Davis Mountains State Park Campground

I love this place. We decided to spend two nights of our Big Bend trip here because there is so much to do. The park has all the usual amenities, shown on their website. I like that the sites are not cookie cutter the same - each is a little different and well spaced apart. There is a nice CCC era Lodge, we missed eating breakfast there because it was closed but it looks really nice. Fort Davis made for a great place to stock up on groceries - there is a grocery store and health food store. We made a side trip to McDonald Observatory and another to Fort Davis Historic Park - both well worth it!

Things to do / keep in mind:
- McDonald Observatory is about an hour away, look online for hours and events. We went to the solar party, which was awesome. Another option is the evening star party. Both can get booked up during Spring break so reserve online.
- Fort Davis Historic Park is well preserved and really worth spending at least 3-4 hours at, including a short hike around the park
- The sidewalks roll up early and everything shuts down, organize yourself and get all provisions bought early
- the park has a nice observation overlook that makes for wonderful sunsets and pictures
- javelina. Stow your stuff.
- Dark sky nights are amazing!
- Avoid Spring Break

"It's once maybe every 10 years this happens," locals kept saying, speaking of the abundance of flowers that were shooting yellow, blue and purple all throughout Big Bend. Here in Fort Davis, they were significantly more sparse, but beautiful nonetheless.

Even if a single flower hadn't been sprouting this spring, there's plenty of gorgeous nature to revel in. Jagged burnt sierra cliffs jut from the desert mountains, and they're often covered in a green moss that is simply striking. Prickly pear and cane cholla are everywhere, and the emory oaks--typically an evergreen--were going golden luster during our stay.

Hiking was abundant, short and rewarding. The drive to the top of the mountain in the state park will produce a bit of cell service for you, the rest of the park is devoid of any service (AT&T and Verizon), though I rode my bike the easy 4 miles downhill every day to work at the public library in Fort Davis.

The moon was full, so we didn't get the full effect during our normal waking nighttime hours, but one late night I snuck out of the van to water the flowers and was fortunate enough to remember to look up. You will not believe my description and words fall short, but suffice to say that this is one of the darkest night sky areas in the continental US, and this view alone is rewarding enough.

There's also a lodge and restaurant, though we didn't partake.

Most nights they didn't allow us to have fires, though a sign read otherwise, the rangers would show up before dusk and say the wind was going to be too heavy that night. It rarely was. By the weekend, it seemed no one was abiding by these rules. It was certainly louder on the weekends, but the spaces are huge. Our site, #29, was particularly spacious and at the end of a lonely cull-de-sac.

Day trips up to McDonald Observatory and Balmorhea State Park are highly recommended, beautiful scenery all the way and rewarding destinations.

So you know how dogs can't hike in the National Parks? Right, so this is "my" Big Bend. Yes, it isn't as big or have any water but I love it here. I really like the hiking here, one trail goes from the Campground to the Indian Lodge (hotel/restaurant for the park) and the other trail goes from the campground to the old Ft. Davis. Ft. Davis is a fun town with its own handmade broom maker and hat maker. Additionally, they have a great humane society center that actually has suites for the dogs and a big yard, where the volunteers and dogs play. From personally experience, the veterinarian office was great when Q-dog needed a physical and some blood tests. Attend the star gazing party at McDonald Observatory. The park/community goes to great strides to avoid light pollution at night so even from your site, the stars will be amazing.

The only down side is that you will not get any cell service, the park does have WiFi at the bird blinds, although for me it seemed pretty slow. You may be able to get better WiFi at your site with a booster but I didn't try it. You can get service in Ft. Davis and/or on top of the mountain. The Jeff Davis County library in Ft. Davis also has computers and is housed in an historical building

Other than having issues with reservations, this was a great place to stay. There are full hookup sites as well as water/electric. In general the sites are spacious and spread apart. Our site's sewer was not well placed for the slope of the site, but we made it work with creative parking and some rocks. Bathroom/Shower facilities were very well maintained, and they sell ice on an honor system at them.

There are a lot of good trails and the Indian Lodge architecture is worth checking out. The McDonald Observatory Star Party is a must. The scenic roads through the mountains are fantastic on a motorcycle. Marfa is within striking distance, which is a bonus.

Connectivity is problematic. Unless you have a booster, there is no cell service at all on AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile. With a booster, I was able to snag 2-3 bars of Verizon and AT&T LTE (5mbps up, 0.6 mbps down). Campground wifi, as expected, doesn't work.

We were specifically seeking a spot where there was known bad cellular service (crazy, right?). Since we're doing extensive antenna testing, the reviews of boosters working here seemed perfect.

We started with just 3 nights, and ended up extending 3 more. We loved the park and location, and the nearby town of Ft. Davis has the basics you might need. We went to star party at McDonald Observatory (it's not an hour away like another review mentioned, more like 20-25) - which was amazing!

True to reviews, cell service is not usable here without extra gear. Use a booster or even just an antenna, and Verizon & AT&T can be quite usable (no Sprint or T-Mobile) - we were even able to stream video. We tested out our full array of high gain antennas in this unique canyon location. Almost none of them could produce enough upload speed to broadcast video, but we made do and ran into town, or up Skyline Dr, for any intensive uploads we needed.

There are a couple of WiFi access points in the park - bathhouse and interpretive center. Our WiFi extending gear was able to lock onto it from our site - and it was somewhat usable for e-mail and basic slow surfing.

Tip: The full hook-up sites are lovely, spacious and private feeling pull through spots. The electric/water are mostly back-in sites and many of them in a shared driveway configuration and unlevel, and not many offer too much privacy. Had we known this going in, we likely would have splurged the extra $5 even though we don't need hook-ups.

Davis Sate Park is on the mountainside, about 10 minutes away from town. The campground is pretty and peaceful with a lot of space between campsites. There is little light pollution which makes for amazing night skies. We were at a full hook-up site in December 2014, and on cold mornings (20-25 degrees), the water connection would be frozen, but it would thaw once the sun came up. The site was paved with a concrete patio which has an awning for cover. While there, the county had a burn ban in effect, but the campground has discretion on whether you can have a fire, usually based on wind speed. They will post at the entrance and at each restroom area whether campfires are allowed that day. Our site was very un-level front to back which required a lot of boards under our front wheels and jacks to level us. They have WiFi which was iffy at best. There is almost no ATT or Verizon signal. We were able to use our cellular booster to get some usable Verizon data. There are a fair number of trails for us to walk the dogs, but a lot of sand spurs which meant booties for the dogs. A Texas State Parks pass gives you half off your second day of camping. We mainly visited to do a star party at the observatory, but it was canceled due to snow both times we tried to attend. We will try again in the future and will definitely stay here again.

Most of the water/ electric sites are very short. At registration they pick a site for you. Full hook up sites are pull thru and much longer.

No cell service at all even with a booster. There is wifi in the campground that was reasonable.

The lodge, the hikes and Fort Davis are all worth while.

Having been moving frequently for the last several months it was nice to have a chance to stay for almost 2 weeks in this nice, clean, quiet campground with friendly hosts and helpful staff. Davis Mountains SP is easily reached on Rte 118 whether heading up from Ft Davis (entrance will be on the left) or coming in from Kent (on the right). Check in is easy-and if you come in after hours with reservations your packet is on the door. Otherwise, choose a site and go back to the office by 9am (although they are petty good about not being strict about that. We were there right at the end of Daylight Savings Time and located in the FAR west of the Central Time zone coupled with being surrounded by mountains it was not light until around 9 and the sun did not come over the hill until after 10. The office at the gate is chock full of information and everyone is extremely helpful.

Other reviewers have touched on the fact that the sites (other than the FHU which seem to be pretty well booked ahead of time) are mostly not level and in many cases quite close together. We were lucky with our 33' MoHo to have been assigned #61 which was slightly off front to back but otherwise a great space. At the end of the campground, next to the Camp Host and a park employee it was the last site before the group picnic area but that was never used while we were there. However, a number of sites are in a weird V formation so unless you are good friends you are a bit too close. Bathrooms are situated in various places though the one at our end was being renovated and closed. I do not however think it had showers and those were a bit of a walk. (one note-from our "street" there was a path that cut right through a tent campsite-#49- which was very often occupied. The path is well worn but the Park has not marked it an official path nor closed the site but people seemed to use it anyway. Avoid #49 if you are not fond of people walking through your site.) We did see several campers come in and not be satisfied with the assigned site and they were able to change without a problem which I suppose would be true unless the CG was crowded. Another couple we spoke with had requested their site so if you are large #61 would work-just have your blocks* and know that if you back in it will be the rear that is down. The sites themselves are asphalt but not very wide and drop off quite a bit to the ground.
The Indian Lodge had a restaurant that we found to be more like a large diner with food that was passable.
Although there is supposed to be a lot of wildlife there we saw only a few mule deer and smelled but never saw javelinas. Pets must be on leash but otherwise it's very pet friendly.
The bathrooms were clean-ish (the camp host does not clan them but a park maintenance woman does and she does not come everyday. However, it was mainly hair in the drain and a bit of dirt on the floor that was all that needed cleaning. The pressure is wonderful, the water hot and there are two showers in one bathrooms with two toilet stalls as well as an entire room with toilet, basin and shower for ADA.
The electric is 20/30 and the water at our site had decent pressure though I was not fond of the taste. The dump is across from the showers BUT you must be facing into the campground. There are a few trash bins throughout the CG but the ONLY recycling is at the entrance to sites 1-17.
OK now for why only 4 stars and it has been covered by others-no reception at all, NADA. Yes, there is WiFi at the Interpretive Center which is petty centrally located BUT it is very slow and unreliable. There is a bit of reception up at Indian Lodge but only data no phone. The only place to have reliable service within the park is at the top of Skyline Drive. Granted it's a few minutes by car and the glorious view from there is 360 but if your coach won't start and you are trying to coordinate getting someone to come it is a bit of a hassle. The other alternative is the beautiful, friendly and charming Jeff Davis County Library in Ft Davis. Free, very fast WiFi, a table with plugs to use your own laptop or use the bank of desktop computers.
Laundry- Davis Laundry on Cemetery Rd is clean basic and has double load washers ($2.50) and large dryers ($0.25 for 5 min).
Groceries-basic needs, mostly fresh but not a wide variety of produce and lots of junk and food-ish items at Porters Thriftway or more expensive but healthier options and a very good deli at Stone Village Market opposite Cemetery Road.
The McDonald Observatory is 1/2 hour to the west with an excellent show but make reservations AND if your intent is to see the stars from the telescopes skip the constellation talk and use them while the crowds are busy with the talk. Otherwise be prepared to wait...
Alpine is 1/2 hour away and home to an excellent ER at the Regional Hospital as well as the excellent Museum of the Big Bend at Sul Ross University where there is also a theatre with shows regularly throughout the year. If you go to the museum and are interested in maps call ahead and make an appointment with Matt Walker to see their phenomenal collection.
Marfa is also only 1/2 hour away.
All in all, a great stay with lots of good hiking trails and relaxation but the lack of signal was very frustrating.

We stayed in the non full hook up loop but water and electric were plenty for us in December. Not much privacy between spots but the park itself offered lots of activities. Roads were very walkable/bikeable or the park has close to 20 miles of hiking trails. Make sure to take the one from the CCC overlook to Ft. Davis. A shot walk with beautiful views. Enjoy!

The pros:
Beautiful location, easy access, $25/night for FHU and cable! Lots of hiking although the trails are challenging. Bring plenty of water. Nearby to Ft Davis for your basic needs.

The cons:
No cell, none..not even with booster. I know other people managed to get service w/ a booster but I had no usable service with WeBoost 4G-M. It would show me 1 bar on Verizon or ATT but when I tried to make a call or use data it would cut off. The wifi at the park is barely usable for getting the occasional email. That's not a problem if you're not expecting it but don't go into it thinking you can work from your site. If you drive 5 minutes to the top of Skyline drive, you'll get great 4G speeds and excellent voice. The other option is to drive into Ft Davis and use the library there.

Site accessibility (Roads in are good. Easy pull thrus) - 4
Campground location (Nearby to Ft Davis, great hiking/biking) - 4
Nearby amenities (2 small markets in Fort Davis) - 3
Site Privacy (Good spacing) - 3
Campground amenities (Individual locked bathroom/shower) - 4
Dog friendly (Very dog friendly. All hikes were dog accessible) - 5
Activities (Hiking, biking) - 4
Cost ($25/night for 50amp FHU with cable) - 5
Staff friendliness (Nice enough) - 3
Connectivity (No cell, not even with booster) - 1
Total rating = 3.6