Stockyards Cowtown Walking Tour (Self Guided), Fort Worth

Once a major livestock center and a home to cowboys, cattlemen and outlaws, Fort Worth, TX has fully lived up to its nickname – “Cowtown.” From the late 1870s through the mid 1980s, the Fort Worth Stockyards made the city famous, drawing cattle from all over the state. Today mainly inactive, the Stockyards – "the last standing stockyards in the United States" – celebrates Fort Worth's long tradition as a part of the cattle industry, and is the place where legacy of the Old West proudly lives on and is fun to explore.

Recently remodeled, the Stockyards National Historic District, billed as "Where the West Begins”, is one of the most popular attractions in Texas, consisting mostly of entertainment and shopping venues.

You can start your journey in Stockyards Station – currently all retail and restaurants, where hog and sheep pens once took place. Historic landmarks within the district also include the Livestock Exchange Building, built in 1903, as well as the Cowtown Coliseum, built in 1908, where the first indoor rodeo was held, and still is on every weekend.

Among the many bars and nightclubs with a Western motif there is Billy Bob's Texas – the world’s largest honky-tonk, and the White Elephant Saloon – a marquee establishment where you can “belly up” to the bar, relax and have a cold beer, just like they did in the days of the big cattle drives. Speaking of the cattle drives, the weathered brick Exchange Avenue, lined with historic buildings, is where you can still see Texas Longhorns herded twice a day.

If you only have a single day in Fort Worth, head on over to the Stockyards and get a taste of the true American West with the help of our self-guided walking tour!