My 10 yr old son is set on a trip this year. I have a couple questions for a 3 to 4 day trip out there. We would drive (from New Braunfels) and make stops along the way. Mom and 7 yo sister may or may not come depending on the plan.
1. Best time of year to go? We only go to school Tues/Thurs so a 4 day weekend in fall no problem.
2. Favorite kid friendly stops on the way.
3. Any other suggestions for the trip with a 10 yo (and maybe 7yo)? 10 yo hikes and my bikes with me, 7 yo probably miserable with any hike over a mile.
4. Where to stay?
5. Are there reservations that need to be made and how far out should I plan for?

Definitely. Log on to website. Call them.

Friend went out there only to be disappointed. Could have been avoided if they had just checked or called

First stop along the way.

Andretti carts in SA. Let's set who is the fastest driver for the whole trip early.

Fall early winter on a night when there is little or no moon.
Stay at Davis Mountains State Park. If you don't want to camp you can stay in the lodge. It's an old CCC built lodge. Unique and fun. On dark nights in the winter the hill top parking lot turns into a star party with people bringing their own telescopes from across the country. Most are very open to talking and letting kids see what they are looking at.
Visit Fort Davis National Historic site and go across the street for ice cream at the train caboose.
Visit the Alpine natural history museum while you are in the area.
Make reservations for the day tour of the telescopes and then come back the next night for the night show.

Thanks for the detailed response! This is exactly what I needed. Didnt even think about moon.

^this. We also went to South Llano River State Park (I'm a birder).

CT'97 said:

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Fall early winter on a night when there is little or no moon.
Stay at Davis Mountains State Park. If you don't want to camp you can stay in the lodge. It's an old CCC built lodge. Unique and fun. On dark nights in the winter the hill top parking lot turns into a star party with people bringing their own telescopes from across the country. Most are very open to talking and letting kids see what they are looking at.
Visit Fort Davis National Historic site and go across the street for ice cream at the train caboose.
Visit the Alpine natural history museum while you are in the area.
Make reservations for the day tour of the telescopes and then come back the next night for the night show.

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This is the way.

Make a reservation at the Balmorhea Pool on the way out. You won't regret it .

AgPT06 said:

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Thanks for the detailed response! This is exactly what I needed. Didnt even think about moon.

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You want to do a star party and you want it to be a new moon or close to it. Find one a ways out that falls on time you can make it, weekend /holiday and get a reservation early. The super dark nights book up fast.

It's a long way out there so you want to do it right. First time we went it was overcast. Tried again a year or so later and one of my favorite memories ever with my kids.

It's hard to beat literally seeing the rings of Saturn with your own eyes through a telescope.

https://mcdonaldobservatory.org/visitors/programs/evening-programs

Definitely need reservations for the star party. We went a few months ago and were somewhat disappointed with the large number of people and lines to view the telescope. I forgot a jacket and was cold so we left early.

KoolHandLuke said:

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Make a reservation at the Balmorhea Pool on the way out. You won't regret it .

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Is the Balmorehea pool open again? They had it closed precovid and then couldn't get work down during covid. I didn't see if it opened or not. Good idea, if it is open.

I suggest staying at Sproul Ranch. It's a great setup with a pool, fire pit, and outdoor area for grilling or smoking, if you want to spend some down time relaxing. Plus, you can see the observatory from the pool.

Also, eat at Reata in Alpine.

The Gage Hotel in Marathon is nice and has a great restaurant.
Cibolo Creek Ranch South of Marfa looks awesome but I've never stayed there.

Go back during the day when they let you look at the Sun through the telescopes! Very cool to see "cool spots" that are larger than the Earth.

Mas89 said:

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The Gage Hotel in Marathon is nice and has a great restaurant.
Cibolo Creek Ranch South of Marfa looks awesome but I've never stayed there.

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I've stayed at Cibolo a few times and it's awesome, but a pretty good ways out in the middle of nowhere. It's more of a destination itself, rather than a place to use as a base camp to explore the area.

If you go out west via I-10, consider a few hours at Caverns of Sonora. It has been a number of years since I was there, but I did enjoy it, especially since I was the only one on the tour and the tour guide said take as much time as you want.

2nd the lodge at Davis Mtns. S.P., as long as you don't mind not having the amenities found at a chain hotel.

C

Be sure to check and reserve everything ahead of time. Last year they were practically on lockdown and had various tiers of things by appointment only.

Definitely take advantage of all previously mentioned sights.

Random:
Awesome sandwich shop/general store in Fort Davis for lunch.

Doug Moreland's chainsaw carvings and other local oddity shops.

Tourist trap: fort davis rattlesnake museum, our 11 year old loved it so it was (kinda) worth the price of admission

555-PINF said:

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Mas89 said:

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The Gage Hotel in Marathon is nice and has a great restaurant.
Cibolo Creek Ranch South of Marfa looks awesome but I've never stayed there.

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I've stayed at Cibolo a few times and it's awesome, but a pretty good ways out in the middle of nowhere. It's more of a destination itself, rather than a place to use as a base camp to explore the area.

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True. But if OP was a 100 stacked baller, they could fly in to the cibolo creek ranch private airstrip in a jet and have the chauffeur take the family to the observatory. A little over an hour away it looks like.

I use coupons at Whataburger.

Caverns of Sonora is a good stop for a kid that age. Low key, but it is impressive. We did it over spring break.

If you make it to Marathon, the food and drink at Brick Vault Brewery and Barbecue was great.

Ol_Ag_02 said:

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You want to do a star party and you want it to be a new moon or close to it. Find one a ways out that falls on time you can make it, weekend /holiday and get a reservation early. The super dark nights book up fast.

It's a long way out there so you want to do it right. First time we went it was overcast. Tried again a year or so later and one of my favorite memories ever with my kids.

It's hard to beat literally seeing the rings of Saturn with your own eyes through a telescope.

https://mcdonaldobservatory.org/visitors/programs/evening-programs

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This +1. We went to McDonald Observatory two years ago as part of a bigger loop that included Big Bend.

Our star party reservation was right at a full moon. While it was cool to see the moon, the sky was so bright that we didn't get the visibility of other stars that you get on the new moon. Either way, it's cool but know whether you are there for the moon or the stars.

Our kids, 8 and 11 at the time, really enjoyed the Observatory.

AgPT06 said:

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I use coupons at Whataburger.

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Good for you. You are the kind of person who will retire early.......

C

Yes it's open, the cabins are not though. You also have to have a reservation to get into the pool . It's good and bad- you can't make a spur of the moment stop, but it is also far less crowded.

One suggestion for your trip is to take US 90 instead of I10. Mrs. Lurker and I did that in 2014 when we went out there, based on advice from the OB. Driving through Langtry, Marathon and Alpine, as well as right by the Rio Grande for a little while makes the trip well worth it.

One word of caution, however; pay attention to the road signs in Del Rio. I had to pee so bad I was watching for a place to go and missed the sign that 90 went right and wound up driving to the border crossing. My wife asked why there was a sign that said "No firearms beyond this point". Fortunately, as soon as I saw the sign "Bienvenidos a Mexico" there was no traffic trying to cross over and I was able to turn around ASAP. We hit the first convenience store/gas station this side of the border and found out they don't put used tp in the toilet, but drop it in the trash can next to the urinal. That's a smell/sight you don't forget for a while.

We left Sugar Land on Thursday and had reservations at the observatory for the afternoon tour, the evening presentation and the star party on Friday. Unfortunately the crank shaft position sensor (who knew that even existed) crapped out in Hondo when we stopped at DQ for a restroom break, and wound up having to stay for the night. By the time the parts were delivered and installed, we didn't have time to get to the afternoon and evening sessions and wound up passing on the star party as well.

Other than that, the weekend went well. We also enjoyed the Loop 166 drive around Mt. Livermore. We've stayed in Alpine the times we've been out there, but the next time I want to stay in Indian Lodge in Fr. Davis State Park.

If you are at the observatory any time between late October and mid April, be sure you have layers and gloves.

We did a star party during spring break in March. There was a cold front and the high desert mountains can be brutal. We had warm clothes but the kids didn't bring their warm gloves. They were more interested in the hot chocolate inside than the telescopes.

We're thinking about the same trip.

A flask of rumplemints goes nicely with the hot chocolate they sell at the observatory.

If you need a pit stop in Del Rio, head to Rudy's. BBQ, gas, and clean toilets. They'll have you ready to go another 300 miles.

You are a bit away from Big Bend, but on the north side of the park entrance coming from Marathon, they have a really good dinosaur exhibit of all the fossils they have found in the park. Very kid friendly if they are in to that.