Alpine, Fort Davis and Marfa are each the county seats for Brewster, Jeff Davis and Presidio Counties respectively. Besides their beautiful courthouses each town offers local attractions and plenty of charm. The drives alone from one town to the next offer scenic views for miles and are perfect day trips to take in one or two sites in each town and get back to Alpine for an evening of fun!
Alpine Attractions
- Start your day off right with breakfast at Magoo’s Place or Judy’s Bread and Breakfast and go wherever your heart takes you from there!
- Historic Walking and Windshield Touring
- Mural Tour
- Museum of the Big Bend
- Hancock Hill (the Desk) Hike
- Wassermann’s Wranch
Alpine to Fort Davis- 27 miles
Along the way…
- Mitre Peak- Home to the summer Girl Scout camp since 1947 you can learn more about Mitre Peak here.
- Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center – Located about 20 miles north of Alpine CDRI is home to miles of trails, bird blinds, nature exhibits, botanical gardens and so much more.
Fort Davis Attractions
- Fort Davis Historical Site – The fort is open for tours 7 days a week from 8-5
- Davis Mountains State Park
- Indian Lodge
- McDonalds Observatory – Another 25 minutes north of Fort Davis is this world-renowned observatory. All visitors must have reservations at this time to go to the Visitors Center and for any tours or nighttime star parties.
- For a longer trip you can continue on 118 from the observatory and take the 75 miles scenic loop that offers spectacular views of the Davis Mountains.
- Fort Davis Drug Store is a great stop for lunch while visiting our neighbors to the north. Besides a full menu they still make shakes, malts, sodas, sundaes’ and more the old fashion way!
Fort Davis to Marfa 21 miles
Along the way…
- You will see lots of greenhouses that are home to Village Farm tomatoes.
- If you want to get off the main road you can visit Chateau Wright Winery and Alta Marfa Winery. Chateau Wright offers tasting. Get the current schedule on their website.
Marfa Attractions
- Hotel Paisano is the iconic hotel where the cast and crew stayed while filming the movie “Giant” in 1955. Now visitors can see movie memorabilia in the “Giant” room where the movie plays continuously.
- Chianti Foundation is the internationally known contemporary art museum.
- Marfa and Presidio County Museum shows how Marfa and the surrounding area came to be.
- Art is what has put Marfa on the map. Click here for a listing of all the galleries.
Marfa back to Alpine 26 miles
Along the way
- If you time it right and are heading back east at about dusk you can stop at the Marfa Lights Viewing area located 9 miles outside of Marfa on Hwy 90. The famous Marfa Lights have been seen since the 1800’s and there is no explanation of what they are or where they come from. Even if you don’t see the lights, it’s a great spot of stargazing.
- Paisano Pass Volcano is located about 9 miles outside of Alpine. Stop at the Big Bend Snapshot located on the left hand side of the road to learn about how the volcano formed this beautiful region.
Back to Alpine
Designated as a Music Friendly City you can find live entertainment nearly every night of the week! Click here to go to the events page to see where to catch a show!