SmartHunts® - Dallas' Best Scavenger Hunts

Dallas offers a variety of culture, landmarks & entertainment!

Blending fun, exploration, and corporate teambuilding, a SmartHunts® Dallas scavenger hunt is an experience that will have your team buzzing with excitement!

SmartHunts can customize your event to include much of what Dallas has to offer, including historic districts, landmarks, museums, unique foods, and drinks, as well as highlighting the features of Dallas’ mixture of modern and historic culture. SmartHunts takes your team on a Dallas scavenger hunt through this great city where they can discover their own Dallas style.

Whether your team is local to the area, or visiting from out-of-town, the SmartHunts team can create a fresh experience for your group with a fun corporate scavenger hunt. SmartHunts offers a unique corporate adventure tailored just for you and can take your group on any combination of Dallas’ great neighborhoods & landmarks, including:

1. Downtown Dallas
   Downtown Dallas is an outstanding destination for a Dallas scavenger hunt! This area of Texas’ 3rd largest city is just jam packed with historical landmarks, parks, entertainment, shopping, dining and nightlife.

   Dealey Plaza is a city park and National Historic Landmark marking the spot where John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States was assassinated on November 22, 1963.

   The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza is located in what was the Texas School Book Depository on the same floor of the building from which a sniper assassinated the President. It contains exhibits, films, artifacts, photos and more relating to the assassination of the president but also to the civil rights movement and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

   John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza was constructed in 1970 and is home to a 30 ft tall monument dedicated to the memory and ideals of President Kennedy.

   Dallas City Hall Plaza covers a 2 block by 1 block area. The building, constructed in 1977, was designed by I.M. Pei in a modernist cantilevered design and stands like an inverted pyramid. He also designed the 180 ft diameter reflecting pool in the plaza.

   Union Station is a neoclassical Beaux-Arts style train station that was completed in 1916 and although it is still a fully functional railway and bus station, it has since undergone two renovations adding 11 gorgeous event spaces spread over 26,000 sq ft.

   Reunion Tower stands 560’ tall, with a ball shaped observation deck, a revolving restaurant, an outside deck and interactive displays. The 360-degree views are absolutely sensational.

   The architecturally stunning Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Victory Park offers 5 floors with 11 permanent exhibit halls and interactive displays of dinosaurs, robots, 3D movies, space flight and more.

   Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture, located in Founders plaza, was built in 1890 of red sandstone and designed like a castle with turrets and over one hundred stained glass windows. It offers programs, events and Dallas County related artifacts and exhibits.

   The Majestic Theatre was constructed in the Spanish Baroque style and like most Majestics was originally designed for 1920s vaudeville performances. Now it serves as a venue for concerts, plays, films and comedy.
   Pioneer Plaza is a large urban park in front of the Dallas Convention Center. It is home to a must see, 52-piece bronze sculpture featuring 49 bigger than life size longhorn steers being herded by 3 cowboys on horseback. It’s awesome.

   Dallas World Aquarium includes a three level Orinoco rainforest, a South Africa exhibit, a 20,000-gallon surround shark tank and much more.

   Main Street Garden is makes a wonderful Dallas scavenger hunt area, covering more than a city block of what was once run-down buildings and parking lots. Now it is a popular neighborhood park with fountains, a flower garden, a great lawn for community events and live entertainment plus public art, a cafe and food trucks.

   Civic Garden, previously called Belo Garden, is an urban park in Downtown that is only 1.7 acres but is a welcomed green space amongst all of the surrounding concrete. It features more than 100 trees, 10,000 ornamental types of grasses and an interactive fountain.

   If you happen to find yourself on Main Street near the Joule Hotel, check out the 30’ tall eyeball art piece. It’s cool.

   Museum of Illusions on Ross Ave features 60 exhibits of mind bending optical illusions, great for photo ops!
2. Adjacent to Downtown
   Deep Ellum is a neighborhood just east of downtown and is bursting with history, live music, comedy and theater as well as art galleries, public art installations and street murals.

   Populated by locally owned clothing, art and book stores, this entertainment-oriented district overflows with cafes, eateries, brew pubs, neighborhood dive bars, cocktail bars and speakeasies. More than 30 live music venues offer every style of music from honky-tonk to karaoke to DJs.

   Bishop Arts District is home to 60 locally owned businesses including hip art galleries, unique shops, creative dining establishments, dive bars, live music and dance clubs.
3. Arts District
   The Arts District is situated in the northeast corner of downtown Dallas and is the largest arts district in the country covering a 68 acre, 19 block neighborhood. Yet again, another terrific area for a Dallas scavenger hunt!

   Treat yourself to more than 60 unique art galleries, shops, restaurants, cafes, bars and entertainment venues, most of which are locally owned and experience some culture at the following:

   Dallas Museum of Art is a 370,000 sq ft museum boasting 25,000 pieces from all cultures and covering a span of 5,000 years. It is one of the largest art museums in the U.S. Every conceivable type of art is represented and the museum also features concerts, lectures and events.

   Nasher Sculpture Center is located adjacent to the Dallas Museum of Art, offers more than 300 pieces of the finest modern and contemporary sculpture and features a 1.5-acre sculpture garden. The Center also hosts lecture programs, special events, artist talks and music concerts.

   Crow Museum of Asian Art was established by Trammell and Margaret Crow in 1998. It includes more than 1,000 diverse pieces, from all over Asia, dating from 3500 B.C. to contemporary. Included therein are paintings, ceramics, scrolls, clothing, jade, metal, stone, textiles and even architectural pieces. The museum is dedicated to promoting Asian culture and collaboration and as it is affiliated with the University of Texas at Dallas, it is free to visit.

   Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center houses the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Symphony Chorus. Also stunningly designed by I.M. Pei, the Symphony Center seats more than 2,000 people and also houses a magnificent 4,535 pipe C.B. Fisk Opus 100 organ.

   Winspear Opera House is home to the Dallas Opera, the Texas Ballet Theater and also hosts Broadway productions and other events. The reflection ponds outside enhance the beauty of the 60 ft glass facade of the building.

   KPMG Hall Arts Plaza and Texas Sculpture Walk located between Flora Street and Ross Avenue exhibits 18 pieces of local and international outdoor public art in a nicely landscaped park-like setting.

   Klyde Warren Park is a deck park built over a sunken expressway and connects the Arts District to Uptown Dallas. It is an ingenious, practical use of an otherwise wasted space. This 5-acre community park hosts free events, fitness classes and boasts fountains, trees, plants, a botanical garden, a butterfly garden, a playground, fountains and food trucks.

   Cathedral Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a beautiful Catholic cathedral built in 1902 in gothic architecture style and is still in use today.
4. The Shops at Park Lane
   The Shops at Park Lane is an upscale shopping center located north of downtown where Park Lane and US-75 meet and it is referred to as the “most-shopped intersection” in Dallas with 33 acres, 40+ department stores, specialty boutiques, services, restaurants and bars.

   Best of all are the outlet stores for Nordstrom, Saks, Bloomingdale’s, J. Crew and Saint Bernard. Upscale need not mean expensive and there are great deals on fashions, jewelry, sporting goods, home decor, shoes and more!

   Other shopping in northern Dallas includes:
   Highland Park Village – open-air luxury dining and high-end designer shopping.
   NorthPark Center – 200 store mall, upscale fashions and modern art displays
5. Fair Park
   Fair Park is located just east of downtown, covers 277 acres, is home to the Texas State Fair and Cotton Bowl Stadium. It holds more than 1,200 events each year and also features many other attractions.

   Fair Park was chosen as the location for the Texas Centennial Exposition, celebrating its independence from Mexico and boy did they spruce it up. 50 Art Deco style buildings were erected and international artists added murals, sculptures and other works of art. It makes for a great Dallas scavenger hunt!
6. Museums and Points of Interest
   African American Museum of Dallas
   Women’s Museum
   Dallas Firefighters Museum
   Children’s Aquarium
   Centennial Hall
   Automobile Building
   Esplanade Fountain
   Leonhardt Lagoon
   Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial
   The Hall of State – fabulous Art Deco building celebrating Texas’ history
   Texas Discovery Gardens – features a Butterfly House, Insectarium and rain forest.
   Music Hall
   Dos Equis Pavilion
   Fair Park Coliseum
   Band Shell