Ride a Vintage Dallas Trolley for Free, Then Picnic at Klyde Warren Park
Seven vintage streetcars make up the M-Line fleet, and three of them usually run on any given day. Each car has a name and a past of its own. Ride south from Uptown and step off at the park's edge.
🗺️ Two Stops, One Line
🚋 Cars With Names
The fleet is the draw: seven restored streetcars, though three usually run on a given day, so which car you catch is luck of the draw. Green Dragon, a 1913 St. Louis car, ran on McKinney past SMU for 43 years until 1956, then spent decades as a hay barn in far North Dallas. Betty, built in 1926, was a playhouse on a ranch in Irving. Rosie, a 1909 J.G. Brill car, served Porto until 1978 and now mostly turns out for special events and peak season.
🌳 Get Off at St Paul
Riding south from Uptown, ring the bell for St Paul & Woodall Rodgers, the stop at Klyde Warren Park's edge. Coming back north, board at KWP/Arts District. The 5.4-acre deck over the freeway is free and open 6 AM to 11 PM; ping pong, foosball, giant Tetris, Jenga and Connect Four are free to use. The Nancy Best Fountain runs a light-and-music show at 12, 7 and 8 PM when it is above 55 degrees, with a 6 PM show joining from Nov 30. Food trucks keep standard hours of 11 to 2:30 weekdays and 11 to 7:30 weekends; the line-up rotates and the park warns hours can change.
🎫 Board, Wave, Ring
Service runs 365 days a year: Monday to Thursday 7 AM to 10 PM, Friday to midnight, Saturday 10 AM to midnight, Sunday and holidays 10 AM to 10 PM. Cars come every 17 to 20 minutes and the loop takes about an hour. Board only at a maroon M-LINE sign and wave the motorman down, since a car may pass a rider staring at a phone. Name your price by card, Venmo, PayPal or the fare box. Trolleys cannot board wheelchairs; DART buses and trains are accessible. Real arrivals are in the MATA Rider App, not in map apps.
