Outwest Campground and RV Park

From speed to steers, the Fort Worth Stockyards preserve the city's livestock heritage on the original, 19th-century site and to watch the twice-daily cattle drives is to feel as if you've stepped back to the start of the West. Immerse yourself in history at the Cowboy Hall of Fame, see rope tricks and trick riding at a Wild West show and heroics in the rodeo ring.

If you'd rather not sit on a bucking bronco yourself, hire a bike and cruise this lively quarter of eateries, shops and attractions, taking a break from the bustle and the cattle afterwards in the city's Water Gardens and their cooling pools and crashing waterfalls in the midst of downtown.

If you're still hankering after high speed, Six Flags Over Texas (an hour's drive) is a massive amusement park with 32 rides, many of them guaranteed to make a rodeo star quake in his or her cowboy boots. Top off a turn on the rollercoasters with a trip to Grapevine Vintage Railroad an hour away, a historic steam line recalling the days when the West was even wilder.

For genuine wilderness, hikers, bikers and watersporting types should head out to Eagle Mountain Lake (45 minutes).