Texas Renaissance Festival

This is a day trip, not an evening out. The grounds are at 21778 FM 1774 in Todd Mission, roughly an hour northwest of downtown, and the 2026 season runs weekends from October 10 through November 29 plus the Friday after Thanksgiving. Gates are 9am to 8pm and there is no entry after 7pm.

Budget for the drive rather than the ticket. The approach is rural two-lane road and the themed weekends draw the biggest crowds of the season, so a late-morning arrival costs you real time in the car. Going early and leaving before the 8pm close keeps you out of the queue in both directions.

Tickets and parking passes are sold separately and the price moves by weekend, so buy both on their site ahead of time instead of sorting it out at the gate.

The site is far too big to walk end to end and still enjoy it. Pick two or three things you actually came for — a joust, one stage, the artisan rows — and let the rest happen around them. Wear shoes you do not mind having on dirt all day.