The best road trip stops on the Dallas to Memphis drive are the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum, Hot Springs AR and Little Rock. The distance from Dallas to Memphis is 452 miles, with a 6h46m driving time.
Planning a Dallas to Memphis road trip itinerary
A Dallas to Memphis road trip takes you from the big business hub of Texas to the home of Elvis in Tennessee.
5 great Dallas experiences worth booking
- 🤠 Combine the JFK sites and Southfork Ranch on a half day tour.
- 🏛️ Take comprehensive JFK assassination tour – including the Sixth Floor Museum and Lee Harvey Oswald Rooming House.
- 🚴 Cover Downtown Dallas’ attractions and history on an e-bike tour.
- 🌆 See Dallas from above at the Reunion Tower GeO Deck.
- 🌮 Take a food tour with five tastings in the Deep Ellum area.
Dallas has plenty of high quality cultural attractions. These include the Nasher Scupture Center, George W Bush Presidential Museum and Perot Museum of Science and Nature.
But for many visitors, the main reason to visit Dallas is the JFK assassination. Yes, you can go up to the Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly took his shot from. It’s now the Sixth Floor Museum.
Top Dallas experiences include a JFK Assassination and Museum tour, the GeO-Deck at Reunion Tower and a self-guided scavenger hunt.
Memphis, Tennessee, is a pilgrimage site for Elvis fans. The King’s Graceland mansion is one of the top tourist sites in the US. But the cultural heritage extends beyond music, as you’ll discover on an African-American history tour.
Music fans should also try the Try the Rock and Soul Museum, plus the Memphis Music Hall of Fame and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.
Ways of seeing the city include ghost walks, Downtown food tours and musical bus tours. There are also guided walks down music central, Beale Street, and city tours that take you inside the legendary Sun Studio.
Outdoors, Shelby Farms Park is one of America’s great urban parks and the Memphis Botanic Garden is expansive.
Five great things to do in Memphis
- 🎸 Enjoy a private luxury tour of Memphis – with Graceland tickets included.
- 🍖 Get a taste of Tennessee – on a Downtown Memphis food tour.
- 🛥️ Take a Memphis discovery tour – with Mississippi cruise and Sun Studio add-on options.
- 🏙️ Discover Memphis beyond Beale Street – on a historic walking tour.
- 🚗 Hop on a day tour to Tupelo – and see Elvis’ childhood home.
Dallas to Memphis distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Dallas to Memphis is 452 miles. You can expect a driving time of around six hours and 46 minutes. The quickest route is largely along the I-30 and I-40.
The best stops on a Dallas to Memphis road trip are the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum, Hot Springs AR and Little Rock.
For more attractions, look at the guides to the individual sections of the journey.
Texarkana to Little Rock drive.
Dallas to Memphis drive: Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum
In Greenville, Texas, the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum is partly devoted to war hero Audie Murphy. But most visitors will get more out of the exhibitions devoted to the American cotton industry.
Greenville was home to the world’s largest inland cotton compress, and the displays show how cotton came to dominate Hunt County life.
Dallas to Memphis road trip attractions: Hot Springs AR
Hot Springs in the Ouachita Mountains has loads to do. The natural highlight is Hot Springs National Park, which strings thermal springs together on a series of hiking trails. The historic bathhouses are also part of the national park.
There are also several amusement parks, of which Magic Springs is arguably the best as it has a water park.
Other Hot Springs experiences include zip line adventures.
Best stops between Dallas and Memphis: Little Rock
Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas, and the closest thing the state has to a metropolis.
Key experiences in Little Rock include the Museum of Discovery and the William J Clinton Presidential Library and Museum. The latter, as with most presidential libraries, acts as a fascinating insight not just into the president, but the era he was in charge for.
More Dallas and Memphis road trips
- Gettting to Memphis: Guides to the Nashville to Memphis road trip and Little Rock to Memphis drive.
- Tennessee road trips from Memphis: What to expect on the Memphis to Chattanooga drive.
- Interstate road trips from Memphis: The best stops on the Memphis to Hot Springs AR drive and Memphis to Oklahoma City drive.
- Best stops on the Oklahoma City to Dallas drive.
- Best stops on the Wichita to Dallas drive.
