MacDonald Observatory is, bar none, the absolute best place for stateside assisted star-viewing. The extraordinarily friendly staff routinely hosts Star Parties, and gives a brief late-dusk primer on that night's best viewing. It's so good, it was rated #1 in the world by Lonely Planet. Located 6,500 feet up in the Davis Mountains (near Davis Mountain State Park - see other reviews for that) of West Texas, the observatory is blessed by some of the clearest skies in North America. Because of this, nighttime viewing of major astronomical bodies and events is already far above average. Add to that a dedicated staff using pro-line telescopes (better than you can buy in most stores) and offering take-as-long-as-you-like views of some of the best objects in space, and you've got an unbeatable experience. Crowds vary, but it's said to range from 50-200 people per night. Have patience, though, and be prepared to be humbled by the sheer infinity of space. Price: $10 (!!! WOW !!!) What to bring: Warm clothes / layers / blanket (it's at 6,500 feet, and even if it's a warm day, it's guaranteed to be a nippy night); binoculars/your own basic telescope (the dedicated scopes are all pointed at something, and there are lines, so you'll want to have some filler); a red-LED (to find your way around); your joyous curiosity. PRO: Cheap, organized, uber-friendly, unique CON: Chilly, semi-remote The observatory also hosts special dinners / viewings on their larger scopes (up to the 107), twilight shows ($5), and moon viewings. The observatory tour is interesting, but is more suited to amateur astronomy buffs. The star part is suited to everyone. Nearby/See Also: Davis Mountains State Park, Scenic Drives, Balmorhea Hot Springs read more

McDonald Observatory - Observatories Near Me - Fort Davis, Texas

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Been here twice. The star party is really a great time and you can buy a laser pointer in the gift shop. Be sure to take a jacket as it gets chilly. The day tours are equally as great and seeing the large telescopes so close was fascinating. Note: if it is raining the night you go to the star party they will offer you a refund if you want, however, I suggest you stay and listen to the speakers. It's great stuff, educational and entertaining. I love this place and will be back next time we are in the area. Space is amazing!!! read more

Like MLK said "Only in darkness can you see the stars" I absolutely loved this place! My life has been full of failure, heartache, confusion, and hardship after hardship since about 2009- but last week at the observatory, looking up and seeing the stars made me appreciate all the pain I've endured. LOL. I feel confident things are on the up and up for me. Heck if you'd told me last year I would have a successful career as a rideshare driver for both Uber and LYFT, I wouldn't have believed it! Being out here seeing all the constellations I just knew things are only going to keep getting better and better for me. LOL. Go to the Star party and book in advance! I loved all the greek mythology part of it too. There's so much to be learned. During my visit here, it hit me that my dark times (from 2009-2015) served a purpose, they got me to where I am now. LOL. There's a great gift shop here too. I got some of those cool glow in the dark stars to put above my bed to remind me to keep reaching for the stars! LOL. read more

We attended a Twilight Party and then a Star Party with our three boys over Spring Break. Though the place was packed, the staff did an excellent job of guiding us to see amazing stars and to learn more about our cool universe. One note of caution: we didn't want to eat there (hot dogs, grilled cheese, refrigerated sandwiches). We had 1.75 hours between events and that was really not enough time to leave for dinner down in Fort Davis. If we did it again, we'd do an earlier twilight party and then enjoy dinner before going back. read more

The darkest skies in the continental US, knowledgable and friendly staff, awesome visitor's center, and incredibly star parties!

What do we love?! STARS Why do we love them?! BECAUSE THEY'RE PRETTY My boyfriend and I have been lucky enough to visit this place twice and get two different experiences. The first time was in September 2011, we went to the twilight program and star party. The whole crowd was 20 people max. Foolishly we didn't take any jackets and it got a little chilly but we had a great time viewing all the constellations from the telescopes. The second time around was Nov 2013, and we brought jackets.. and long johns... and beanies... and gloves... and guess what... it was SUPER COLD. But you're in the mountains, people! The glorious mountains with so many stars around. The total crowd was close to 100 people. Unfortunately we missed the twilight program and only got to see the star party. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND ONLY GO FOR THE STAR PARTY, it's the only money well spent here. The hot chocolate was super awful, and the indoor museum/kids center is a total 90's joke, but don't come her for that! COME FOR THE STAR PARTY!! read more

Loved the Star Party and awesome gift shop. It was all worth it to hear my son exclaim "The Moon! I see craters and Maria's!" The best thing was simply that the telescope attendants whom I imagine are grad students, we're so sweet and knowledgeable! You need a reservation from now on. TIP: when if first begins, skip the "talk" and go straight to telescopes. 15 minutes of absolutely alone telescope watch.:) read more

This is such a cool place to visit. You must do the evening tour where they let you see the sky through the telescope! you can see the moon like you have never seen it before!! There is so much to do and learn here. If you have kids, please do them a favour and take them here!! Food inside the observatory was great....they had a really delicious vegetarian sandwich with focacia bread.!! Loved it. also, there are some really awesome scenic drives nearby. Most likely that you will be the only car / vehicle on those roads!! (not many people do the scenic rides, because its far away from closer towns. Here is how you get to the scenic drive: If you are staying at Fort Davis, then you normally would take 118 to the observatory. that is the shortest route. Its scenic in itself. However, when you come back home in the afternoon, take Route 118 North towards I-10. You will hit Route 166 (before I-10). Go West / South on 166 and that is the scenic drive. Just keep driving on 166....its simply beautiful. No one drives in this road. Finally you will hit Route 17, which will take you right back to Fort davis. Of course, this is a longer way to come back home...but such a beautiful way!! read more

My husband and I made a weekend trip to Marfa, and I had seen online that this was a fun thing to do if you're in the area. While I had tons of fun in Marfa, this experience in and of itself was worth the 6 hour drive for us. I booked two tickets to a Saturday night Star Party. It was about a 40 minute trek from Marfa and be sure to drive carefully since you're driving down windy roads while it's getting dark out, with lots of animals nearby. When we arrived, it was pretty crowded but they wrangled us pretty easily and took us to the viewing area outside. I honestly can't even make up how beautiful it was. The entire sky is covered in stars, and the tour guide is a really knowledgable and funny guy. We had such a blast, even though it was so cold out (make sure to check weather conditions as it was about 45 degrees the night we went, but apparently 70 or so the night before). The people here know their stuff and are so passionate about astronomy. We saw a meteor falling, as well as "shooting stars" and other great events that you couldn't see from a big city. They had telescopes set up so after the discussion with the tour guide, we went and saw several different stars / nebulas close up. I would make the journey again just to see these stars. There's nothing quite like it. read more

Being a bit of a geology geek I loved the McDonald Observatory. McDonald Observatory is in the Davis Mountains just North of Marfa, TX. They have several programs day and night offering a wonderful opportunity to view the stars and ask astronomers questions first hand. I opted to participate in the Lunar viewing getting a great view of the moons geological features during the waxing gibbous phase of the moon through high powered telescopes. It was truly amazing to see the features first hand and so clearly. We also got a glimpse of Saturn and a few of its five moons through the telescope. Afterwords they encourage guests to head to the cafe where there is ample hot chocolate to warm you up. The only downer is it is located in the mountains and it is terribly cold so definitely bring some warm clothing. I brought along hand warmers, and wore leggings under jeans, a turtle neck, sweatshirt, jacket, gloves, hat, 2 scarfs and was still chilly. read more

The guided tour is worth every penny! We arrived right at 11:00 when the first tour started. I asked about having my children on the tour, one is 7 and one is 4, the lady was very nice and told me the first 45 minutes of the slide presentation and information might be too much but I could always get up and walk around. She was right...my 7 year old did great. But I will say even my 4 year old stayed pretty quiet. It was very informative. When we rode up to see the telescopes everyone LOVED it. We went in the actual room with the giant scope. My kids even got to push the buttons to move the dome around. They loved it. Our tour guide was Dan and he was wonderful. This was a great stop. read more

Star Parties are great if the sky is clear! Staff here all seem super passionate about the work they do here. The patients these folks must have when dealing with overcast sky's and star parties is admirable. read more

Went for a star party, which was pretty impressive because I don't think I've ever looked through a legit telescope. They had like 25 set up, three huge ones that were all angled towards specific clusters or a planet. We happened to be there at one of the largest star parties ever so they broke us up into two groups. One went to go look through the scopes, the other listened to a guy pointing out constellations with the super laser pointer. Tip: Bring a jacket! Went in March and I was freezing!!!!!! read more

The Good: :: it wasn't that expensive to get in :: you have an amazing time being outside and beneath the beautiful stars with no light pollution :: plenty of stone benches outside for their guided presentation to the stars :: lots of telescopes for you to use to look at different constellations :: very thorough presentation by the guide. the guide has a very powerful laser pointer that makes it seem as though the laser is actually touching the stars! it's nuts. and it's also illegal as hell to point at planes, fyi :: plenty of outside seating :: their cafe...it's very small and gets super crowded but as you wait for your turn for your guided tour, it's awesome to grab a quick bite to eat, some hot cocoa or tea, and some amusing people watching. try their chili!!!! it's so good!!!!!!!!!! :: you may actually see other neat things during your guided tour, like satellites in space moving VERY quickly, shooting stars, or...maybe a UFO???? The Bad: :: the cafe gets the overrun from the crowds waiting to get called for their tours, so if you are hungry and looking to sit down and eat, you may be out of luck if it's freezing outside and you want to stay warm and not turn into a meat popsicle :: morons who don't listen to the guide may have their car lights on and ruin your star viewing :: the long wait for a view of jupiter is not worth the long wait to view jupiter via the bigger telescopes. seriously. it ends up looking like a globby white spot. a wee bit disappointing. maybe you will have better luck than we did? The Ugly: :: none Would I go back? Definitely!! It was so lovely to be outside and under the stars. How can anyone possibly say no??? This place is IN. read more

The good: - purty stars in complete darkness The BAD: - telescopes aimed at close objects like Jupiter were the weaker ones, whereas the larger telescopes were aimed at much further constellations (this makes some sense, but basically everything looked like a white dot) - it was very crowded when we went (which might have been an aberration) so there were long lines - every now and then car headlights would shine on the group messing up our adjustment to the darkness - video was very outdated (seemed to please children though) Other notes: - it was very chilly up there in the winter - Our experience might've been improved if it wasn't so incredibly crowded on that day (there were maybe somewhere around 140 people there) read more

I've wanted to attend a tour/star party at McDonald Observatory since I was in the 3rd grade, and it did not disappoint! Skies were cloudy for the solar tour, but our guide Dan expertly filled the time with demonstrations and explanations of the actual telescopes. It was such a treat to see them in person and learn about the work the observatory is doing. The star party was absolutely magical. The clouds evaporated just in time. I've never been in a place with such dark skies (plan your trip during the new moon!) or on the side of a mountain where the stars seemed to extend below the horizon. Be sure to layer up so that the cold won't detract from your experience, and put your flashlights and phones away. Allow your eyes to adjust to the dark--you'll be able to get around better than you think! All of the astronomers manning the telescopes were friendly, eager to answer questions, and excited to help people who are completely clueless about stargazing. (Literally, one woman asked, "What makes the Milky Way milky?") read more

McDonald Observatory - Observatories Near Me - Fort Davis, Texas

If you're out in West Texas, do yourself a favor and attend one of the McDonald Observatory's Star Parties. If they tell you to bundle up, you better listen! Bring more layers than you think you'll need, especially if you don't have anyone to cuddle up to. Although you can go inside as much as you want to warm up, you're gonna want to stay outside most of the time to look through the telescopes, take in the quietude, and talk with the many scientists/astronomers who are present and very much engaged in the Star Party experience. The astronomer who gave a brief lecture at the beginning of the party was really good at explaining the basics of astronomy, orienting the audience to the solar system and night sky, and had this super cool high-powered laser to point out stars and constellations in the sky. Great for kids and adults, easy to make reservations (we made ours the same day for a Friday night), and a truly rare opportunity. read more

Great place to visit. We went there during the day. The drive from Fort Davis is beautiful, and the view from the observatory is breathtaking. The cafe was very busy because of the Spring Break traffic, but the food was really good -- a step above the usual concession fare. read more

Quite simply, the best view I've ever had off the night sky. We got to see Jupiter, Saturn, two galaxies, and some star clusters through their very powerful telescopes. The whole experience is topped off with an enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff and a fairly awesome constellation presentation before you go off and look through the telescopes. I found this to be very much worth the drive. If you're planning a trip and there's certain celestial bodies you want to see, however, call ahead to find the best time to view them. read more

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I heard it's cool. But we didn't get to find out. Didn't have advance tickets, which wasn't a problem. They sell out a good bit in advance and we knew we weren't going to get it. But we called ahead to see if we could still go through the exhibits in the visitor's center. The lady on the phone said, as long as there is a group, all the exhibits are open and you can do the self-guided tour. Once we got there, the staff told us we couldn't go through the exhibit. My wife said,"So even though I spoke to someone this afternoon who said we could go through, we now have to go home." They said, "Well, you don't have to go home, you can go to the cafe and the gift shop." They couldn't care less. read more

Great experience. One of the best vacation values in West Texas. Exceptionally friendly people - our tour guide Dan was friendly, knowledgeable and made the most of an unexpectedly snowy day that forced closure of some of the venues. The guided solar tour was great, and if you get a chance (weather permitting) definitely do the Star Party. read more

We did the star party and had a wonderful time. Every staff member was very knowledgeable and could answer just about any question we had. I'd recommend bringing a sweater (even in the summer) as it got quite chilly as the night went on. The lines for the telescopes could be a bit long at times but moved pretty quickly. The telescopes were angled at various things including star clusters and planets which was fascinating. The sky was a little cloudy the night we went but it is such a dark area that we could still see an unbelievable amount of stars. The view was incomparable to anything I've ever seen before. If you're in west Texas, the McDonald Observatory is well worth a visit especially if you're a UT student as they provide discounted tickets. read more

The Star Party was amazing. Love buying gifts in the Visitors Center! Beautiful site!

A group of us, visiting from San Antonio, dropped by here on the Friday before Labor Day and saw a presentation about the sun, which was very interesting. We also took the tour of two of the large telescopes, which I enjoyed very much. It was a beautiful day to boot. We returned that night for the Star Party, which was very enjoyable as well. read more

Spring break was a perfect time to reserve a spot for the star party. Our kids loved it! The crowds were not too huge although there were lines for each telescope to view after the constellation show. Wonderful learning experience for all ages! read more

Not the best Ive seen. But having experienced many observatories, I was on a road trip and had to stop by. I wouldn't recommend it unless you are out there in the middle of nowhere with time to spare. This landmark is so fresh and calming on top of the mountains. Very relaxing to look at the nature within or beyond our planet. read more

McDonald Observatory - Observatories Near Me - Fort Davis, Texas

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We didn't go in the actual observatory, but we looked at the view. It's high up. You'll feel it in your head because of the thin air. We took turns biking down the long windy road which was great :) read more

What a great time at the star party Saturday. Because of the snow crowd was small which was good for us. Sky was clear and dark. The only downside was the snow in the amplitheater so the constellation tour was out on the sun deck. They had 5 telescopes set up and the lined moved quickly. This is a must see on everyone's list. Great job by the employees adjusting due to weather conditions. read more

We went on a Thursday night and the skies were clear! My sweet bff surprised me with a "star party." We were staying in Marfa for a couple days but he checked the McDonald Observatory website and weather constantly before and during our trip and the night we were in Marfa, skies were clear in Ft. Davis, which was about a 45 minute drive away. It was freezing cold and breezy so we layered up and wore gloves. We even brought blankets! Next time, if you go, definitely bring your own hot drinks (tea/hot chocolate) as the little cafe doesn't offer a great variety. The presenter/physicist was an awesome speaker and had a great sense of humor. We both enjoyed his presentation and nerdy jokes. Seeing the stars above us and the space station was incredibly exhilarating and magical on top of the mountains! We got to see the moon and stars closer through the amazing telescopes they had. The way they set up the place with the red lights was so beautiful and thoughtful too. We both wished we had a vacation cabin near the observatory just to see the stars whenever we wished. The entry fee was really affordable too. I highly recommend you visit this place if you love astronomy like we do! read more

Went during spring break. NEVER AGAIN!!!!! They put on extra sessions of everything but they are all full of way too many people. On this overcrowded account I would mention the Star Party. Could get a seat in the over-filled ampitheater, could hear the speaker talk due to crowd noise. Didn't want to stand in long, long lines to look through telescopes. It was cold as balls, too. I think Carl Sagan would say there were "billions and billions" of people there. Bottom line, the Star Partys during spring break are way too crowded for the facilities and they should set a lower limit for the number of attendees. The Solar Viewing sessions was fabulous, at least a 2 PM. Staff was nice in the face of the overwhelming masses. We had 6 tickets for 5 people as one of our group couldn't come. Wish they had an organized way to let us refund if there in person so someone else could take the reservation. read more

Wow. We had a fabulous time here! We started off with a day time visit with a short talk and then a tour of two of the telescopes. Our guide was very good with kids and great about explaining things to them as well as asking them questions to keep them engaged. She also let each one operate some aspect of the telescope during the tour. Afterwards we had lunch in the Star Date Cafe which was quite tasty!! We came back the next night for the Star Party. The kids really enjoyed the presentation. Afterwards while standing in line to view from the smaller telescopes they had set up, we saw the most amazing (biggest & brightest) shooting star ever. A Magical Night!! read more

We didn't do a tour but our toddlers loved the exhibit hall. There were interactive displays for every age. They had a great time.

My dad and I attended the star party and can not recommend it. I think it is more for kids. There were so many people there that we had to wait in line forever to get to a telescope for a 5 second peek. Also, we were told by the front desk that a live feed from telescopes would be shown but there was no such thing. My dad was so excited to go to this but the outcome did not even half way meet our expectations. read more

$17 total for the Twilight Program and Star Party. It was worth every penny. The Twilight Program is an indoor presentation on the relationship between the earth, the sun, the moon, the other planets, and the galaxies. It is an interactive entertainment and very educational. The star Party is an outdoor presentation of stars, constellations, Greek mythology, and the Milky Way. It was so entertaining and again educational. On the night I attended, a low orbit satellite happened to pass overhead. The presenter thought it may had been a spy satellite due to it's orbit flight path, really cool. After the outdoor presentation is done, guests are allow to visit several telescopes and spy the night sky. One telescope was pointed toward the outermost planet, Uranus on the night that I visited. I you visit during the winter months, be sure to wear winter clothing and bring blankets because it can get below freezing. An indoor cafe serve sandwiches and drinks till closing. read more

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We stayed at the Indian Lodge there at Fort Davis park, so this was like only 15-20 minutes away for us. It's also part of the Fort Davis scenic loop drive. Honest, just simply not that big a fan of astronomy and the science of stars, but I did enjoy being out there under the darkest sky of my life along with the brightest stars of my life. It was weird being out there, took my eyes about 40 minutes to adapt to the darkness, and as they did, I could see so much more. We went to star party, not too many people there, they do have an outdoor seating and lecture area for you, would say the presentation and talk last about 30-40 minutes, it's worth doing if you're in the area. Coolest thing was the the lecturer had a laser pointer and I swear, it looked like he was able to trace the stars and constellations in the sky with that pointer! We were there in late September and it was cool, probably down in the 50's so dress warmly. read more

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We visited the observatory for Spring Break after watching "The Pluto Files" on PBS. We spent a full day there, probably more than 8 hours. We arrived there just in time to go on the guided tour at noon. Our guide was awesome! I can't remember her name, but she sounded like Jodie Foster. She was passionate about teaching us information about the telescopes and drove the shuttle up the mountain to show us the 107" telescope. What's nice is that we actually got to be inside the dome where the telescope was and some kids got to move the controls to change the orientation of the telescope and move the dome head around. We also had an amazing view of the entire observatory and the area. I think the top of the mountain is the highest point in Texas that you can get to on a paved road. Then we went to the Solar Viewing, and our guide in the theater was also amazing. He was a great teacher and made looking for prominences and filaments exciting. He even explained what the Aurora Borealis was. Do not miss the Solar Viewing! We had a break and so we finally went on our self-guided tour of the exhibit hall. Not too exciting. I actually read through most of the information in that room, and it's mostly about Spectrography and formation/ lifespan of stars. I still found it interesting, but I was hoping for information about the planets and constellations too. I guess I was expecting a planetarium, but that's just not what the observatory is about. We also went to the Hobby-Eberly telescope, but the exhibit was ok. The guided tour is 100X more exciting. I still recommend going if you have time because the drive up the mountain is fun and the views are worth it. And it's a lot quieter than the rest of the observatory, so you can have a moment of peace in all of the madness. We originally were not going to the Twilight Program, but the person at the front desk recommended it. I'm so glad we went! It was an interactive program about constellations, planets, and the earth's orbit around the sun. It made the Star Party so much more interesting because we had a thorough understanding of what we were going to see that night and why. The Star Party -- an enjoyable but very crowded experience. The staff there tried to split the groups so there was one group that saw through the telescopes first and another group sat through a constellation tour first. But there were way too many people that the lines to look through the telescopes were still way too long. The constellation tour was a lot of fun, and I'm so happy that I finally know what to look for and where. I never even knew where the big dipper was or how to find the north star. But the guide has a green laser to literally point up at the stars to show everyone what he was talking about. The constellation tour makes the Star Party worth it. We only looked through 2 telescopes because the lines were long, and it was really really really cold! They are not exaggerating! Take a huge jacket, ski socks, and gloves! The Star Date Cafe is expensive. I recommend packing a lunch and eating outside. The weather is beautiful during the day, and there is plenty of shade. I have to mention that the supposed UT Student discount is ONLY $1 off the ticket price! For the daytime pass, star party pass, and twilight pass the total was $20. $19 for UT students. What bs! I bet part of my fees went to that observatory. I found the $1 discount a little insulting. But I guess I forgive them. Overall, we had a lot of fun. I think this is more interesting for adults who have studied physics. Kids still seemed to enjoy it, but there were plenty of retired folks and single adults. I think adults will appreciate the obsevatory much more than the kids. read more

Highly recommended, both for kids and adults. Star party is worth it - you get to see some stars through telescopes (there will be lines, however), and get a constellation tour. They use a high power laser pointer to point out stars in the sky. Pretty cool. As for the daytime tour, the first part (the 45-minute presentation at the Visitors Center) is pretty boring, unless you're a science geek. The guide lets you see two telescopes, one on each side. The lone one on the left side is the fifth largest in the world, so that's pretty neat. Other than that, I didn't find anything special about seeing the telescopes. Definitely catch the star party if you're planning a trip here. Also, wear warm clothes with you, as it gets cold at night, especially during the October - May months. read more

This observatory is all around awesome. If you take the daytime tour, try to arrive for the guided tour as it's the same cost. That tour lasts around 1.5 hours and the guide is extremely knowledgeable about the history, astronomy, and how the telescopes work. The self-guided tour lets you walk up to the domes, but the guided tour will take you inside and let you see how the telescopes work by rotating the scope and the dome. The day tours run every day of the week. The star parties were also fun. We were there on a full moon night, so many of the stars were blocked, but they set up telescopes to give fantastic views of the moon's craters and a few nebula's. My advice is to attend the first hour of in the amphitheater where they do a constellation tour, then grab some food at the cafe (or your own packed dinner) and let the lines dwindle a bit. We saw an appreciable thinning out of people in the first half hour, but even with ~400 people the lines moved fairly quick. They stayed open for several hours after starting, and I think will continue to run as long as people are interested. The food in the cafe was a pleasant surprise. They have more than hotdogs and grilled cheese, as we had a fresh made quesadilla and chicken sandwich that both had good quality shredded chicken. read more

Great place to visit, clean and very interesting. Staff is knowledgeable and very much caring .

We went to the Special Viewing Night on the 36" telescope and even though it was mostly cloudy, it was still amazing!