Six Flags Over Texas map
32.76° N · 97.07° W · Arlington, Tarrant County · I-30 at SH-360
This is the first Six Flags park, opened in 1961 on prairie between Dallas and Fort Worth. The name comes from the six nations that have governed Texas, and the original park was divided into six sections, one for each flag. That plan still shows in the way the paths loop around the site.
Centered on the park. Zoom out two steps to see the stadiums, Hurricane Harbor north of I-30 and the whole Arlington Entertainment District.
Where it is and how to get there
The park occupies the southwest corner of the Arlington Entertainment District, inside the block bounded by I-30 to the north, SH-360 to the east and Division Street to the south. AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field stand a short distance east across Ballpark Way and Randol Mill Road, so on a Cowboys or Rangers day the same exits serve all three. Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, the associated water park, is on the north side of I-30 opposite the main lot.
From Dallas it is about 20 miles west on I-30 to the Ballpark Way or SH-360 exits. From Fort Worth it is about 15 miles east on the same interstate. From DFW Airport the run is roughly 13 miles south on SH-360, which drops you at the district's eastern edge. From Denton, count on about 45 miles by I-35W and SH-183 to SH-360.
The land was part of the Great Southwest industrial development laid out in the 1950s between the two central cities, which is why a theme park, two major-league stadiums and a warehouse district all ended up on the same few square miles of Arlington.
Sections and how they fit together
The layout is a loop off a central spine. You enter from the north lot, pass through the Texas-themed front street, and the path splits around a core of shops and shows; a narrow-gauge railroad circles the whole site and an oil-derrick observation tower marks the middle from a long way off. Sections have been renamed and added to over the decades — the Confederacy section became Old South, and areas with no connection to the six-flags idea were built in later.
| Section | Position | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | Front gate, north end | Entrance street and main plaza; the park's own six-flags display and the biggest wooden-frame coaster |
| Spain | Northwest of the entrance | Colonial Spanish architecture around a small plaza |
| France | West side | New Orleans French Quarter styling, courtyards and iron balconies |
| Mexico | Southwest quarter | Adobe and tile village themed to the Mexican period |
| Old South | South end | Antebellum-styled buildings; opened as the Confederacy section and renamed in the 1990s |
| USA / Boomtown | East side | Small-town American main street and a rail-town theme, with the park's railroad depot |
| Goodtimes Square | Northeast, near the front | Later addition of flat rides and games rather than a national theme |
| Gotham City | Far northeast corner | Comic-book section built for the large steel coasters |
| Looney Tunes USA | Interior, off the main loop | Children's area with scaled-down rides |
Johnson Creek runs along the western boundary and separates the main park from a strip of land where one of the older wooden coasters was built in the 1980s, reached by a bridge from the Old South end. The site is nearly flat, so ride structures rather than terrain give the park its skyline.
Nearby
Everything in the district is within about a mile: the two stadiums, the convention centre and the hotels along Division Street. Grand Prairie begins immediately east across SH-360, and Irving is 12 miles north. Texas Motor Speedway, the other big North Texas venue, is about 40 miles northwest by SH-360 and I-35W.