Explore
Rockwall
Rockwall Texas is the perfect destination for a weekend getaway, or to spend a few days leisurely exploring the breathtaking lake, historic downtown and other sites. Graced with hotels and personalized Air BnB’s, you will feel at home as you explore the area. There are beautiful settings to relax and unwind, and plenty of shopping, restaurants, entertainment, and sites if you want to look around. Rockwall is located 30 miles east of Dallas in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro area, allowing for easy access to the dynamic city. East of Rockwall lies wide acres of farmland and ranches, giving visitors and residents the best of both worlds. It’s the smallest county in the state, but it offers big-town amenities.
Downtown Rockwall
Downtown Rockwall offers plenty to keep your curiosity piqued if you like exploring. It’s the heartbeat of the Rockwall community and exudes the love of the residents and businesses that make it what it is. Unique clothing and jewelry stores in a historic brick downtown area including an art-deco courthouse house. It’s a laid-back alternative to the busy city nearby.
The boutique stores are eminently browsable. You never know what you’ll find because of the personalized nature of the stores – you can discover everything from high end clothing, to locally created crafts, or collectibles. The ambiance of the town mixes modern with historic for a one-of-a-kind character. It’s a designated Texas Main Street City so it retains a traditional Texas character on top of a constantly evolving retail and business community.
Explore the Lake
Visitors to Texas understand the beauty of visiting a town that has lake access. Lake Ray Hubbard is fantastic for all kinds of water sports, kayaking, swimming or just lounging on the shore. The Scott Self Lighthouse is a unique landmark, named after a local sailing legend. The lake features multiple marinas for those looking to sail or go deeper with boating and fishing. The water is teeming with fish including white and hybrid striped bass, largemouth bass, channel and blue catfish, and white crappie.
Sailing is big in Rockwall. You can enjoy the splendor of the lake on a 40-foot sailing catamaran called Seawolf. The hand-built, Spanish Cedar boat offers a comfortable ride with plenty of seating, working toilets and open deck space.
You can also experience the lake on a 57-foot double-deck, climate controlled power boat called Harbor Lights, or the 52-foot double-deck open-air boat called Sapphire Moon with lounge style seating. Both ships are available for private charter or you can just join a public cruise. Either way, you get to experience the open space, and beauty of the shoreline, lighthouse, or just close your eyes and enjoy the breeze.
Shore Leave
On the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard you can find Harbor Rockwall, perfect for shopping, dining, exploring or just enjoying the lakeside ambience. To get in the right spirit, make sure to drop a coin in the Great Wishing Fountain. The Harbor is walkable and meticulously landscaped. The newly enhanced greenscaping makes for a truly sublime lakeside experience – especially during sunset.
After you spend the day shopping or enjoying the beach, you can catch a film at the cinema or visit the entertainment center where you can test your luck and skill with axe throwing, bowling, arcade games or escape room. If you’re just looking to relax there is a cigar and tobacco bar for adults to top off the evening. And if that’s not your style, there is a salon and spa in the area.
Outdoors
If you want to soak up the sun, Rockwall offers plenty of opportunities. There is a tree lined golf course for a leisurely afternoon on the links. Buffalo Creek Golf Course is one of the top public golf courses in the area, filled with challenging sand and water hazards. It’s just off the shore of Lake Hubbard making for majestic views. One of the top ranked courses in the Dallas area, the course measures 7,018 yards from the back tees. The par-71 course was designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and also includes practice facilities and instruction.
Harry Myers Park has a tournament ready frisbee golf course. The 18 basket course sends you on a walk through open spaces and dense woods adding to the adventure. Fishing is a part of the action at Harry Myers Park as well, including 2000 rainbow trout stocked across its three ponds.
For the adventurous at heart, there are trails for hiking, jogging, or bike riding. There are six miles of trails at the Squabble Creek Mountain Bike Trail over the course of six loops with an elevation of 114 ft. It’s primarily a dirt mountain biking trail that allows hiker access – hikers walk in one direction, and bikers ride in the other.
You can also enjoy one of the eight butterfly gardens and meadows spread out across the city parks. The gardens feature butterfly art sculptures created by local artists. The gardens are maintained by the Rockwall Butterfly Brigade.
Historical Preservation
If you’re interested in learning more about the town’s history, or appreciate history in general, the Rockwall County Museum has three historic buildings on exhibit, dating back as far as the 1800s. One of the buildings, the Manson-LaMoreaux-Hartman House has been documented as the first permanent structure built in Rockwall. There are even replicas of the rock wall from which the town gets its name, the original being completely buried underground with unknown origins.
Nightlife and Entertainment
Although the town gets its name from a literal rock wall buried beneath its surface, the spirit of rock music – and other music – runs deep. Rockwall is known as the Free Live Music Capital of North Texas. Visitors who enjoy live music may get a kick out of the Sun Rock Guitar. The Sun Rock Guitar is a statue of a guitar at the harbor where the town hosts its free Concerts by the Lake series. In the fall, Harmony by the Harbor features jazz, blues, and orchestral music.
There are no limits to the live music you can enjoy. Downtown, San Jacinto Plaza boasts popular music throughout the summer as part of its San Jacinto Music Series (sponsored by Park Place Dealership). Bands perform Friday and Saturday evenings from May until October. Guests can enjoy the show in café style tables and chairs or seat walls. You are also welcome to bring chairs, food, and beverages of your own.
Theater fans can enjoy local productions from the Rockwall Community Theatre, and the Rockwall Summer Musical Theatre company.
If you’re not content to sit on the sidelines, Thursday night is Karaoke night at Shenaniganz.
Grab a Bite
There is dining for all tastes – not only of food but of service and atmosphere. The Harbor offers visitors a choice of nice comfortable and friendly restaurants specializing in a range of styles including Italian, Cajun, Latin, Japanese, steak, burgers, barbeque as well as ice cream, specialty desserts, chocolates, craft beer, wine and coffee.
Downtown Rockwall hosts a ton of restaurants to try. Explore and enjoy locally sourced breakfast, burger, and sandwich shops, wood fired pizza, steak and seafood, and other enticing food. It’s not just the food, the restaurants each have their own ambiance and mission behind their cuisine.
If you visit during the summer, you can sample locally grown specialty food and produce at the farmers market, including free-range eggs, grass-fed beef, local honey, artisanal breads and more – the fun is now knowing what you may find!
If you’re on the go but your family or party have different cuisine on their mind, nearby downtown Fate has a food truck park – the Food Haul.
Several breweries litter the town, and wine fans can enjoy tastings at one of the three wineries that have vineyards in the nearby Texas Hill Country. The wine tours can make for a weekend of their own!
In addition to vineyards, there are more family focused farms where you can be a part of the action by picking your own fruit. Blaise Family Farm allows you to experience harvesting berries from among their 1600 bushes before enjoying homemade blueberry and strawberry concoctions. They also have a honeybee hive, hay maze, pumpkin patch, and petting zoo.
If you enjoy making an activity out of meals, you may want to visit in October for the Rib Rub Run & Roll Barbeque Contest, chefs and connoisseurs alike gather to see who can cook the best chicken, pork ribs and brisket, and jackpot beans.
So plan your trip and look forward to what you’ll discover!
