Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute - Fort Davis, Texas

S K. (. I. A. T.

If you like cactus, this is the place! Very nice trails with plants identified and spots to sit and reflect.

Nice visitor center with space to sit down, relax and enjoy the view.

Somewhat handicap accessible. The trails are pea gravel and on a gentle grade. If you are on wheels, you should have fat tires or it will be tiresome to traverse.

Mining heritage exhibit is nice too. Would be good for the kids.

I’m told the actual hiking trails are spectacular, with views to match.

Jeremiah M. (.

$6.50/adult was the cost when I went SEP 2022

Great place to get outta the city at. There's four different hiking trails that vary in difficulty. There's a botanical gardens of native species. In the gardens, they have a cactus greenhouse as well. Right before the gardens, there's a bird blind.

Trails are well marked.

Thank you all at the visitors center for the info. Extremely insightful as to what I should be keeping my eyes peeled for. They mentioned that there were aoudas (?) and mainly birds out. Though when I was leaving, I was told there was a bobcat sighting. I asked about snake 'n' other little critters that can cause harm if I'm not paying attention. They informed me that they're not common at all-- especially during mid-day.

The visitors center has a gift shop. A ton of books that are geared towards outdoors, the Chihuahuan desert, and plants. They have stickers, cups, shirts, field guides, 'n' more.

There's a bathroom, a water fountain, and a station to refill water bottles. Drinking tap water is safe-- per what I was told. My water bottle was too big to fill at the station so they let me use the tap in their kitchen.

I did not see the mining exhibit this time around. Nor did I walk through the gardens to see what's changed. The trails were where I went

What I found really cool is how they're trying hard to be as renewable as possible. Their lights are powered by a solar panel on grounds. They also redirect rain water to help increase biodiversity.

Mark S.

The Botanical Gardens are stunning. Plan for at least 2 hours to see all of the exhibits. This is a photographer’s dream. Check out my pics please. The hiking trails are rugged, take the hikes seriously and wear sturdy boots if you have them. Pack lots of water and enjoy the wilderness.

Cindy S.

We live in Florida. We bought a membership. Does that tell you how awesome this place is? Had a wonderful time. Staff is fabulous. The trails are great. The gift shop is terrific. The cactus museum is fabulous and we hope to return again this trip to check out the bird blind.

YOU need to join and post great things here on Google and everywhere else you can think of. 🙂 10 STARS!

Duane H.

Really cool place! Highly recommend. We spent about 5 hours there hiking and checking out the gardens and green house. Nice visitor center. Very helpful staff. You must do Clayton's overlook trail. Cool 360° display of mountains and volcanic history. Easy trail. We hiked the outer loop trail which starts with Modesta canyon, then winds around Lions head and past the old quarry. Then it brings you to Claytons overlook. Overall around 2.5 miles moderate to strenuous. The hardest part was going down and up through the canyon. The greenhouse was awesome, over 200 species of cacti. The mine museum was very interesting as well nice displays of different types of ores and old mine equipment. I can't think of any negatives at all.

Cameron H.

We have been to Fort Davis 3 times but this is our first trip to the Research Institute. We have been missing out. This place was great. We walked all around the botanical, cactus, and pollinator gardens. The mining exhibit was really interesting. We also took a hike down to the spring in the canyon. It was a great hike, although the area had been experiencing a lot of rain, and there was actually water in the canyon prior to the spring itself. We will definitely be back to hike more on our next visit to Fort Davis.

Kevin W.

Desert landscape with hundreds or plants and trees. Cactus display was great!

Everett L.

Absolutely worth it if you love botanical gardens. The Chihuahuan desert is so unique and here you get to see plants you might not even if you were to crisscross the rio grande a dozen times.