Thrifting Road Trip Guide- 30 Stores in 2 Days- Texas to Lake Charles

If you love thrifting, small towns, and vintage treasure hunting, this Texas thrift store road trip guide is for you. My mom and I spent two days traveling from Willis, Texas to Lake Charles, Louisiana visiting nearly 30 thrift stores, antique malls, and resale shops along the way. I’m Ashton, and one thing about me? I love history, old buildings, the kind of homes where you just know someone’s Meemaw ironed curtains while drinking a Tab cola in 1974. Its fascinating to hold an object that’s 60+ years old and wonder whose living room it lived in, what it’s seen, what family memories it was part of.

For years now… my mom and I have been taking every chance we get to hop in the car and thrift our way through small towns. It’s like our love language. Sometimes my husband will go, but this round was a mother–daughter marathon…from Willis to Lake Charles…nearly 30 stops, two meals, one estate sale, first time gambling experience and a whole lot of “Google, please fix your listings.”

I want this post to be your official thrift trail guide, because I’m done gatekeeping. I’m traveling everywhere from now on…big towns, tiny towns, towns with one caution light…and I’ll tell you the good, the bad, the treasure holes, and the overpriced dusty doilies.

Following me on social media so you never miss a road trip recap, and also be sure to subscribe to my blog…. because YES, I am absolutely about to be that girl who thrift-travels for content.

Ready? Grab your tote bag and let’s thrift!

⭐ THE RATING SYSTEM

Every store gets two ratings:
• Overall Vibe: ★ to ★★★★★
• Price Range: $ to $$$$$ (from low to high)

🚗 THE OFFICIAL ROUTE

→ Dayton → Liberty → Ames → Beavers → Nome → China → Beaumont → Orange → Vinton → Edgerly → Sulphur → Westlake → Lake Charles → Greenberg → Home

Some towns literally do not have thrift or antique stores and trust me, if they had one, we would’ve sniffed it out.

🌟 DAYTON, TX

1. Resale Shack – Address: 307 Depot St. ★★★★☆ | $$

Dayton was one of the best shops of the entire trip. Great prices…like 10/10, genuinely good treasure pieces and a friendly atmosphere. This is absolutely one I’d return to. Mom even said, “We should’ve stayed longer,” which is her version of a rave review. I found the cutest Floral lamp that I am so obsessed with and mom missed out on a piece of gold! They had the cutest chair that looked like from Pottery Barn Brand. it appeared brand new and was only $100!

2. Le Rustique Antique –

No such place.. thank you Google!

3. The Gritty Pearl – Address: 528 TX-146 ★★★★☆ | $$$

Super cute antiques and a wide variety of everything! It had a mix of high and low priced items depending on the booth. They also had some absolutely adorable vintage Christmas pieces! Definetly one to check in to see.

🌟 LIBERTY, TX

1. George’s Treasures – Address: 1308 N Main St ★★★★☆ | $$ (TOP PICK)

Friendly, clean, great-smelling shop , nice layout, and good prices. A great stop overall. I found the cutest Santa from here and the most gorgeous floral paint with the prices being a 10/10!

2. Zana’s Treasures – Address: 2720C N Main S ★★☆☆☆ | $

This thrift store had ALOT in a little space! Definitely one that will take some time to get through it all. They had a little bit of EVERYTHING! It was Full of 80s and 90s knick-knacks. But holiday was 50% off. ALSO she had a whole huge room of that glow in the dark green glass that is hugely popular right now. Uranium Glass. I found a Halloween VHS tapes for only a couple bucks. The ladies that worked there were soooo stinking sweet!

3. Goodwill – Address: 2339 N Main S ★★☆☆☆ | $$

Address: 2339 N Main S

A flop. Mostly clothes. I will say it had a cute 90s christmas cardigan… but this one… I feel like I can’t completely rule it out with one trip. Considering they get donations…I would love to see how quickly things move and sale. That’s the art and game of thrift store though… will you get lucky today. I will say thought…

4. Dovetail Antiques – Address: 1925 Trinity St ★★☆☆☆ | $$$

Located in downtown Liberty. Right next door to On time Antiques and they had some very cute and unique vintage items! It was nothing worth going back personaly.

5. On Time Antiques – Address: 1923 Trinity St ★★☆☆☆ | $$$

Located in downtown Liberty right next door to Dovetail Antiques. Had some VERY cute and unique vintage items!

🌟 BEAUMONT, TX

This town was… a journey.

1. Nik-Nak Nook Boutique – Address: 4699 Calder Ave ★★★★☆ | $$

Truly a boutique vibe with tons of small decorative pieces, curated shelves, medium price range. Not a furniture/large-item destination, but very cute. There were a couple booths that had hire prices but overall this was a GOOD SPOT! I found a vintage santa mug for only $14!!! To be honest I found alot of cute stuff- so I had to pick and choose what I wanted.

2. Urban Habitat – ★★★★☆ | $$$$

A designer’s dream. Unique pieces, taxidermy pieces, eclectic decor, super sweet owner. She’s right off the freeway so pricing is little high, but truly a fun store to look around. Her set up was amazing!

3. Texas Reclaimed / Resale Interior Shops of Midtown – Address: 3145 Calder St. ★★☆☆☆ | $$$

Same address under two names. Staff was a little rude, and it didn’t have much we found unique. Not a must-stop in my opinion.

4. Burns Antiq Haus – Address: 2195 Calder Ave ★★★☆☆ | $$$$$

European Antiques. Gorgeous curated selection but very pricey. Think “I want this in my house, but my wallet doesn’t.” They had some very unique pieces and flipped pieces!

5. B&W Resale – Address: 1096 Calder Ave ★★☆☆☆ | $$$

Massive two-story warehouse attached to another warehouse and parking lot we didn’t even go in.
BUT… the parking lot was surrounded by a literal homeless encampment with mattresses with them and belongings. Not the safest vibe and prices were surprisingly high. Staff though? Super sweet and helpful.

6–8. Goodwills (Delaware, Dowlen, 11th St) – ★☆☆☆☆ | $$

Basically garage sale leftovers at high prices. Total flop for us.

🍽️ Lunch: Katharine & Company – Address: 1495 Calder Ave ★★☆☆☆

Beautiful aesthetic, but…the food was a flop. I got a grilled cheese. Mom got a sandwich. Drinks were limited to water, tea, and bottled Coke (I needed a Sprite moment, but no).
Order-at-the-counter + pager setup. Only one person in the restaurant when we arrived.
Not bad… just not memorable.

🌟 ORANGE, TX

No stops.

🌟 VINTON, LA

No stops.

🌟 EDGERLY, LA

No stops.

🌟 SULPHUR, LA

Pinching Penny’s –

Literally the name on the building was 3 different names, but no cars in parking lot- doesn’t appear to be a running business.

Olde & New Treasures – Address: 716 E. Napoleon St ★☆☆☆☆ | $$$$$

It definitely had alot of OLD stuff. They had a whole room of just old box TVs and VHS and if you can still believe it… I still cannot find the Friday the 13th franchise on VHS or the Halloween franchise. But they had some booths with low prices and some high… I did get a Santa vintage mug for $15…but 2 booths down they had Santa vintage mugs for $20.

Care Help of Sulphur – Address: 200 N Huntington St ★★★★☆ | $

Great place, great donations, lots of people, packed parking lot — just nothing we personally needed that day. This is DEFINITELY a thrift store if you lived local I would be at multiple times a week. There was an overwhelming amount of literally everything for everyone.

Infinite Sundries – ★☆☆☆☆

Either no longer a store or Google-listed incorrectly. Nothing there.

🌟 WESTLAKE, LA

Grateful Thrifter (Address: 809 Mulberry St) – ★★★★★ | $

This place was GOLD.
A treasure hunt paradise.
Huge space — looked like an old roller rink or community hall.

My finds here:
• Vintage quilt – $8
• Quilted pillowcases – $3
• Vintage VHS – $2
• Salt & pepper shakers – $1
• Tons more

This was the best stop of the entire trip.
Mom said “not worth going back” but that note was a lie ….I spent $40 here and could’ve kept going if she didn’t so rudeeeeelllllyyyy rush me! LOL! The “going through” the junk to get the treasure is not her vibe. I walked in and heard the angles singing! HA!

🌟 LAKE CHARLES, LA

1. Estate Sale – ★☆☆☆☆ | $$$$$

So while at dinner last night … I told mom I needed to look up to see if there was any Estate sales near by… There was one actually in the town the following day. I will say it was a complete bust and so expensive… but use this as a reminder to always check estate sales when traveling…you might hit the jackpot. I use EstateSales.net

2. CARC Treasure Chest – (Address: 129 W McNeese St) ★★★☆☆ | $

Small thrift shop in a strip center.
Lots of clothes, some home decor and their home decor was really random but I did find a couple cute pieces!
I found:
• Strawberry floral vase – $3
• Swan planter – $3
So yes — treasures exist!

3. The Emporium – (Address: 706 Ryan St) ☆☆☆☆☆????

Not open when we arrived (Google said 10, sign said 11). Looked like it had cool graphic tees and vintage RECORDS… the place was filled with retroness. Like the cool hipster 70s vintage.

4. B&W Boutique – N/A

Address took us to an apartment complex.
(One of MANY “Google, please remove this” moments.)

5. Corner Gallery – (2220 Ryan St #7318) ★★☆☆☆ | $$$

Real antiques …furniture, decor, random unique pieces.
Expensive, though. Also noting- different maps will pull different addresses for this place)

6. Mueller Vintage – N/A

Not there. Tried searching but couldn’t find it.

7. Recent Relics – (Address: 416 Broad St) ★★★★☆ | $$$$$

Downtown Lake Charles- which is a cute place by the way. The antique store was very Clean. Nicely set up. Some booths were pricey, others very affordable. I found the most BEAUTIFUL brooch here. Also good vintage Christmas finds.
Worth a stop.

8. Times Gone By – N/A

No store at listed address.

9. Loyd’s Country Store – (Address- 318 Phillips Rd) ★★★☆☆

Permanently closed but the cutest building ever.
Old truck, gas pump, little country-store vibe.
Looks like somewhere you could host adorable events.

🍽️ Dinner: Nina P’s – (Address: 1600 W McNeese St # A) ★★★★☆

Family-owned.
Mom and I both got shrimp Po’boys and THIS WAS THE BEST SHRIMP PO’BOY OF MY LIFE.
The tartar sauce was Heavenly!
The crunch? Perfect.
Just trust me — go here.

✨ FINAL THOUGHTS: WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS TRIP

• Always check estate sales — they’re hit or miss, but the hits make it worth it.
• Small towns have the BEST prices and the BEST stories.
• Google listings can lie. Repeatedly. Dramatically.
• You absolutely need cash, comfy shoes, water, and a tote bag for a thrift trail.
• Some stores are treasure hunts, some are overpriced, and some are just a fun memory with your mom.

If you have a thrift store, antique mall, or small-town gem I should hit next — tell me!
And if you find something amazing on your own thrift trail, TAG ME. I want to see your wins.

Follow along on social media so you never miss the next chaotic adventure, and subscribe to the blog for more thrift trails, DIYs, flips, festive creations, and bougie-on-a-budget magic.

Love you, mean it.
Let’s thrift again soon. ✨

xoxo,

Ashton Sedita

Frequently Asked Questions About Thrift Store Road Trips

What are the best thrift stores between Houston and Lake Charles?
Some of the best stops include Resale Shack in Dayton, George’s Treasures in Liberty, and Grateful Thrifter in Westlake.

What should you bring on a thrift store road trip?
Bring cash, tote bags, water, comfortable shoes, and a list of antique stores to visit.

How do you find thrift stores in small towns?
Use Google Maps, estate sale websites, and antique mall directories.