A visit to Plainview promises a lot of things to see and do, being one of the elements that helped shape its northwestern Texas region.
The county seat of Hale County, Plainview was established in the 1890s, with agriculture initially driving its rise as a settlement.
Plainview’s geography has much to do with its strong agricultural background, as its area of 36 square kilometers spreads on the Llano Estacado.
Also called the Staked Plains, Llano Estacado is part of the fertile US High Plains along the Texas–New Mexico border.
Plainview’s agriculture pioneers bore many deep wells to pursue irrigated farming.
In its early years, Plainview also became a trading post for cattlemen.
With the railroad’s arrival during the early 1900s in its territory, Plainview was eventually incorporated as a city in 1907.
Check out the following list of things to do in Plainview to learn more about its rise as a major hub in northwestern Texas.
Billy Hathorn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Make the most out of a visit to Wayland Baptist University’s Llano Estacado Museum and stop by the Jimmy Dean Museum.
Also located on West 8th Street on the university’s campus, this museum pays tribute to the Texan Jimmy Dean and his rags-to-riches success.
Born in the city of Olton northwest of Plainview, Jimmy Dean was behind the iconic Texan sausage brand, a product of his venture into hog farming.
He was also a country music star, popular for his 1961 hit song, “Big Bad John.”
The Jimmy Dean Museum opened in 2016 and contains memorabilia, such as photos, stage outfits, and a firearm collection of Jimmy Dean.
The museum also features Jimmy’s seven-foot bronze statue and a film presentation of “Breakfast and a Song: The Jimmy Dean Story.”
The Wayland Baptist University in Plainview is home to this museum on West 8th Street.
The Llano Estacado Museum offers a look at the geology of the southern US High Plains with its samples of local rocks, minerals, and fossils.
A Pleistocene era mammoth skull is notably included in the museum’s eye-catching exhibits.
At the Llano Estacado Museum, you will also find Native American weapons and tools, a full-size teepee, and exhibits focused on the American bison.
The settlement of the High Plains comes alive too in the museum’s reproduction of a mercantile store, a doctor’s office, and a jailhouse.
There are museum displays also about the region’s ranching and railway history, as well as the trappings of the Victorian period in northwestern Texas.
Plainview boasts a vibrant art scene which you can appreciate by visiting the Malouf Abraham Family Art Center.
The Mabee Learning Resources Center on West 7th Street in the Wayland Baptist University campus is the home of this art gallery.
Dr. Malouf and Therese Abraham, local art connoisseurs, are behind the establishment of this gallery.
Dr. Abraham himself collaborated with the Frank Lloyd Wright Institute in the design of this gallery, considered among the Southwest’s most elegant university galleries.
The gallery features a wide variety of exhibits on a full range of media, such as acrylic and oil paintings, sculpture, and metalwork revolving around different concepts and techniques.
Artworks of established professionals as well as emerging regional artists are featured in the Malouf Abraham Family Art Center.
This bowling alley is located across the junction of Dimmit and Quincy on the eastern terminus of West 20th Street.
The Plainview Bowling Center is a family-friendly, non-smoking facility that features 16 lanes.
It also features a pro shop, an arcade, and a snack bar, offering menu selections of burgers, onion rings, deep-fried burritos, and pizza.
Patrons troop to the Plainview Bowling Center for its two-hour all-you-can-bowl promos, women’s matches, and mixed competitions.
Located on the corridor of Dimmitt and Quincy south of West 24th Street, this bar is a great choice to have a few drinks and grab some food.
Goodfella’s Bar & Grill promises to have drinks specials and a full menu every day.
Among this bar’s offerings are Tequila & Taco Tuesday, Whiskey Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, and Fireball Friday.
At this bar, you can pair your drink with sliced avocado crispers or mozzarella sticks while listening to DJ music or watching a sports playoff.
Check out the latest on the “New West” in visual art at the Contemporary Art Museum Plainview on East 6th Street.
A non-profit, this art museum was founded in 2017 to bring a larger cultural dynamic to the Texas Panhandle and its nearby areas.
It revitalized an old warehouse in Plainview for this purpose, focusing on exhibits with themes like the art of skateboarding and the art of inventing.
Besides seasonal displays, the Contemporary Art Museum Plainview also holds artist talks and lectures, including child-oriented programs.
This stadium on West 24th Street is home to the Plainview Bulldogs, the athletic team members of the Plainview High School.
This school’s athletes participate in various state competitions, including volleyball, football, basketball, baseball, softball cross-country races, powerlifting, golf, tennis, and track & field.
The Plainview Bulldogs have won men’s and women’s state basketball titles.
The school has produced pro players like Bob Bryant in the American Football League and Michael Egnew in the National Football League.
This facility off Interstate 27 provides options on primitive tent camping or rentals of RV campsites and cabins.
Most of the tent sites in Hitchin’ Post RV Park & Cabins are laid out away from the main roadways for a more primitive camping experience.
RV campers, on the other hand, have a choice of expansive back-in or pull-thru sites.
Custom-built, fully-furnished cabins are also available here, including a country-chic tiny house, a modern farmhouse cabin, and four traditional cabins.
Hitchin’ Post RV Park & Cabins provides many amenities, such as free Wi-Fi, a kids’ playground, a group fire pit, horseshoe pits, a dog park, a general store, and a gift shop.
The city of Plainview has 16 developed parks covering a total of 286 acres with facilities for various sports interests and recreational activities.
Plainview’s 80-acre Regional Runningwater Draw Park on West 4th Street features a disc golf course, multi-use courts, and a soccer field.
A longer trail is provided at the 55-acre Joliet East Park of Plainview on West 4th Street.
This Plainview walking/biking trail runs out and back for 5.15 kilometers with an elevation gain of 19 meters, an easy and quiet route open year-round.
The city is also home to an 8,500-square-foot skate park on the corner of 6th and Joliet Street.
This vintage theater is located in Plainview’s downtown corridor of Broadway.
It opened as a silent movie house in 1925 and later operated as a vaudeville stage.
After being closed for some time, it was renovated extensively to serve as a venue for various events.
In more recent years, the Fair Theatre hosted plays, symphonic performances, vintage film showings, acoustic jams, R-rated magic shows, stand-up comedy, and live music.
Fair Theatre can seat an audience of more than 500 persons and flaunts a rare twin-split balcony.
In this popular Plainview destination on Quincy Street, you can drink and drive but using a golf club in its driving range.
After hitting some golf balls, you can enjoy drink specials on the patio of Creekside Range.
These specials pair drinks with aperitifs at promotional prices and are offered as Thirsty Thursday, Feel Good Friday, Super Saturday, and Sunday Fun Day.
The Creekside Range also hosts special events, like live music performances on weekends.
Running a public golf course, the Plainview Country Club was opened in 1950.
Its 18-hole “Plainview” layout offers 6,287 yards of par 71 play from the longest tees.
This course has a 69.0 rating, and its slope rating is 113 on Bermuda grass.
Plainview Country Club’s course features tree-lined fairways leading onward small greens, requiring precision in shot-making.
The layout has a few small ponds and streams, which also come into play and provide challenges to players.
Golfers have the chance to open their round with a birdie, as the front nine’s hole no. 1 is a par five over a short 465 yards.
This is the only par 5 in the first nine holes of play, which progresses to a high note on the back nine.
In this last round, the players will tackle the Plainview Country Club’s signature no. 12 par four courses over 396 yards.
This popular, child-friendly coffeehouse in Plainview is located on East 7th Street.
Broadway Brew retains hints of an old-style diner in its modern setup.
The food menu of this coffeehouse includes yummy homemade soups, smoothies, sandwiches, and desserts.
Many patrons of this coffeehouse look forward to its sandwich specials, which open with Monday Turkey Avocado.
The offerings segue to Ham & Cheddar Tuesday, The Italian Wednesday, The Club Thursday, and Chicken Salad Friday.
Watch out, too, for music events at Broadway Brew on special nights.
A visit to Plainview can turn into an exciting hunt for collectible vintage items as the city’s downtown corridor of Broadway teems with antique shops.
Horton’s Antiques in this downtown stretch flaunts a 6,000-square-foot showroom where you can pick from all types of antiques and collectibles.
Its shelves brim with china, paintings, silver, glassware, clocks, and other fine antiques.
It also sells costumes and real jewelry, including a large collection of Miriam Haskell fashion accessories.
Another Broadway destination for collectibles is 725 Vintage Co., with 22,000 square feet of space where many antique-hunting visitors’ dreams come true.
You can browse more vintage items at Plainview Antiques and Collectibles, including costumes, old types of cameras, antique wooden toys, and collectible Hallmark ornaments.
Also in the Plainview downtown area, Play It Again/Granny’s Antiques West on 7th Street is a two-in-one destination.
Besides various antiques and collectibles, it also sells women’s and children’s clothing.
For serious collectors, they can extend the hunt to Old World Antiques on North Baltimore Road.
This shop has been buying and selling fine antiques since 1974, combing markets and estates not only in the US but also all over Europe.
Have a first-hand look at the agricultural character of Plainview in a visit to one of its remaining farms.
One destination that appeals the most is the family-owned Legacy Farms on County Road AA.
This is a dairy farm that opened in 2003 and is owned by the couple Brad and Barb Bouma, both with a deep family history in dairy farming in the Netherlands.
Sustainable practices rule as the operative word in this farm even as it uses modern technology in rearing and milking the dairy farm’s Holstein Heifer cows.
Another interesting dairy farm to visit in Plainview is Fox Dairy on West US Highway 70.
Another Dutch couple, John and Pauline DeVos, owns and operates this dairy farm which flaunts 2,100 Holstein cows.
If you’re looking for a homey and comfortable vacation stay, book your accommodation at the President’s Bed and Breakfast.
The splendid two-story home was built by businessman Mays Osborne in 1939 and served as a private residence for many Wayland Baptist University presidents.
It has retained its historic charm and beauty that many residents referred to it as The President’s House.
Today, innkeepers and owners Mike and Debra Melcher continue to provide guests with a warm Southern welcome and hospitality.
You can enjoy your stay at any of the three large guest rooms or the two-room suite, all furnished with excellent amenities and complimentary snacks when you arrive.
Likewise, you’ll be served with a gourmet breakfast that includes fresh fruits, muffins, or bread, a main course plus bacon, ham, or sausage; you can enjoy your meal at the cozy dining area or dine al fresco at the patio.
Take time to roam around the beautiful landscapes on this half-acre property; you’ll find plenty of inviting spots under shady trees to relax and unwind.
If you want to discover Plainview, the President’s House Bed & Breakfast is also just minutes away from popular local attractions or better yet, you can ask Mike and Deb for some local happenings around the city.
Take your family for a fun day at M.B. Hood Park located on 16th and Ennis.
This public park features outdoor sports venues like baseball and softball fields, multi-use courts, and practice fields.
You can also enjoy rounds of tennis or pickleball at the courts.
Pack some lunch and set up a picnic, run and play at the huge 10-acre open space, or stroll along the half-mile walking track.
Let your little tots enjoy some time at the playground or take time to cool down on a hot day at the splash pad.
If you want to take a dip, you can also have a relaxing swim at M.B. Hood Park’s pool facility.
Craving some Tex-Mex fare? El Mercadito Street Tacos is a fantastic local food stop offering classic and authentic Mexican dishes.
Located on West 24th Street, you’ll enjoy delicious food that’s truly savory and budget-friendly, too.
Take your pick of assorted food choices made with fresh and locally-sourced ingredients, all prepared hot off the kitchen.
Start the day with a Breakfast Burrito with your choice of two eggs, sausage, Spam, potato, chorizo, A La Mexicana, bacon, and beans.
They also have other breakfast specials like Breakfast Gordita, Bean Burrito, Bean and Rice, or Bean and Cheese Burrito.
Tickle your taste buds with servings of nachos, tortas, quesadillas, and a variety of plate options like Meat, Gordita, Chalupa, and Chile Relleno.
Try their home-style menudo, shrimp cocktail, and barbacoa; plus of course, their mouthwatering tacos are always a must-try.
Drop by El Mercadito Street Tacos on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday to Saturday.
The Runningwater Draw Arts and Crafts Festival is an annual event running for more than 45 years.
This two-day festival is hosted by the Plainview Rotary Club and is held in October at the Ollie Liner Center.
Being the longest-running gifts, arts, and crafts festival, it continues to draw crowds of shoppers every year.
See various handmade products and goods from over a hundred vendors and artisans.
Get some great finds from lovely décor and kitchen items to handcrafted jewelry, wood works, and etched items.
You can also browse some clothing items, beauty products, essentials, and food items.
You’ll also catch some local events like basketball tournaments and contests at the Runningwater Draw Arts and Crafts Festival.
If you’re a fan of antiques and old-fashioned knick-knacks, visit Old World Antiques and you won’t leave empty-handed.
The warehouse store is right on Baltimore Street and has been in the business of buying and selling antiques since 1974.
Whether you’re looking for classic designs like Country French, Rococo, Renaissance, Victorian Furniture Antique, and more, the store has unique offers you can’t find at other antique shops.
Browse through their fine antique selections and buy something that suits your classic style.
You’ll find plenty of furniture pieces like dining tables, cabinets, chairs, and sofas to name a few.
Likewise, you’ll find an array of classic art pieces, paintings, and plenty of glass and ceramic dishes, jars, and vases to choose from.
Get rare items at Old World Antiques.
There are so many things to do in Plainview that a visit to this city can satisfy most of the points of interest that travelers like.
You may even have a difficult time deciding what to do first, but just jump on any of its attractions, and you won’t be disappointed.
Discover the world.
© All rights reserved.
