Go behind the scenes on 9 fun factory tours in Texas
These Texas factory tours offer a glimpse into the production of some of our favorite products, including cheese, money, and baseball gloves.
Do you ever wonder how something you regularly use gets made? The ice cream you like to snack on, the Amazon package you ordered, even the car you drive or the flights you take. A lot goes into putting these products together, and factory tours offer a behind-the-scenes look at the production.
While some companies may source from other states or countries, the Lone Star State has plenty of businesses that operate and produce in-house. And several of them indulge visitors who want a peek behind the curtain. From baseball gloves to money-printing experiences, here are nine unique factory tours in Texas.
Nokona Ballgloves — Nocona
You don’t have to know the correct words to “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” to enjoy a good look at a baseball classic. The Nokona factory is in the city of Nocona (yes, they’re spelled slightly differently), about two hours north of Dallas. This hour-long tour walks you through the entirety of the glove-making process. You’ll see how leather gets selected, cut, stamped, embroidered, formed, stitched, and laced to become the baseball gloves your favorite players wear on the field. Several of my Little League teammates would stare at their gloves while daydreaming in the outfield grass. I bet they’d like this tour, too.
917 East Highway 82, Nocona, TX, 76255
Blue Bell Creamery — Brenham
Ice cream from Blue Bell Creamery is ubiquitous across Texas grocery stores, though nothing quite beats sampling the treats straight from the source. Brenham’s flagship location doesn’t offer guided factory tours, though you can still get a taste of how things work behind the scenes. Watch containers and tubs get filled from the Observation Deck, with a Blue Bell employee on hand to answer questions. The visitors center offers more history about the company; of course, every trip has to end with a trip to the parlor for a scoop or three.
1101 South Blue Bell Road, Brenham, TX 77833
Mozzarella Company — Dallas
This one is a bit cheesy, but it’s a delightful time. The Mozzarella Company in Deep Ellum offers cheesemaking classes in the heart of their factory. You’ll tour the facility before donning a chef’s apron and learning the techniques and skills the company’s cheesemakers use to produce all kinds of treats every day. After the laborious part, MozzCo hosts a wine and cheese tasting cocktail party with an assortment of reds and whites and fresh and aged cheeses. You’ll head home with all the cheeses you made, plus the chef’s apron as a fancy souvenir. Now say “cheese!”
2944 Elm Street, Dallas, TX 75226
Amazon Fulfillment Center — Grapevine
Most of us have ordered something on Amazon at one point or another. Perhaps you even added something to your cart earlier this week! If you’ve ever been curious about how a product goes from click to your front door, the free factory tours at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Grapevine shed light on the process. The tours require booking ahead of time, and you’re not allowed to bring anything besides your wallet, keys, and a clear water bottle. However, it’s still a fascinating look at how a multi-billion-dollar company operates, and it’s cool to see humans and robots working together (as opposed to the sci-fi versions of robots taking over the world).
2601 West Bethel Road, Grapevine, TX 76051
The Bureau of Engraving & Printing — Fort Worth
The Bureau of Engraving & Printing is where “money comes to life.” There are only two locations in the entire country: Washington, D.C., and Fort Worth. The latter’s Western Currency Facility makes over half of the nation’s currency order, and you’ll get a bird’s-eye view of where billions of dollars are printed on the production floor. Stop by the Moneyfactory Gift shop on your way out to pick up novelty items like uncut currency sheets or a container of shredded dollars.
9100 Blue Mound Road, Fort Worth, TX 76131
Dr Pepper Museum — Waco
Though this location hasn’t bottled Dr Pepper since the 1960s, the Dr Pepper Museum is the closest thing to walking the grounds of that era. The bulk of the museum is housed in the Artesian Manufacturing & Bottling Company building, which was first built in 1906 and still contains several tools and remnants from that period. Super fans can try out the “Extreme Pepper Experience.” It costs $100 per person, though it comes with a handful of goodies. Extreme Peppers receive a private guided tour of both historic museum buildings, a glass bottle of Dr Pepper and a large Dr Pepper float, and a Make-A-Soda visit where you can take home a bottle of your own custom-made creation.
300 South 5th Street, Waco, TX 76701
Barton Springs Mill — Dripping Springs
Many tours on this list offer entertainment, though you might not apply their work in your daily life. For example, seeing how money is made is cool, but it likely won’t inspire you to print money at home. Plus, you know, it’s illegal to do that, so don’t try it anyway. Barton Springs Mill factory tours are a bit different. You’ll learn about the company’s grain history and walk through mill room production and warehouse processing. At the end of the tour, a Barton Springs Mill expert provides one-on-one recommendations for how to cook or bake your favorite items at home using stone-milled and whole-grain products. If you gave up on sourdough bread during COVID or want your next pizza pie to be your best one yet, this is a valuable tour to check out.
16604 Fitzhugh Road, Dripping Springs, TX 78620
Toyota Texas Experience Center — San Antonio
The Toyota Texas Experience Center is only open Tuesday through Thursday, yet it still offers a terrific look at how Toyota cars are made. The factory tour is free, and you’ll spend most of it on a tram, but don’t worry—the pace is much better than being stuck in traffic on I-35. The facility spans 2,678 acres and features the production of Tundra and Sequoia vehicles. In 2026, the plant will also begin rear axle assembly at the facility, bringing a cool addition to the tour.
1 Lone Star Pass, San Antonio, TX 78264
American Airlines CR Smith Museum — Fort Worth
The American Airlines CR Smith Museum is perhaps on the fringes of factory tours because you don’t walk through an actual factory. However, you’ll learn about the history of aviation and American Airlines, and you’ll get to explore a vintage DC-3 airplane inside an enormous hangar, the airline version of a factory. The museum has several interactive exhibits that regularly change, and you’ll see old aircraft and aircraft parts that workers had previously assembled in factories. It’s close enough—and certainly impressive enough—that we’re counting it on this list.
4601 Texas Highway 360 at FAA Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155
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