Little Elm Autumn Fest
Four days on the lakefront — live music, a car show, food trucks and fireworks over the water. The closest big festival to the gate, and the one guests walk back from.
Check these dates
A quiet place to stay while you are in North Texas for something. The State Fair, race weekends, Grapevine at Christmas and a major golf championship are all an easy drive, with a private shoreline to come back to.
These are events happening around Little Elm, Frisco and the wider DFW area rather than at the ranch. Dates and details come from the organizers, so it is worth confirming before you travel.
Twenty-four days of Big Tex, the Midway, the auto show and the Red River Showdown, at Fair Park in Dallas.
16 events on the calendar
Four days on the lakefront — live music, a car show, food trucks and fireworks over the water. The closest big festival to the gate, and the one guests walk back from.
Check these datesTwenty-four days at Fair Park — Big Tex, the Midway, the auto show and more fried food than is strictly advisable. The longest single demand window of the year in North Texas.
Check these datesThe autumn fantasy festival at Waxahachie, one to nine in the evening. A long drive and worth it if you like your Renaissance faire after dark.
Check these datesHot rods, customs and swap meet at Texas Motor Speedway. Car-culture weekends pull enormous RV and trailer traffic, so this one books early.
Check these datesTexas versus Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl, inside the State Fair window. One weekend, the whole metro full, and a site twenty-five minutes from a DART ride in.
Check these datesGrapevine goes all in — the Parade of Lights, Carol of Lights, the ice rink at Peace Plaza, the Christmas market and Santa’s North Pole Express on the vintage railroad.
Check these datesTwo million pounds of hand-carved ice at nine degrees, plus Lone Star Christmas in the atrium. Family-heavy, multi-week, and the reason December weekends go.
Check these datesCold water stacks the crappie tight on structure, and Texas Parks and Wildlife rates them excellent here. Fish it off our bank or run ten minutes to a ramp.
Check these datesTwenty-three days, over a million people, and a heavy RV and horse-trailer crowd. The biggest winter draw within an hour of the gate.
Check these datesSand bass push up the creeks and the Elm Fork to spawn, and for a few weeks it is the easiest good fishing on the lake. Bank access from the property, ramps ten minutes out.
Check these datesEvery school district in the state at once. Lake weekends, family bookings and the first properly warm water of the year. Worth booking ahead.
Check these datesWeekends plus Memorial Day Monday at Waxahachie. Jousting, artisans, turkey legs — a full day out and a genuine North Texas institution.
Check these datesTrucks Friday, the O’Reilly race Saturday, Cup Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. The single biggest short-window RV spike in the region — book it a long way out.
Check these datesA major championship at Fields Ranch, twenty minutes from the gate. Hotel rates across the north metro go through the roof that week. This is the one to plan around.
Check these datesLittle Elm’s barbecue and beer weekend on the lakefront. Close enough that nobody has to nominate a driver.
Check these datesDenton leans hard into October — the courthouse square, the Day of the Dead Festival and a month of events that have turned the town into a Halloween destination. Easy from here and good for a family weekend.
Check these datesLittle Elm and the other towns around the lake all put fireworks up, and from our shoreline you can watch several shows at once across a 180-degree arc, with a fire going. It is genuinely magical, and it is usually the busiest weekend of our year — book it months out.
Check these datesNothing in that month. Try another, or clear the search.
Major regional weekends increase demand for lodging across North Texas, and these are the ones that tend to fill here first:
Event traffic is short and sharp. The other pattern here is longer: traveling professionals, project teams, seasonal travelers down the I-35 corridor from November to March, and people between homes.
Many public campgrounds around Lake Lewisville limit the length of a stay. Because the ranch is privately operated, monthly stays are available here.
Within an hourLittle Elm’s lakefront, Grandscape, Frisco sport, Denton, Grapevine, downtown Dallas and the Fort Worth Stockyards — with honest drive times.
See the whole list →
Year roundBass tournaments run February to October, and the crappie and catfish here are rated excellent. You can fish it off our bank without a boat.
Species and seasons →
At the doorSix hundred feet of private, guests-only shoreline and kayaks to borrow. Some weekends the best thing on is nothing at all.
About our shoreline →No. The events on this page happen around North Texas rather than at the ranch. Group gatherings and organized events are not permitted in the park, which is what keeps it quiet. Registered guests are of course welcome to gather amongst themselves, and there are several spots around the park meant for exactly that — the fire pit, the grove and the two pavilions. What is not allowed is inviting a crowd in from outside. The lakeside fire pit is a shared spot most evenings.
Yes. The 2027 PGA Championship runs 17 to 23 May 2027 at Fields Ranch, about 25 minutes from the gate. Major championship weeks increase demand for lodging across the north metro, so it is worth booking well ahead.
Independence Day. Little Elm and other surrounding cities and communities all put fireworks up over Lake Lewisville, and from our shoreline you can see several shows at once across a wide arc. Texas spring break in mid-March and the NASCAR weekend at Texas Motor Speedway are the next busiest.
As far ahead as you can for the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, spring break and the 2027 PGA Championship. There are a hundred sites and the waterfront rows are a small share of them. Ordinary weekends are usually fine closer in.
Crappie stack tight on the bridge pilings through winter, so the fishing stays good, and DFW winters are mild — January averages a high around 54°F. Grapevine turns into the Christmas Capital of Texas from mid-November, thirty-five to forty-five minutes away.
Regularly, mostly February through October — regional bass circuits, high school and college series, and weekly local team events. The ranch is ten to fifteen minutes from the nearest ramps with room to park a trailer.
Dates shown with a specific range were confirmed with the organizer at the time of writing; anything shown as a season or a month recurs annually but had not published firm dates. Always check the organizer before planning a trip around one, and call the office if you want us to check availability against it.
Find an RV site or a cabin for your dates, or call the office if you need a hand.
Not sure? Ask the ranch directly