Time Off from Altus: Weekend Trips to Oklahoma City, Dallas and San Antonio
Updated: 4 hours ago
Altus is a great place to learn a jet. It is not, let's be honest, a great place to spend every weekend of a multi-month TDY. Sooner or later you'll need a change of scenery, and luckily you've got real options within driving distance: a two-hour run to Oklahoma City, a three-hour drive to Dallas–Fort Worth, and, for a longer break, San Antonio. These are weekend trips from Altus that fit a long Altus TDY.
This guide covers how far each one is, what's worth doing, and why each makes a good TDY escape. First, though, the boring part that matters.
Before You Plan Anything: Check With Your Squadron
Training comes first. The 97th Training Squadron's New Students page says training is the top priority, students shouldn't plan to take leave during training, and leave can't be guaranteed. It also points to a Student Pass & Leave Policy. Before you book a hotel or buy event tickets:
Read the current Student Pass & Leave Policy and coordinate with 97 TRS Student Admin.
Confirm whether any travel distance limits, sign-out procedures or pass rules apply to you.
Look at your schedule. Weekend sims and flights do happen, and schedules can change with weather and aircraft availability.
Make sure you're legal for crew rest when you get back. Don't drive home exhausted the night before an early show.
Distances and drive times below are approximate, come from common mapping services, and depend on your exact route, traffic and weather.
Oklahoma City: The Easy Weekend
Distance: about 135–140 miles | Drive: roughly 2 to 2.5 hours. Mapping services typically route you east on US-62 toward Lawton, then north on I-44 (the H.E. Bailey Turnpike) into the city. Tolls do apply on the turnpike but are well worth the time savings.
Why it's a good TDY getaway
It's close enough for a Saturday day trip, or a relaxed overnight without burning your whole weekend in the car. You get big-city restaurants, sports, museums and nightlife, and you can be back in Altus by Sunday afternoon with time to study.
Things worth doing
Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. It's a powerful, well-done memorial to the 1995 bombing. Plan a couple of hours for the museum.
Bricktown. This is OKC's entertainment district, with restaurants, bars and the Bricktown Canal water taxi. It's an easy place to spend an evening with your class.
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. It's far better than you'd expect. Western art, rodeo history and a recreated frontier town.
Oklahoma City Thunder. If the season and your schedule line up, an NBA game is a great group outing. Check the current schedule and venue.
Scissortail Park. It's a big downtown park, good for a walk or an outdoor event on a nice day.
Science Museum Oklahoma. If aerospace is your thing, it has a big hands-on collection and a planetarium.
Pro tip
Will Rogers World Airport is in OKC, so a weekend in the city lines up well with picking up a visiting spouse or friend.
Dallas–Fort Worth: The Big-City Weekend
Distance: about 205–230 miles depending on where in the Metroplex you're going | Drive: roughly 3 to 4 hours. Most routes head south through Vernon and Wichita Falls, Texas on US-283/US-183 and US-287.
Why it's a good TDY getaway
DFW has everything: pro sports, live music, major museums, endless food, and the biggest airport in the region. It's a full overnight, ideally two nights if your schedule allows. Fort Worth sits on the near side of the Metroplex, so it saves some drive time.
Things worth doing
Fort Worth Stockyards. It's the most Texas thing you can do in a weekend: a historic district with a regularly scheduled longhorn cattle drive, western shops, honky-tonks and steakhouses.
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. It tells the story of the JFK assassination, in the former Texas School Book Depository in downtown Dallas.
Frontiers of Flight Museum. It's at Dallas Love Field, and an aviation museum is pretty much required for this crowd.
Deep Ellum. This Dallas neighborhood is known for live music, murals, bars and food.
Pro sports. Cowboys and Rangers in Arlington, Mavericks and Stars in Dallas. Check schedules and venues.
Klyde Warren Park. It's a deck park over a freeway downtown, with food trucks and events. A good, low-key afternoon.
Pro tip
If you're coming back late Sunday, budget extra time for Metroplex traffic on the way out. And remember the drive back is 3+ hours of rural highway at night.
San Antonio: The Long-Weekend Trip
Distance: roughly 400–420 miles | Drive: about 6.5 to 7.5 hours each way. Routes typically run south through Vernon and central Texas, or east through the Metroplex and down I-35.
Why it's a good TDY getaway
San Antonio isn't a casual Saturday trip from Altus. It's a long-weekend or holiday-weekend destination. But if you get a training break that lines up with a three- or four-day weekend (and your pass policy allows it), it's one of the best cities in Texas to unwind: walkable, full of history and great food, and very military-friendly. Splitting the drive with a classmate helps a lot.
Things worth doing
The Alamo. It's the most famous historic site in Texas, right in the heart of downtown.
The River Walk. Miles of walkways along the San Antonio River, lined with restaurants and bars. River barge tours are a good way to get oriented.
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. Four Spanish colonial missions (the Alamo is a fifth), designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can bike or drive the mission trail.
The Pearl. It's a redeveloped brewery district with restaurants, shops and a weekend farmers market.
Market Square. A big Mexican market with shops, food and frequent live music.
Pro tip
If the drive is too much, look at flying instead: Lawton has nonstop service to DFW, and you can connect on to San Antonio from there. Price it against the drive and your time. [VERIFY: current LAW schedule]
Quick Comparison
| Destination | Approx. miles | Approx. drive | Best for | | Oklahoma City | 135–140 | 2–2.5 hrs | Day trip or easy overnight | | Dallas–Fort Worth | 205–230 | 3.5–4 hrs | Full weekend, sports, nightlife | | San Antonio | 400–420 | 6.5–7.5 hrs | Three- or four-day weekend |
Coming Home to Your Altus Crash Pad
Getaways keep you sane, but the best TDYs also have a good home base to come back to. After a long drive, it's nice to come home to a real house instead of a lodging room.
At OffBase Crashpads, our furnished houses are all under three minutes from the Altus AFB front gate. Unwind with an 80" 4K TV with Dolby Atmos, a massage chair, a game room with a pool table, poker and arcade, and fire-pit dining out back. EV charging is there when you pull in from a road trip. Garages have a workbench and tools if you need to deal with something on the car.
Related Reading
See the houses: OffBase 1, OffBase 2, OffBase 3 and OffBase 4. Common questions are on our Altus crash pad FAQ.
Request a Stay
Headed to Altus? If an off-base stay is authorized for your TDY, use the Request a stay form on our site, email Stay@OffBaseCrashpads.com, or call/text (765) 633-2273. Built By Aircrew, For Aircrew.
Comments