In 2022, my 3 year old and I did the Rodeo for as cheaply as possible and as early as possible (she needed that 12:30pm nap!). We keep going year after year (although prices have gone up SIGNIFICANTLY)! Here’s our schedule, parking info, and more!
Safety note: All the visitor booths on the grounds have wrist bands you can put your cell number on to put on your kids in case they get lost. It’s extremely helpful and you’d be surprised at how many lost kids there are each day.
(Here is the 2024 visitors guide for the Rodeo)
Need somewhere to stay for the rodeo? Present Street Place is a 3 bedroom short-term rental in Stafford, and a quick 15 minute drive on Highway 90. Getting to the 610 Lot is a breeze, and we have 4 beds and sleep up to 6 people.
Tickets
Community Day – the middle Wednesday of the rodeo – all guests get in FREE before noon. They have other discounts as well. The first and third Wednesdays are “Family Wednesdays” – there will be free admission for seniors 60+ and children under 12 until noon, as well as similar discounts on food and rides. Find out more here. (I won’t be enjoying those crowds, ha!)
Admission to NRG Park (for access to everything EXCEPT the Rodeo and the concert):
- Adults: $20
- Children (3-12): $10
- Children 2 & under are free
You do not need general admission tickets if you have Rodeo tickets!
My Toddler-Friendly Itinerary for the Houston Rodeo
Here is a GREAT guide to the activities. We are going to primarily enjoy Agventure and The Junction. Agventure opens at 9am, and it’s a LONG walk from many of the parking lots, unless you plan well. Most of The Junction activities don’t start until 10 or later.
We’ll pack snacks, drinks, and lunch for the kids. You can bring food into general admission, but cannot bring anything into the concert/NRG Stadium (unless you have a medical reason).
- 9am – Agventure
- sometime after 10am – Say hi to “Miss Moo” in the lobby of the NRG center
- 10am – Fun on the Farm
- 11am – Mutton Bustin’ or Xtreme Dogs
- 11:30am – Pig Races!
- Lunch!
**Stroller note – it is a BIT of a pain to get a stroller on and off the tram, but the drivers are typically great about it! Taking a larger wagon or double is fine, just be aware, it may be a pain, or you may need to wait until the next tram to get enough room. I brought all our items in bags so that I could easily take them out of the stroller/wagon to fold it up quickly.
Agventure at HLSR
We hit up Agventure first (far right of NRG center) – it’s awesome and my kids love it every year! Everything is open at 9, and the only “scheduled” activity is the Milking Parlor Demonstrations – 9:30am-2:30pm with demonstrations every half hour Monday-Fridays. The only paid activities are the parakeet habitat (bring cash!) and the pony rides. We usually do the rabbits and petting zoo first, as those can have a line later in the day. Planting sunflowers is also a fun activity each year!
DO NOT buy the snacks for the petting zoo animals, unless your kids are BRAVE. The animals can get a bit aggressive when they see you have a cup of food. There is an indoor petting zoo and outdoor one.
The Junction at HLSR
The Junction also has a lot of fun FREE activities! Here are our favorites: (times are the same almost every year; this has been updated for 2024)
- Born to Buck: 10am to 7pm
- Extreme Dogs: 11am, 1, 4, and 6pm
- Fun on the Farm: 10am to 7pm
- Mutton Bustin’ 11am to 7pm (starts every hour) *free to view, additional fees to participate
- Petting Zoo: 10am to 9pm
- Pig Races: 11:30am, 12:30, 1:30, 3:30, 4:30, 5:30, and 6:30pm
Our favorites last year were Fun on the Farm and Extreme Dogs. Born to Buck is a tent with horses and foals with calming music and video of horses roaming open fields in the background. It was calming and a nice stop for my horse loving kiddo. It’s also right across from the SUPER fancy restrooms (essentially porta potties but feel like a real restroom! – they kept it clean too)
Food
There’s not a whole lot of money that can be saved here… Plan on eating as much as you can beforehand, bringing your own food, or sharing a meal with a family member if you want to save money. Inside NRG Stadium, food seems to be at least $2 more expensive than outside (outside food is not allowed in NRG Stadium – where the actual rodeo and concert are).
Parking at the Houston Rodeo
All the parking has gotten expensive! There are some good options for Park & Ride
Because we are arriving before 9, we’ll park in the yellow lot (it opens at 6am). It’s $25.
610/Astrodome Lot: If you want to park closer to the park but are arriving a bit later, I recommend the Astrodome lot – it a grass/gravel lot across 610 from the rodeo. It’s a bit of a walk, but there’s a free tram – I take the 610 tram and then walk to the Orange Tram! The parking costs $25 – and make sure you bring cash!
Where to stay near Rodeo Houston
Present Street Place is Sweet Retreat Properties’ Stafford house – just off Highway 90 in Stafford, about 15 minutes from NRG. It’s about $15 for a Lyft from the house, depending on the time of day.
A lot of the hotels nearby have a free shuttle to the rodeo.
Friends had a great experience at the Hyatt House in the Medical Center. The shuttle dropped off near NRG Center! Here was their shuttle sign from 2024:
Volunteers
“The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™, a non-profit organization, relies on a 35,000 volunteers and more than 100 year-round, paid employees in order to complete its goals. Each year, Rodeo volunteers work a total of 2.1 million hours based on 67.8 hours per volunteer to represent a workforce of more than $51 million each year. The commitment of both teams have allowed the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to continue to be the biggest scholarship program in Texas, as well as a 90 year tradition.” — Remember that most of the people you come into contact with are VOLUNTEERS! Don’t forget to show them a smile and understand there may be lines.
I hope you and your family/friends are able to go to the rodeo! Make sure you comment anything YOU enjoyed that others might like as well!
**Most of this information was verified on the RodeoHouston website, although some of it is just from personal experience. If something is not 100% accurate, I am sorry and please comment below so that it can be corrected! Maps are RodeoHouston; photos are my own. Original post also written by me, Emmelyn, at thisthatandcraft.wordpress.com.