FORT DAVIS

Owned by the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute, the center offers an intimate setting to experience the diversity of the desert region. Included are a cactus and succulent greenhouse, a 20-acre botanical garden, indoor and outdoor interpretive exhibits, easy to moderately strenuous hiking trails, and a gift shop. Allow 30 minutes to 4 hours.

Open Mon.–Sat. 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Admission $5, 64 and over $4, 12 and under free.

Programs for tour or school groups by reservation.

At this park, with an elevation more than a mile high, desert plains grasslands coexist with piñon, juniper, and oak of the mountains, along with fauna from both habitats. Well-traveled trails cover several different terrains. Other facilities include an amphitheater, a picnic area, a campground, and Skyline Drive, a scenic loop. In the summer rangers present nightly programs. If you can plan far enough ahead, make reservations for a stay at the popular Indian Lodge, built in the style of Southwestern pueblos.

Park open during daylight hours for hiking and 24 hours for camping. Park headquarters open daily 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

Admission: $3, children under 12 free; bus rate $3 per person for day trip, $2 per person for camping.

Admission free for lodge guests.

Indian Lodge accessible to the mobility-impaired.

In 1854 Fort Davis served as a refuge from raiding Comanche and Apache parties along the 600-mile route between San Antonio and El Paso. Abandoned in 1862, it was reestablished after the Civil War and remained an active post until 1891. Buffalo soldiers of the 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalries and the 24th and 25th U.S. Infantries served at the fort from 1867 to 1885. Today the site has 25 re-roofed buildings, 5 of which have been restored and refurnished as in the 1880s. A restored barracks houses a museum and visitors center. In the summer and in March during spring break, costumed interpreters conduct tours in the furnished buildings and present artillery demonstrations.

Open daily 8 a.m.–5 p.m. (closed major holidays).

Admission: $5, 15 and under free.

From the observatory atop two mountain peaks-Mount Locke (6,791 feet) and Mount Fowlkes (6,659 feet)-stargazers can easily see forever. The observatory has the world’s fourth-largest telescope, made up of 91 mirrors that form a 433-inch primary mirror array. The user-friendly University of Texas research facility has eight more telescopes, ranging in size from 18 inches to 107 inches. The visitors center hosts special viewing nights each month (make your reservations a month in advance for this popular event), and visitors are also encouraged to attend public star parties on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Various astronomical presentations take place in the multimedia theater as well.

Visitors center open daily 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.; Tue., Fri., and Sat. reopens at dusk for star parties.

Solar viewing and guided tours at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Self-guided walking tours of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope daily.

Guided tours: $8, children $7, family $30.

Star party pass admission: $10, children $8, family $40.

Daytime and star party pass combo: $15, children $12, family $60.

Call in advance for special viewing times.