Where to wander through wildflowers in Dallas-Fort Worth

The DFW area is home to a gorgeous array of wildflowers. Follow our guide to learn the best locations to see them and some of the varieties you’ll find.

Each year, Texas welcomes a multitude of wildflowers as millions of blooms pop up around the state. While you might luck into a meadow or spot a few flowers along the roadside, seeing the best wildflowers around Dallas-Fort Worth requires some planning. That’s where we come in. 

Now, let’s apply some sunscreen, put on some Dolly Parton, and check out some of the finest spots for wildflowers in Dallas-Fort Worth, as well as some of what you might see.

7 places to see wildflowers in Dallas-Fort Worth

From state parks to botanical gardens, here are seven of our favorite locations for wildflower spotting.

Cedar Hill State Park

Each spring, Cedar Hill State Park welcomes extensive flower growth across its 1,200 acres. The rolling meadows are the perfect home for a smattering of wildflowers, especially bluebonnets and winecups. It also helps that much of the park’s terrain is made from limestone, which encourages plant growth and diversity (and invites a ton of pollinators to the area). One of the park’s trails is called the DORBA Trail and is named for the Dallas Off Road Biking Association volunteers. Bring your two-wheeler and ride to your heart’s content.

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden

Each year, the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden hosts Dallas Blooms, the largest annual floral festival in the Southwest. A gorgeous display of flowers alongside cool artwork—this year, sculptures by Seward Johnson? Sign us up! With 66 acres and over half a million blossoms, you’ll spot all kinds of plants, whether wildflowers or other varieties. The Dallas Arboretum also hosts a handful of creative arts classes, including one about painting Texas wildflowers. Not a bad way to enjoy wildflower beauty all year round.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden

The Fort Worth Botanic Garden is home to the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), a paradise for plant enthusiasts. You’ll encounter bluebonnets and several other wildflowers as you stroll around the campus. The botanic garden sports 22 gardens across 111 acres, so you’ll see an incredible array of plants, flora, and animals. The Japanese, Fuller, and Horseshoe Gardens are among the highlights, with vibrant blossoms that will stop you in your tracks.

The Fort Worth Botanical Garden is a great spot to encounter a variety of wildflowers. (Michael Barera/CC BY-SA 4.0)

Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge

Spanning over 3,600 acres, the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge offers a bountiful mix of wildflowers among its forests, prairies, and wetlands. It’s one of the largest city-owned nature centers in the entire country. With 20 miles of hiking trails, you’ll see a variety of wildflowers and likely spot several types of birds and wildlife. Keep that camera ready!

George W. Bush Presidential Library

Unless someone is playing a very charming prank on you, you probably won’t find a wildflower in any of the books of the George W. Bush Presidential Library. But head out to the 15-acre Native Texas Park on the grounds, and it’s a different story. Laura Bush has long been a stalwart of environmental conservation and restoration; her efforts are evident within this park. It’s free and open every day from sunrise to sunset. Depending on the season, you’ll pass by a handful of wildflower species.

Ennis

About 35 miles southeast of Dallas, Ennis is the home of the National Polka Festival. Grab your accordion, and let’s get ready to boogie. Oh, wait, you’re here for wildflowers. In that case, head to Ennis in April for the Bluebonnet Trails. The town received a state legislature designation in 1997 as the “Official Texas Bluebonnet Trail,” and you can cruise along more than 40 miles of the colorful wildflower. 

Clymer Meadow Preserve

The Clymer Meadow Preserve is one of the locations protected by The Nature Conservancy. With how much beauty is in the area, it’s easy to see why. It’s also where some of the largest and most diverse remnants of Blackland Prairie tallgrass prairie lie, alongside ample wildflowers, wildlife, and wetlands. Should you prefer to have a guide showing you the best wildflowers, sign up for one of the wildflower tours the preserve hosts.

When is wildflower season in Dallas-Fort Worth?

Though it varies each year, wildflower season typically starts right around the beginning of spring. The peak growing season in North Texas usually lasts from about mid-to-late March to early June. Blooms in the central and eastern parts of Texas will likely be more impressive since western areas have experienced droughts in recent months.

However, some flowers have longer seasons. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the State Botanic Garden & Arboretum of Texas, named the Gregg’s mistflower its 2025 Wildflower of the Year. Gregg’s mistflowers have a long blooming season, running from March to November. These flowers also tend to attract large numbers of butterflies, which is a Disney-esque sight.

What wildflowers can you see in Texas?

Aside from Gregg’s mistflowers, plenty of Texas wildflowers are blooming around the state. Here are some of the most common ones you’ll encounter.

Texas Bluebonnet

The Texas Bluebonnet has been the official State Flower of Texas since March 7, 1901. That means you can see it o’er the land just about anywhere you look. They’re found natively in places like the Blackland Prairie and Edwards Plateau, though they’re a prevalent roadside plant, as well. It’s nice to have something lovely to admire as you’re making a long drive across Texas highways. Bluebonnets are also among the plants that can survive the Texas heat without too much trouble. 

Texas Indian Paintbrush

This plant looks so much like an art tool that you might be tempted to brush it across a canvas. You’d likely be disappointed by the result, so maybe it’s best to simply gaze at the vibrant red spikes of the Texas Indian Paintbrush. Much like the times I’ve tried to paint something, Texas Indian Paintbrush plants offer unpredictable results. You may see a full bloom, or they may be mired in an average growing season.

Mexican Hat

Known officially as Ratibida columnifera, this plant has several varieties. Mexican Hat is the best of the bunch, with the red and yellow petals looking like the broad-brimmed hats frequently found in Mexican fiestas. The Mexican Hat is a drought-tolerant plant used for nectar by bees, insects, and butterflies. And it grows aggressively—you could easily spot thousands of these flowers in one place.

The vibrant fuchsias and purples of Winecups are an eye-catching element of Dallas-Fort Worth. (David A. Hoffman/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Winecup

Sadly, the Winecup—also commonly called a Purple Poppy Mallow—doesn’t produce any actual wine, though its pink and purple hues are quite pleasant to look at. You’ll typically find them in open woods or rocky hills in thickets.  

Firewheel

If you find yourself humming Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” when you see a Firewheel, it’s a fitting tune. These plants can grow up to two feet tall and have a deep red center consisting of disc flowers and flower heads with a reddish hue and a smaller yellow outer band. They’re more common in summer since they withstand extreme dry spells and heat.

Drummond Phlox

Back in 1835, a Scottish botanist named Thomas Drummond collected the seeds of an annual wildflower in Texas. He ultimately sought to do a complete botanical survey of Texas—collecting 750 species of plants and 150 specimens of birds across his travels—though he died before reaching his goal. Still, the Drummond Phlox lives on as a way to honor his efforts. Drummond Phloxes can be a variety of shades, and each has a central “eye” that’s a different color from the rest of the flower.

Drummond Flox at Salado Creek. (mhradio/CC BY-NC 2.0)

Pink Evening Primrose

The Pink Evening Primrose is the closest thing to a night owl on this list, so if you regularly have late nights out, it’s the flower for you. Most evening primrose species will unfurl their flowers in the evening; they’re closed by the following morning. Some members of the genus open their flowers so rapidly that you can almost spot it happening, like a monkey’s paw uncurling its fingers. Should you be near Pink Evening Primrose, take a hearty sniff—the wildflowers produce a noticeable scent beginning at dusk.   

Texas Thistle

The Texas Thistle can grow between two and six feet tall, with the spindly leaves reaching up to nine inches in length. The stems sometimes have spiky and woolly undersides, leading to a pretty rugged-looking wildflower that may or may not be in a plant biker gang. But Texas Thistles are a bit of a softie on the inside. Butterflies and birds use the flower for nectar, and goldfinches utilize the flower’s pappus bristles to line their nests.

A Texas Thistle wildflower at Cedar Hill State Park (Michael Hogan/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.