Discover Reeves County: Water, Rodeo, and History

Reeves County combines impressive waterscapes with the rodeo history of Pecos and historic sites that showcase different sides of West Texas. For planning your trip, it is worthwhile to first determine your preferred focus: Are you looking for nature around springs and wetlands, are you interested in rodeo and regional history, or would you like to combine both?

Waterscapes near Balmorhea

A prominent starting point is Balmorhea State Park near Toyahvale in southeastern Reeves County on State Highway 17. The park includes a swimming pool with rock walls built around San Solomon Springs by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The springs are habitat for the endangered Comanche Springs pupfish and the Pecos gambusia. The swimming pool is therefore part of a waterscape that is also home to rare fish species.

From the spring area, water flows through canals and a restored wetland into Balmorhea Lake. The lake is located two miles southeast of Balmorhea. There is access to the shore as well as adequate facilities for launching boats.

The five-acre Sandia Wetlands are another interesting natural feature of the county. The wetland is designed to attract migratory birds in spring and fall. This creates another connection with nature alongside the springs, swimming pool, and lake.

Pecos and the Rodeo Tradition

The city of Pecos represents an important chapter in rodeo history: On July 4, 1883, Pecos hosted the world's first rodeo. This historical significance is complemented by the annual West of the Pecos Rodeo, which is among the 40 rodeos with the highest prize money awarded by the PRCA. In 2008, the West of the Pecos Rodeo was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

Those wishing to explore this topic further will find a suitable additional point of reference on the Pecos page. Pecos is also the permanent home of the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame, located in the Old T&P Depot at the corner of Dot Stafford Street and Oak Street. The Hall of Fame focuses on people who competed at the West of the Pecos Rodeo in Pecos.

Museums, Markers, and Mission Mary

The West of the Pecos Museum consists of a saloon built in 1896 and a hotel added in 1904. In the museum courtyard stands the historic Reeves County marker from 1936 at the intersection of Cedar Street and First Street in Pecos. Both details give the region's history a concrete place and a chronological context.

Another historical trail leads to Mission Mary, also known as Calera Chapel. It is located two miles west of Balmorhea State Park on FM 3018. Mission Mary was an early church in Reeves County and primarily served the Mexican American residents of Calera. The building was renovated in 2003 and dedicated as an interdenominational chapel in May 2003. Mission Mary therefore represents its own cultural focus alongside the nature and rodeo themes.

Choose Accommodation Based on Your Travel Focus

When choosing a vacation rental or vacation home in Reeves County, you can use your planned experiences as a guide. Water, springs, wetlands, and Balmorhea Lake offer a different daily focus than rodeo, museums, and the historic sites in Pecos. An important travel detail is that Interstate 20 and U.S. Highway 285 intersect in Pecos.

The county also has a distinctive culinary feature: Pecos is widely known for its sweet cantaloupes. This regional connection adds a local flavor to the nature and cultural topics that you can consider when exploring the area.

Additional destinations for regional orientation: Bosque County, Grayson, Coryell County, Refugio County, Wise, Denton, Van Zandt.

For the broader travel overview: Texas.