Things to Do in Kaufman, Texas

The Kaufman square is the cultural center of town, lined with boutiques, antique shops, cafés, and diners in its older storefronts. It's compact and walkable, and it hosts the community's big annual events — Harvest Fest on the second Saturday of October and Christmas on the Square during the holidays.

The Especially For You Tea Room, inside the 1908 Historic First National Bank Building on the square, is a destination in its own right for its old-fashioned service and signature lemonade tea. The square is the place to start any visit to Kaufman.

One of Kaufman's more striking sights is the Kaufman County Veterans Memorial Park, home to a permanent four-fifths-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. It's a quiet, moving stop and an unusual thing to find in a town this size.

The memorial park honors local veterans and draws visitors from around the county, especially on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

For time outside, Kaufman City Lakes Park covers 232 acres with fishing, hiking paths, and natural areas — the town's main outdoor spot. Two of North Texas's popular reservoirs bracket the area: Cedar Creek Lake a short drive south, and Lake Tawakoni to the northeast, where Lake Tawakoni State Park offers fishing, hiking, and swimming.

Between the city park and the two lakes, an outdoor day is easy to put together from Kaufman.

About ten miles north in Terrell is one of the region's best small museums: the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum, on the site of the first British flight-training school on American soil, where more than two thousand RAF and American pilots earned their wings during World War II. Admission is free, and the vintage aircraft and wartime memorabilia make it worth the short drive.

Beyond that, downtown Dallas and the rest of the Metroplex sit under an hour up US-175 for the big-city attractions when you want them.