the US. But the cultural heritage extends beyond music, as you’ll discover on an African-American history tour.

Try the Rock and Soul Museum, plus the Memphis Music Hall of Fame and the 19th century Woodruff-Fontaine House.

Ways of seeing the city include ghost walks, Downtown food tours and musical bus tours. There are also guided walks down music central, Beale Street, and city tours that take you inside the legendary Sun Studios.

Top Memphis accommodation options include the Peabody, famous for its marching ducks, and the Guesthouse at Graceland.

Dallas to New York City drive: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Pigeon Forge is popular because of its close proximity to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the US. But so many attractions have built up around the resort town that it’s now much more than a gateway.

Most famous of these is Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme park, but there’s also the Titanic Museum, the Beyond The Lens interactive museum and the Rocky Top Mountain Coaster.

Other Pigeon Forge experiences include small group jeep tours in the mountains, guided ATV adventures and wine plus moonshine tours.

Pigeon Forge is also known for its evening shows, whether Elvis tributes, Motown performances, lumberjack feuds or country music extravaganzas.

Dallas to NYC road trip attractions: Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville is home to the prestigious University of Virginia. This college town can be used as a base for exploring local wineries on a wine tour or craft cider makers.

Other Charlottesville experiences include food tours and self-drive audio tours in Shenandoah National Park.   

The real reason to visit Charlotteville, however, is Monticello. The home of polymath president Thomas Jefferson is architecturally stunning and the tours are endlessly fascinating.

For great Charlottesville accommodation options, the redbrick Forum Hotel is amongst the botanical gardens of the UVA campus. The Quirk, meanwhile, has a sense of fun.

New York City from the Staten Island ferry.
New York City from the Staten Island Ferry. Photo by David Whitley/ Best3stops.

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