Last year, my son and I visited the MacDonald Observatory and Fort Davis. We had a great time and I'd like to do another trip for this upcoming spring break and wanted to get some ideas on what else others have done. My son is 13 yrs old.

I'm thinking of a trip through Big Bend National Park- please share anything else around that part of the country that you've experienced a good time doing.

Surfing the sand hills in Monahans, swimming at Balmorhea State Park, the coolness and weirdness of Alpine and Marfa.

Y'all are on the right track. The star parties at the observatory are great. Check their website for times. Same area is the Ft Davis State Park. Stay at Indian Lodge and do some hiking there. See the history of the Civilain Conservation Corp.

Balmorea and Monahans are fun too and can be incorporated into the drives into and out of West Tx.

We just went to Big Bend over Christmas break and had a blast. We day hiked for several days and went to both canyons in the park (basically the east side and the west side). There are rafting opportunities but we didn't do that. Several outfitters in Terlingua. Check out the Starlight Lounge there for good food and people watching. You can't see the whole park and everything it has to offer in one trip so don't try. I think you may find lodging a challenge at spring break at this short notice.

Good luck on your adventures!

Thanks for the suggestions in the park. Last year was a little tough for rooms but we did manage to find a few spots open in some of the more vintage places .

they say if you only have one hike you can do in Big Bend you need to do Lost Mine Trail. 13 year old can do it no problem. We did it one morning but there was too much fog so we didn't get the views.

A full day challenging hike is up to Emory Peak. 10.5 miles in total. It is an all day deal but my 10 and 12 year old girls did it. I was impressed wth them. The views are amazing.

The window trail is great and balanced rock is a good one too. The hike into the Santa Elena canyon is easy and very cool. Sotol Vista is a must stop if you do the scenic drive.

Have a great trip if you go.

I'm weather watching now as it looks to be a much cooler spring break than last year. A fall back plan of heading to Houston (my son is interested in the Space Center) is the alternative.

How hot does it get in the park during the early summer? Would hiking at that time be a good idea?

Never been in the summer but I bet is is pretty warm.

The mountain hikes would probably be fine with an early start but I am not sure I would do any desert hikes in the middle of the day. It is dry and you can feel the dehydration setting in. We drank water constantly and that was in late December.

The weather is crazy out there anyway so I wouldn't worry too much about cold in March.

My two sisters and my nephew have homes/cabins in the Davis Mountain Resort, just outside of Fort Davis. The things mentioned above are great. There's a museum in the old Overland Stagecoach Depot. Not fancy, but interesting. There's a super Museum of the West on the Sul Ross University Campus in Alpine that's well worth a visit. Marfa is a big artsy-folksy tourist trap for New Yorkers. We did Big Bend just after July 4th one year. I thought it would be crowded, but we found out that nobody goes in the summer, it's too hot. But, it wasn't hot. It was nice. There's NOTHING in Big Bend, but there's a whole lot of it. The river crossing to Boquillas is open again, after being closed for years by customs, but it's only open Wednesday to Saturday. Look it up. It's a rowboat! railroad Blues in Alpine is good at night(college town). Good food in Alpine.

Islandjim

The absolute best place in West Texas Big Bend country is Cibilo Creek Ranch 20 miles north of Presidio on the road to Marfa. This is considered the best restored fort in all of America. Fishing pond, beautiful accommodations, great food, nice activity list. It is not cheap, but outstanding. Runs around $375 per day up to 500. Plus $75 per person for 3 meals(gourmet!!) Check it out on the internet.