Dallas gets about ten weeks a year when the weather is unarguably good. This is the start of them.
The numbers make the case. At DFW, the normal high is 88.6°F in September, 78.4°F in October and 66.6°F in November. The average date of the first freeze is November 22. After a summer that ran 41 days over 100 degrees and ended with 52 straight days without measurable rain, the city spends autumn outdoors making up for it.
Here is what is confirmed on the calendar, month by month. Everything below has a date from the organizer.
One Note Before You Plan Around Rain
North Texas went into September in drought — the National Weather Service described moderate drought as widespread across the region with pockets of severe drought, after that record dry streak. If you have a balcony garden, the city watering rules still apply: a maximum of twice a week, never on Mondays, Tuesdays or Fridays, and no sprinkler irrigation between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on any day. That last restriction became year-round when the ordinance was revised in May. Hand watering and drip irrigation are allowed any day, any time.
September
Downtown Dallas Arts & Music Festival — September 12 to 13 at Main Street Garden Park. Free, fourth year, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Autumn at the Arboretum — September 19 through November 1. This year’s theme is “Harvest Hues,” with the Pumpkin Village houses built around Basquiat, Rothko, Bourgeois, Mondrian, Escher and Pollock, and more than 100,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash across the grounds. Adult admission is $21.95 Monday to Thursday and $25.95 Friday to Sunday; children 3 to 12 are $17.95 and $21.95. Parking is $15.
’til Midnight at the Nasher — September 18, 6 p.m. to midnight, free. Live music followed by a 9 p.m. film in the sculpture garden. The season’s second and final night is October 16, closing with Practical Magic.
Bishop Arts District Wine Walk — September 24, 6 to 9 p.m., checking in at Simply Bella on North Bishop.
Prost! Oktoberfest at the Dallas Farmers Market — September 26, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The State Fair of Texas also opens September 25 and runs to October 18. We covered the 2026 prices, discount days and Green Line access separately.
October
Pumpkins and Pints — October 2, 6 to 9 p.m. The Arboretum opens the Pumpkin Village after hours with craft beer, wine and food trucks.
Latinidad Festival — October 3, 6 to 10 p.m. at Strauss Square in the Arts District. Free with RSVP. Mariachi Luna opens at 6, with DJ AMARIS, the Alpha Midway Dance Group and Lara Latin following, plus a marketplace of Latin-owned businesses.
Party in the Park — October 8, Klyde Warren Park’s annual fundraiser, 6 to 10 p.m.
DanceAfrica Festival and Marketplace — October 10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Klyde Warren Park. Free, with 22 dance troupes and artisan vendors.
White Rock Lake Artists’ Studio Tour — October 10 and 11, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free and self-guided through studios in the neighborhoods around the lake.
Dallas Soul Food Festival — October 18, noon to 6 p.m. at Lofty Spaces on Montgomery Street. Free with early RSVP, $5 to $10 at the door.
Oktoberfest Dallas — October 24 at Flag Pole Hill Park near White Rock Lake, 10 a.m. to roughly 10 p.m. Adults are $30 before 6 p.m. and $35 after; children 4 to 17 are $15; wristbands are cheaper in advance.
DÃa de los Muertos
Dallas spreads this across three weeks and several neighborhoods.
The Bath House Cultural Center at White Rock Lake runs its 40th annual exhibition, “DÃa de Muertos: They’re Having a Party,” from October 10 through November 7 — altar installations and work by local, regional and national artists.
The 12th Annual Celebración del DÃa de Muertos runs October 17 to November 2 on select days at Crown Hill Memorial Park in northwest Dallas, free, with live mariachi, vendors and children’s activities.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra performs its DÃa de los Muertos concert on October 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Meyerson, conducted by Enrico Lopez-Yañez, with traditional dancers, pan de muerto and hot chocolate, and a community ofrenda you can bring offerings to. Tickets from $38.
The 7th Annual Dallas DÃa de Muertos Parade and Festival takes over City Hall Plaza on October 31, 4 to 10 p.m., with the parade itself from 7 to 8.
Halloween
Trick-or-Treating in the Park — October 24, 5 to 9 p.m. at Klyde Warren Park. Free, sixth year, with costume contests.
Dallas Halloween Block Party on Cedar Springs — October 24, gates at 7 p.m., last call at 2 a.m., on the 3900 block in Oak Lawn. Free entry, 18 and over.
Stage Fright: A Halloween Family Festival — October 31, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sammons Park on the AT&T Performing Arts Center campus. Free, with a costume contest, petting zoo and zombie dance lessons.
Trick or Treat on Downtown Streets — October 31, 4 to 7 p.m. at Main Street Garden. Free, family- and pet-friendly, in its eighth year.
November
AURORA Biennial: States of Becoming — November 4 to 21, free, across Dallas City Hall, the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library and the AT&T Discovery District. Large-scale light, video and sound installations. This is the sixth edition and the first to run as a three-week programme rather than a single night; it still ends with an all-night exhibition on November 21, from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Greek Food Festival of Dallas — November 6 to 8 at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Far North Dallas. 72nd year, rain or shine.
Brass & Jazz in the Park — November 7, 1 to 4 p.m. at Mattie Nash-Myrtle Davis Park in West Dallas. Free, with jazz musicians, Black Mardi Gras Indians, a New Orleans second line and Louisiana food.
Chefs for Farmers Food + Wine Festival — November 7 and 8 at Old City Park in the Cedars, with a dinner on November 5. Early-bird general admission was $145 for a single day.
Dog Adoption Day — November 14, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Klyde Warren Park.
Chi Omega Christmas Market — November 19 to 22 at the Dallas Market Center in the Design District.
Cedars Open Studios Tour — November 21, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free, with more than 100 artists and a free neighborhood shuttle from Old City Park.
Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot — Thanksgiving morning, November 26, starting at City Hall. Eight-mile and 5K, timed entry $48.52.
Outside, All Season
The trails are the reason autumn matters here. The Katy Trail runs 3.5 miles along an old Union Pacific line through Uptown and Knox-Henderson. White Rock Lake has a 9.33-mile loop around 1,015 acres, and it is the most used trail in the city park system.
Two additions opened earlier this year and are worth a first visit now that it is bearable. Halperin Park opened in May — three acres decked over I-35E in Oak Cliff, with a bandshell under 30-foot timber arches, a treehouse playground with water features, and a rooftop looking back at downtown. And the second phase of the Trinity Forest Spine Trail opened in April in Pleasant Grove, adding a mile of elevated trail alongside US-175.
For leaves, Dallas Park and Recreation conservation manager Brett Johnson has pointed to Cedar Hill State Park, Cedar Ridge Preserve, White Rock Lake, the Arboretum, Keeton Park Golf Course and Scyene Overlook.
Markets run through the season. The Shed at the Dallas Farmers Market is open Saturdays 9 to 5 and Sundays 10 to 5, year-round. The White Rock Farmers Market runs Saturdays 8 to noon into December. Tietze Park adds a Sunday market from September 27, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Sports Calendar
The Cowboys have six home dates at AT&T Stadium this autumn: September 20 against Washington, October 8 against Tampa Bay, November 1 against Arizona, November 15 against San Francisco, November 22 against Tennessee, and the Thanksgiving game against Philadelphia on November 26.
The Stars open at home on October 2 against St. Louis, with nine home games in October and seven in November. The Mavericks open at home on October 24 against San Antonio. Both remain at American Airlines Center — the new arena sites announced in June are years out, and both leases run to 2031.
SMU has seven home games at Ford Stadium, and the Red River Rivalry fills the Cotton Bowl on October 10 at 2:30 p.m., in the middle of the fair.
Have a great day.