Davis Mountains State Park

Davis Mountains State Park
The entrance to Davis Mountains State Park in Fort Davis, Texas.
Davis Mountains
Location	Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States
Nearest city	Fort Davis
Coordinates	30°35′45″N 103°55′58″W / 30.59583°N 103.93278°W / 30.59583; -103.93278Coordinates: 30°35′45″N 103°55′58″W / 30.59583°N 103.93278°W / 30.59583; -103.93278
Area	2,709 acres (1,096 ha)
Established	1938-1939
Governing body	Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Davis Mountains State Park is a 2,709-acre (1,096 ha) state park located in the Davis Mountains in Jeff Davis County, Texas. The closest town is Fort Davis, Texas. The park elevation is between 5,000 and 6,000 ft (1,500 and 1,800 m) above sea level. The original portion of the park was deeded to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department by a local family. Original improvements were accomplished by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933 and the park was opened to the public around 1938. Campground facilities were added in 1967.

History

Interest in developing a state park in the Davis Mountains began in earnest in 1923 when the Texas Legislature directed the newly created State Parks Board to investigate the area. However, the Parks Board failed to secure any land donations and had no appropriations to buy the land. By 1933, the Great Depression had so devastated the local economy that landowners agreed to donate 560 acres for the park. CCC Companies 879 and 881 arrived in June 1933 and began organizing their encampment, which they named Camp Washington Seawell, after the first commander of nearby Fort Davis. Their developments in the park included roads, an overlook shelter, two mess halls, stone picnic tables, fireplaces and steps, a latrine and "Indian Lodge."^[1]

Features

The Civilian Conservation Corps built "Indian Lodge" in the 1930s.

The park is next to the Fort Davis National Historic Site and the two are connected by four miles of hiking trails. Within the park is the "Indian Lodge", an adobe motel with thirty-nine rooms, sixteen that were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s (completed in 1939) and twenty-four added by Texas Parks and Wildlife in the 1967.^[2] A large bird blind next to the main road offers enclosed and open viewing areas for the many species of birds that are attracted to the feeders near the blind.

The park has seven miles of equestrian trails in the special use Limpia Canyon Primitive Area, the section of the park north of Texas State Highway 118.

Flora

Davis Mountains State Park receives more rain than the surrounding desert and hosts a variety of trees such as Mexican pinyon (Pinus cembroides), Emory oak (Quercus emoryi), gray oak (Quercus grisea) and one-seed juniper (Juniperus monosperma). Shrubs such as scarlet bouvardia (Bouvardia ternifolia), little-leaf leadtree (Leucaena retusa), trompillo (Ipomoea hederifolia), evergreen sumac (Rhus virens), fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa), little walnut (Juglans microcarpa), tree cholla (Cylindropuntia imbricata), Torrey yucca (Yucca torreyi), catclaw acacia (Acacia greggii), and agarita (Mahonia trifoliolata) abound. The high elevations 6,000 to 8,360 ft (1,830 to 2,550 m) above sea level, not in the park, boast ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides).

Fauna

Montezuma quail are regularly observed in the park. Western scrub jays, white-winged doves, curve-billed thrashers, white-tailed deer and rock squirrels are among the most common wildlife seen. Collared peccary, cougars and American black bears have also been recorded in the park.

Gallery

Rock outcropping along the Indian Lodge Trail
View of Indian Lodge from the Indian Lodge Trail
Indian Lodge lobby interior
View of Davis Mountains State Park (Indian Lodge to the far left)

References

↑ The Look of Nature: Designing Texas State Parks During the Great Depression. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
↑ "Indian Lodge: History". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved 25 May 2015.

External links

"Davis Mountains State Park," Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains

National Monuments and Memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Waco Mammoth National Monument

National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP

National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro

National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith

National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River

National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston

National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca

Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Boca Chica Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Texana Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies, Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway

State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddoan Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace

State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum

State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

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