Fort Davis: History, Hiking Trails, and Stars

Fort Davis combines an impressive local history with hiking trails and unique views of the night sky. Families planning a trip can combine different kinds of activities here: trails through the grounds of the Fort Davis National Historic Site, outdoor experiences at Davis Mountains State Park, historic buildings in town, and a visit to the McDonald Observatory. When choosing a vacation rental in Fort Davis, it is worthwhile to factor the planned excursions and their respective directions into your trip planning.

Hiking Trails and Nature Around Fort Davis

The Fort Davis National Historic Site offers four miles of hiking trails in the backcountry and front grounds. This allows visitors to supplement their visit to the historic site with active exploration. For families who do not want every day to be the same, this creates a choice between discovering history and enjoying outdoor activity, without having to treat the two interests as separate from one another.

Davis Mountains State Park is located four miles west of Fort Davis along Highway 118. It offers hiking trails, wildlife-viewing areas, and picnic areas. The direction and distance are just as relevant to planning the day as the type of experience desired: an outing can focus on hiking, wildlife viewing, or a break at a picnic area.

The Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute is located four miles southeast of Fort Davis along Highway 118 and offers more than five miles of hiking trails. Together with the trails at the Fort Davis National Historic Site and the state park, this provides various ways to get to know the landscape to different extents. Anyone wishing to visit several destinations should take the individual distances and directions into account when planning each day.

An Evening at the McDonald Observatory

The McDonald Observatory is located 16 miles northwest of Fort Davis along Highway 118. The visitor information center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and serves as the check-in point for all daytime and evening activities. Offerings include one-hour guided tours of some telescopes as well as star parties with nighttime telescope viewing.

These offerings give the trip a special rhythm: a day of hiking trails or historical discoveries can be followed by an evening centered on telescopes and the night sky. When choosing accommodation in Fort Davis, it may therefore make sense to consider both daytime excursions and the planned evening activity. The information about location and opening hours belongs in the specific day-by-day planning, without implying a particular length of stay.

History and Architectural Heritage in Town

A section of the original San Antonio–El Paso Road still runs through Fort Davis. This connection to the historic transportation route makes the town's history visible along a specific stretch of road. The Hotel Limpia also tells the story of different stages of development: the hotel was established in 1884 in a small red-brick building one mile north of downtown near the Overland Trail and across from the fort.

The present-day Hotel Limpia building was constructed in 1912 and opened in 1913 at the later town square near the courthouse, across from the bank and next to Union Mercantile, now the Jeff Davis Library. The two years refer to different stages in the hotel's history and can be considered separate historical details during a walking tour.

The Overland Trail Museum houses the residence and office of justice of the peace and photographer Nick Mersfelder, built in 1883. The Jeff Davis County Courthouse complements this historical focus with a polychromatic exterior made of poured concrete and inserts of locally sourced pink rhyolite tuff. The building also features a Beaux-Arts-style clock tower with a Seth Thomas clock.

Which Location for Your Accommodation Fits Your Plans

Fort Davis is well suited as a base for a trip combining nature, local history, and an evening at the observatory. However, the destinations are located in different directions and at different distances. When searching for a vacation rental, therefore, consider which excursions will be the focus of your trip and how you want to connect the day's destinations. This keeps your choice of accommodation oriented toward your actual itinerary: hiking trails, historic sites, wildlife viewing, picnic areas, or nighttime telescope viewing.

For the overview of the broader trip: Jeff Davis.