'The Sweetest Town In Texas' Boasts Historic Charm, A Peaceful National Grassland, And A Scenic Lake

As of 2025, Dallas is the third largest city in Texas, with a population of over 1.3 million people (via Texas Demographics). It's also home to one of the biggest urban arts districts in America, and it's a great starting point for a Texas vacation in the state's northeastern corner. After passing through standout Dallas suburbs like the city of Allen, drive northeast for an hour and a half along U.S. 75 and Highway 121 to reach the self-proclaimed sweetest town in Texas: Honey Grove. When visiting this charming site, visitors will see dozens of historic buildings and churches from the 1800s, fun community celebrations, and opportunities to get lost in the great outdoors.

Honey Grove's name ties back to Davy Crockett during his journey from Tennessee to San Antonio to join the Texas Army. In 1836, he stopped to camp in an area bursting with honey. After writing home to Tennessee about the honey grove he discovered, the area's name stuck. The following year, Samuel Erwin ventured out to Honey Grove and became the town's first settler. Though Davy Crockett named the town and intended to settle there, he didn't get the chance before he perished at the Alamo.

Decades later, the town grew rapidly thanks to its agriculture and cotton production. Many wealthy families settled in Honey Grove and competed with their neighbors for the biggest mansions. These mansions still stand in Honey Grove today, and the town takes great pride in their historical significance.

What sets Honey Grove apart from other Texas towns are its many mansions and historic buildings that surround the town square. Because there are so many, in 2016, the Honey Grove Preservation League and Chamber of Commerce created a driving tour of the town that features over 50 different structures. Though the downloadable PDF for the tour is no longer accessible through the town's website, it is available through Texas Time Travel.

Some of the town's top highlights are the First State Bank Building, City Hall, and the McKenzie United Methodist Church. Each of these locations was built with Floyd's stone mined from a quarry outside of town. The Methodist church is particularly beautiful thanks to its stained-glass windows, stone columns, and pointed domes.

To experience the town's unique culture, visit Honey Grove toward the end of September for its annual Davy Crockett Day celebration. This all-day town festival kicks off with a delightful pancake breakfast as street vendors set up in the town square. After enjoying the bike rodeo and the live music, check out the local Fannin County Barn Quilt Trail that passes through town. (Honey Grove alone features over 60 different quilt squares.) The town is part of the Davy Crockett Route that connects to other places like Windom, Dodd City, and Allens Chapel. Fannin County has the largest quilt barn trail in Texas, with over 100 different quilt squares scattered across its towns since 2012.

Take a 20-minute drive north from Honey Grove and you'll reach Caddo National Grasslands. (Just be careful not to confuse these grasslands with Texas' swampy Caddo Lake State Park, which has one of the state's largest freshwater lakes.) The Caddo Grasslands area, which features hills and dense trees, is split into two sections: the 13,360-acre Bois d'Arc Creek area and the 2,780-acre Ladonia area. These sections offer more than 30 miles of hiking and equestrian trails to explore, and they provide plenty of great spots for hunting.

Wildlife includes healthy populations of white-tailed deer, waterfowl, migratory game birds, quails, wild hogs, and various other small creatures. Should visitors take the trails on foot or on horseback, they should know that the trails don't have names. Instead, they're labeled with numbers ranging from 1 to 4. Just be aware that Trail 4 has an alternate route called Trail 4b.

Caddo Grasslands are home to multiple bodies of water: Davy Crockett Lake and Coffee Mill Lake. The former has a recreation area on either side (as well as campsites) and the Florida largemouth bass, which doesn't appear in Coffee Mill Lake. The east area only allows tent camping, while the west area has 12 nonelectric standard sites with no hookups. West Lake Davy Crockett campsites cost $10 per night and offer campers lake access. For a public boat ramp, head to the east recreation area. In the water, anglers can pull up bass, crappie, catfish, and sunfish without difficulty.