Lindale

You’ve heard the expression big things come in small packages? That’s 100% true for charming Lindale, population 6,000 and the Entertainment Capital of East Texas. Also known as the birthplace of country singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert, Lindale is a powerhouse of live music, great food and wine, and plenty of activities for the whole family. A relaxed but energetic pace makes this appealing place just right for a boot-scooting good time. 

Founded in 1871, Lindale has long been an agricultural hub, and sweet and juicy local blackberries are its signature crop. You can find plenty of evidence of this tasty heritage on local menus, as well as in blackberry preserves and other fruit-centric culinary products. The town’s former berry cannery has been repurposed into a center of entertainment that includes live music venues, tasty local restaurants, cowgirl chic retail, and one of the last known places in the country to hand-pull peppermint, the Lindale Candy Company.

So established is Lindale’s live music scene that it was the fifth city in Texas to earn the state’s Texas Music Friendly Community designation. Catch both established and emerging performers at venues like Texas Music City Grill & Smokehouse and Picker’s Pavilion at Blackberry Square.

It doesn’t take long to see that Lindale is the epicenter of Miranda Lambert fandom. The nine-time Academy of Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year and her family are behind several Lindale enterprises that draw tens of thousands of “Ran Fans” annually. The most popular of these is the Pink Pistol, a lifestyle boutique for the wild at heart, delightfully crammed with embellished fashion and gifts as well as Lambert’s own clothing line, Idyllwind. It’s adjacent to two more Lambert ventures, Red 55 Winery, where you can sample wines from the singer’s winery, and the Ponderosa Pour House tap room serving local craft beers.

Lindale is a great place to enjoy the fresh air. Local parks like Darden Harvest Park and Faulkner Park offer scenic beauty along with playgrounds and walking trails that help kids and adults alike burn off a little steam. Head for Old Mill Pond Museum, a free attraction on 20 acres, to see a century’s worth of local history told through 14 buildings and hundreds of well-preserved cultural artifacts.

East Texas is home to the Piney Woods Wine Trail, a constellation of 20 wineries, including Lindale’s Red 55 Winery, producing excellent wines with Texas-grown grapes. Twice a year, Lindale hosts the Piney Woods Wine Festival, enabling enthusiasts to sip wines from the trail’s producers at one event.

That’s just the start of the many things to do in this entrancing East Texas spot. Visit Lindale today for a friendly, small-town experience that feels awfully big at heart.