Houston to Tulsa road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops

Planning a Houston to Tulsa road trip itinerary

The Houston to Tulsa drive connects the biggest city in Texas to Oklahoma’s oil city.

The top Houston attraction is unquestionably the NASA Space Center, which takes you behind the scenes of the Johnson Space Center. This includes the Mission Briefing Center, and a vast array of high tech exhibitions.

Other attractions include the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Children’s Museum

For more Houston experiences, try hip hop party bike tours, foodie walks in the Montrose neighbourhood and quirky tours of Houston’s tunnel system.

Top Houston accommodation options include the superb value Club Quarters Houston Downtown and the upscale but boutique Magnolia.

Tulsa’s big ticket attraction is the Philbrook Museum of Art, but you’ll get more of a local cultural education at the Woody Guthrie Center.

Alternatively, the Tulsa Air and Space Museum has a decent planetarium and Gathering Place is a great park with play areas on the Arkansas River. The classic photo stop, though, is at the enormous Golden Driller Statue.

Houston to Tulsa distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Houston to Tulsa is 494 miles. That makes for a driving time of around seven hours and 30 minutes. The best stops to add to a Houston to Tulsa road trip are Corsicana TX, Dallas and Denison TX.

Houston to Tulsa road trip attractions: Corsicana TX

The derrick in Petroleum Park, Corsicana, marks the birthplace of the oil industry in Texas. That’s largely just a photo stop, but visitors to Corsicana can also admire the heritage buildings at Pioneer Village or taste wines at the Angelita Vineyard..

Other options while in town include learning about the Civil War in the Pearce Museum and swimming in Lake Halbert.

Best stops between Houston and Tulsa: Dallas

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.

Houston to Tulsa drive: Denison TX

Just south of the Oklahoma border, Denison TX was the birthplace of American president Dwight D Eisenhower. The Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site opens his first home to visitors.

While in Denison, you can also visit the Frontier Village, which brings together and maintains old buildings from around the region. Alternatively, try Eisenhower State Park on Lake Texoma. It’s a good spot for walking, fishing and camping, while there’s also a tempting swimming beach.

Downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. Photo by jerrywaxman/ Pixabay.

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