Destinations,  Texas,  United States

Terlingua – Alpine – Marfa – Texas

I debated on writing anything at all about this area of my trip to Big Bend National Park but I would regret not mentioning what became one of my favorite drives in a long time.

This area of Texas to put it bluntly is pretty sparse of any visitors and any locals but if you are visiting Big Bend National Park this must be on your route in or out.

Terlingua is a pretty unknown town to most people and I bet almost no one would be able to tell me where it is located. This town is located on the Northside of the park and is essentially known for the Terlingua Ghost Town. It used to the a thriving community due to the Chisos Mining Company back in the hayday but has slowly become a stop for people in and out of Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park.

We stopped by Terlingua on our way out of Big Bend National Park in order to grab lunch in the Ghost Town on our way out to Marfa. It is the ideal spot to grab a bite to eat, get some gas if you need and get a taste of what life in remote Texas feels like.

If you want to put in perspective just how small Terlingua is, wrap your hear around the fact that the population as of the last census was just 58 people…. Yup just 58!

I will point out that Terlingua does have some amazing AirBnB’s if you would like to see probably the best night sky in the continental U.S. And its on my bucket list to sleep in their bubble AirBnB which looks amazing! They also have some great single unit desert studios, with outdoor showers that should be on any outdoor travelers list!

Once you leave Terlingua you would head North to Alpine Texas, this is going to be most likely your only glimpse of a big town in the area and I HIGHLY ADVISE to fill up your gas tank even if you dont need too. My one tip to anyone doing a road trip down in the part of Texas is to never let your gas tank hover below half full because you never know when you wont find an open gas station and a lot of the gas stations out here do not let you swipe a card 24/7 to fill up.

Besides snacks, lunch or gas we pretty much drove right through Alpine and headed out to Marfa!

Now our main goal in Marfa was to visit the Prada Store Art Installation – DO NOT JUDGE ME!

Now what they dont tell you is that the Marfa Prada Store is not actually right inside Marfa but at least 30-45 minutes outside of town so make sure to plan accordingly.

The art installation is pretty neat to visit and to my surprise is literally on the side of the road with nothing covering it or separating it on private property. You are able to just pull on the side of the road to walk over and snap some photos. We where not able to really see much else in the are due to just being exhausted from a few days of hiking out in Big Bend.

This quick detour on the way to Fort Davis turned out to be one of my favorite drives in quite some time. I personally love a good scenic drive and the less cars I run into the better. If you end up in Big Bend I would highly advise to head over to Terlingua and get a taste of this old Texas region.

Have you been to Terlingua or Marfa? Any favorite stops? Any must do!? Leave it in the comments 🙂

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