Davis Mountains State Park Campground

The park is certainly worth a visit, but the quality and layout of the campgrounds are a bit disappointing. Some of the loops offer spacious and private sites. In others, sites are arranged close together in parking lot style with utilities placed so far back in the sites you might have trouble connecting w/o extra long hoses/cords. Not a lick of AT&T cell service. Bathrooms and showers were very clean.
Despite being underwhelmed by the campgrounds, we'd come back for the rest of what the park has to offer!

check in very simple and informative. Drove straight to site 31 backed in and we were set up. Level, clean, quiet. we did have a close neighbor but they were awesome so we were happy to have a close neighbor. all the sites around us were suited for smaller rigs, but just around the corner the sites would accommodate most any size
showers and toilets were clean and very functional.
the park is well maintained. we only stayed 1 night but managed to get a good hike in on the skyline drive trail. it’s a steep grade with 1 section of switchbacks. slow and very scenic.

We stayed in the tent area and our price reflects the cost with our Texas Park Pass. The sites are mostly level, in the FHU area, there is no privacy due to the lack of vegetation between sites. The showers were clean, hot and had great pressure. Wonderful hiking in the area with lots of wildlife. We even saw a herd of Barbary Sheep while hiking the equestrian area acress the highway from the main park. The interpretive center is great and it has a fantastic wildlife viewing area and there is another one near the beginning of the tent area. Great places to watche the birds. The nearby Fort Davis National Historic Area is not to be missed with lots of history and beautifully restored buildings and a nice museum. The one disappointment is that the park is not an "official" dark sky park, they have signs posted asking campers to keep off unnecessary lights so people can stargaze. Well needless to say, some people do not abide by the dark sky concept. They will burn their outside lights and cap lights, regardless of how it affects others. Except for the camp host in the tent area, it was dark there. I was very disappointed the tent area camp host kept a porch light and awning LED strip illuminated, I would hope they would set the example. Another pet peeve is having rules they don't enforce. When we checked in they made it clear you had to stay on the pavement and nothing tied to the trees including hammocks. Needless to say, there were many who don't follow the rules and no one enforces them. As mentioned previously, the Indian Lodge is closed for renovation. The dump station was fine. We had great solar and Starlink here. I would return here for the hiking and the wildlife, it is a great park!

We stayed here for two weeks & enjoyed the park so much!

The campground has different levels of amenities ranging from full hookup to dry sites. We were in a water/electric site. The sites all seemed mostly level with asphalt service. The dump station was centrally located to the different branches of the campground. There were two shower houses/ bathrooms that were clean & had good water pressure and hot water.

We used Starlink & had fantastic service with that, with two people working M-F with no interruptions. One bar at best on T-Mobile unless you hike up the mountains where the service is great. The Interpretive Center, office, and shower houses have WiFi available that worked well the couple times I used it.

The park has several great hiking trails ranging from .25 miles to a 10ish mile hike across the highway at Limpia Creek. We hiked all of them & would recommend any of them.

The Interpretive Center was a big highlight for us as we always like learning about the park/area we are staying in. Ranger Charlie and Sasha were wonderful resources for wildlife information, recommendations on restaurants, and other points of interest in the area. They also put on different types of programming throughout the week both at the Interpretive Center & within the park. We attended a Star Party, hiking with shelter dogs, and several other programs during the two weeks we were camping here.

Normally there is a hotel & restaurant within the park, but it was closed for renovation while we visited.

The park & surrounding area were great for wildlife viewing. We saw tons of javelinas, wild hogs, aoudads, roadrunners, Montezuma quail, mule deer, pronghorn, and probably others that I am forgetting to list.

The park is located close to Fort Davis National Historic Site, McDonald Observatory, Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute, and the town of Fort Davis which has a couple restaurants, shops, grocery store, and hotels. We loved Stone Village Market for soup & sandwiches & the train car across from Fort Davis NHS for ice cream. We really enjoyed the Star Party at McDonald Observatory, which are held on Tuesday, Friday & Saturday nights.

Overall, we really enjoyed our stay here & will definitely be back on our next trip through the area.

We loved our stay although were charged a random fee for our camper, which we’ve never been charged at a state park. The clerk said each park makes their own rules which I know is not true but not worth arguing. I am reporting it to the state though. Besides that only minor issue we love the location. Stayed in a FHU that did require extra hose to reach. If only the residence of a ranger would’ve complied with the night sky lights off after 10pm that would’ve great. Only noise we could hear was what we assumed was the heater of an airstream beside us (Are all airstreams that loud?)
It was a perfect place to spend Christmas!

No cell phone service of significance. Verizon speed was 10Mbps download but 0.2 upload (aka unusable for most purposes). No usable AT&T or T-Mobile. Starlink worked well.

This is our favorite Texas state park and this was our third stay since 2019. It's been great every time. We stayed in the FHU loop which is very cheap at $25/night with the TPWD annual pass.

Easy pull-through site with no significant obstructions. We didn't have any issues with the hookups, though the sewer connection maxed out the length of our hose. You'll want multiple lengths of sewer hose to be sure.

The access road in is in good shape and there is a ton to do in the area.

I stayed 4 nights in an electric/water site. Sites are relatively decently spaced but there is no underbrush between sites so you can see all your neighbors. My interactions with the staff were all good. Bathrooms were pretty dated but were always clean. During my visit in August there was a ban on wood fires but charcoal cooking was allowed. There is no cell service in the park, but a short drive up Skyline Drive to the scenic lookouts yielded service. The park has two bird blinds and site 34 was halfway in between both. This is a dark sky area, so on a clear night, you have a great view of the Milky Way and the stars. Things to do nearby include the Fort Davis National Historic Monument (only about a 5-minute drive away, or you can hike to it from the scenic overlook in the park - too hot while I was there so I didn't try it) and the McDonald Observatory (15-20 minutes drive - you can make reservations for a tour or a star party online. I did the star party and it was fantastic). Balmorhea State Park is about 35 minutes north with a giant spring-fed swimming pool built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (reservations are required because it does sell out). There is also a scenic mountain loop (took me about one and a half hours). Marfa, TX is about 45 minutes south (I did not go there on this trip). This was a very nice state park, and it is worth reminding anyone planning a trip here that you can save on the daily per-person fees if you have a Texas State Parks pass (and you get 50% off your 2nd night of camping with the pass). On this one trip alone I saved $24 in day-use fees, $10 on camping, and another $7 for my visit to Balmorhea State Park (so $41 of the $70 that I spent on the annual pass).

Our Site Was Level, But Had Problems With The Power Pedestal. First The 30 Amp Stopped Working. We Reported It And Were Told They Would Send Maintenance The Next Day. We Were Able To Get power From The 50amp With An Adapter. When We Went To Leave Our Adapter Was Fried. The Surge Protector Looked Bad, But Still Showed A Good Circuit. We Reported On The Way Out Of The Park

There was no WiFi and no cell signal unless at top of overlook. This presented a safety issue as PH was not able to contact anyone either

We enjoyed the park. Bathrooms are dated, but spotless and work properly