Davis Mountains State Park

I have always been fascinated by stars. So when my husband suggested we make a two-day detour on our way to Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta to visit the McDonald Observatory, I was immediately enthusiastic. Who doesn’t want to see Saturn’s rings?

Davis Mountains State Park is about 6.5 hours from Austin, so we came up with the following itinerary:

• Friday Night
  • Grocery shop
  • Prepare picnic breakfast and lunch for Saturday
  • Pre-cook Saturday’s dinner
  • Pack the Car
• Saturday
  • 5 am – depart
  • 8 am – picnic breakfast in Junction
  • Noon – lunch in Fort Stockton
  • 4 pm – arrive at Davis Mountains State Park
  • 8:15 pm – star party at the McDonald Observatory
• Sunday
  • No plans
• Monday
  • 10 am – depart for Carlsbad Caverns NP (our next stop on the way to the ABQ Balloon Fiesta)

Friday

My first task was to come up with a menu. I was a bit worried we would get in late Saturday, so I decided to precook a pot roast. Pot roast is easy to transport (it can be stored in a Ziploc), quick to reheat on a camp stove, and a favorite of my children. I also made a dozen breakfast tacos, and two days worth of sandwiches. Usually we don’t precook food when we are camping, but I figured it would free us up to do more hiking.

While the roast was cooking, I packed clothing for myself and my children. Landon put together the rest of the camping gear, and then worked on Tetris-ing everything into the car. It was a tight fit:

Saturday

We hit the road at 5 am. The boys started to wake up around the time we reached Junction, TX, so we stopped for a long breakfast at Schreiner Park, which is along the banks of the South Llano River. They allow camping, so this gorgeous park could easily be a destination in its own right:

After almost two hours of leg stretching, we were back on the road. Next stop, lunch in Fort Stockton at James Rooney Memorial Park:

After another nearly two hour stop, we were ready to drive the last one-and-a-half hours to Campsite 86 at Davis Mountain State Park.

Immediately upon arrival, Landon started setting up the camp. I insisted he put the rain-fly on the tent. About 5 minutes after he finished, a downpour erupted, so we all tucked in for an afternoon nap.

After the rain stopped, I watched the boys as they explored the dry creek bed behind our campsite while Landon reheated the pot roast. We had just enough time for everyone to eat before we headed off to a star party at the McDonald Observatory.

The McDonald Observatory is about a 25 minute drive from the park. Every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, the Observatory hosts a “star party” where they allow the public to look through some of their smaller and mid-sized telescopes. Tickets for adults are inexpensive and children under 6 are free.

We arrived right at the schedule start time (8:15 pm), but the event didn’t get going for another 10 minutes or so. They led everyone up to an outdoor amphitheater for a star talk that was way over our kids attention spans. It was cold, past bedtime, and full of big words. Thankfully, about 15 minutes in, they announced that the telescopes were ready and anyone who wanted to could skip the rest of the talk. Suddenly our kids perked up and couldn’t wait to see Saturn’s rings!

They were not disappointed. We saw Saturn’s rings, Jupiter’s stripes, hundreds of moon craters, and some distant nebulae. Both our 3-year-old and our 4-year-old have frequently requested to return.

Sunday

After breakfast and Mass on Sunday, we decided to hike up the mountain that overlooked the campsite.

Our older two sons were able to hike the entire mountain by themselves. Both were fairly motivated to reach the summit:

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However, our four-year-old lost his motivation during the descent, but he eventually made it down. Just in time for our 1-year-old’s nap time:

Later that evening, after dinner, some campers from a neighboring site walked over to offer us some peach cobbler. Unfortunately, a skunk followed them over. After they had scooped out five bowls, the skunk boldly climbed onto our table and stole one. It took some time to scare the skunk away, but thankfully, we didn’t get sprayed.

Monday

We woke up for a leisurely breakfast, broke camp, and continued our drive to Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta.

General Thoughts on the Park

This was one of the quietest campgrounds we have encountered in Texas: there was minimal road noise, the campsites were well spaced, and the other campers were quiet. Perhaps because of its remoteness, this park seemed to attract a more affluent and nature-oriented than most of the other parks we have visited.

The surrounding landscape, while rugged, was a bit more kid friendly than Big Bend State Ranch–most of the plants were not sharp. Our children were able to roam freely and loved exploring arroyo behind our campsite.

Interestingly, there is a lovely hotel also in the park about a quarter-mile from the tent camping area. It could be perfect if you have any non-camping family members or friends that want to join on your trip. They also have a restaurant that is open Wednesday through Sunday. We didn’t try it, but the Sunday brunch buffet looked pretty tasty.

Campsite Recommendations

We stayed in campsite 86, and when we return, we will probably try and book the same campsite as its a good bit larger than most. That said, 68-79 and 81-91 all looked like they would be great tent campsites. They all back up to the dry creek (fun for the kids) and are off the main road limiting headlight exposure.

Note: The facilities map makes it look the RV campsites are behind campsites 85-93; however, this is incorrect. Only 92 and 93 back up to the RV campsites.

Kid Friendly Activities:

There are a number of hiking trails at Davis Mountains State Park (See Map). Including one trail, The Montezuma Quail Trail, that starts in the tent-camping area. It connects to the Indian Lodge Trail, which winds to the top of the mountain overlooking the tent-camping area. Our 3-year-old and 4-year-old were both able to climb the Montezuma Quail Trail and the Indian Lodge Trail without any assistance. The Skyline Trail climbs the opposite mountain and is slightly easier. It intersects with the Skyline road in a few different places and can be started at the top of the mountain, making it a good choice if your children are not up for a steep uphill hike.

The park has an interpretive center that offers nature walks and the like on on Tuesdays, Thursday, Fridays, and Saturdays. Their calendar is available here.

Fort Davis National Historic Site is in walking distance to the park. In fact, it is at the terminus of the Skyline Trail. It is an excellent example of an Indian Wars fort. Our boys find anything with cannons to be wildly entertaining.

The McDonald Observatory is about a 25-minute drive from the park. Every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday they host a star party where they point 10 of their smaller telescopes at interesting objects in the night sky. Our 3-year-old found Jupiter’s stripes to be incredibly amusing. I would recommend buying tickets ahead of time as they tend to sell out.