By MARK MACESICH
Special Contributor / The Dallas Morning News

When it comes to having fun, from amusement parks to museums, nature trails to the Chisholm Trail, the Dallas-Fort Worth area has a lot going for it.

Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, the Stockyards National Historic District in Fort Worth, Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie, Dallas' Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Lake Ray Roberts north of Denton, Dallas Fair Park, the Fort Worth Zoo and more. Much, much more.

In fact, the region ranks as the state's No. 1 tourist destination, according to the Dallas Fort Worth Area Tourism Council in Grapevine.

And then there are all those special, out-of-the-way – or simply out-of-sight – places that the tourists, newcomers and even some longtime D-FW residents never find. (How many of you know about Burger's Lake in Fort Worth or the Stone Works Climbing Gym in Carrollton or the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney or the Underground in Dallas?)