Car Rental Denton, TX

Both universities enforce strict parking rules. Visitors should park only in designated visitor lots (Highland Street Garage at UNT, Oakland Street Visitor Lot at TWU). Avoid driving through campus centers when classes change, which is about 10 minutes before the hour until 10 minutes after. University Drive and Hickory Street get very congested during these times. We suggest you park your car once and walk between your destinations on campus.

Yes. You can take the DCTA A-train, which connects to DART's Green Line at Trinity Mills Station. From DFW Airport Terminal A Station, take the DART Orange Line toward Dallas, transfer at Bachman Station to a Green Line train going to North Carrollton/Frankford and exit at Trinity Mills. You'll then transfer to the A-train to downtown Denton and use a rideshare service to reach a Denton rental location. This trip usually takes 90–120 minutes and helps you avoid extra airport rental fees. (Note: the A-train currently runs Monday–Saturday, with no Sunday service.)

You can drive the main highway (I-35E) between Denton and Dallas for free, though it has optional TEXpress managed lanes that charge tolls. Some other routes, such as the President George Bush Turnpike, also have tolls and you can only pay them electronically since there are no cash booths. Most rental cars come with a toll transponder that will bill tolls to your credit card plus a daily service fee (about $3.95–9.99). You can find free routes to most destinations.

When popular events like the Denton Arts & Jazz Festival or holiday celebrations are happening, it's hard to find parking downtown. You can find free parking on surrounding streets and in small city lots, but they fill up fast. You should arrive early (at least 30–45 minutes before events start) or you can park at the University of North Texas and take a short walk downtown. Some businesses will only let their customers park in their lots during events.

A standard sedan works great for driving in Denton and making trips to Dallas. If you plan visits to Lake Ray Roberts or Lewisville Lake and need to bring recreational gear, a small SUV will offer more cargo space. The roads are in good shape and all major attractions have paved roads leading to them. If you are visiting during a rare winter ice event, a front-wheel-drive vehicle will handle local roads just fine.

Denton is in a great spot for day trips. Popular options you can drive to include: the Fort Worth Stockyards (about 40 minutes) for a taste of the Old West; WinStar Casino in Oklahoma (about 40 minutes) for gaming; Lake Ray Roberts (15 minutes) for outdoor fun; the Dallas Arts District (about 45 minutes) for art and culture and Grapevine (about 35 minutes) for its historic downtown and wineries.

For major university events, especially the UNT and TWU graduations in May and December, you should book your rental car at least 4–6 weeks in advance. Denton has a limited number of rental cars and demand gets much higher during these periods. Prices also go up as fewer cars become available.