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Balmorhea State Park, Toyahvale, TX

Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sport & OutdoorOutdoor AdventureFamily FavoriteLocal Gem

Balmorhea State Park

9207 TX-17 · Toyahvale, TX

Why you should go…

Balmorhea State Park centers on the San Solomon Springs pool, a 1.3-acre basin up to 25 feet deep that the Civilian Conservation Corps built in the 1930s. Spring water flows through at 72 to 76 degrees year-round, so the pool needs no chlorine. You can swim, snorkel or scuba dive alongside small fish, and a restored desert wetland shelters the endangered Comanche Springs pupfish. Campsites and CCC-built motel rooms are part of the park, and it often fills in summer.

  • #state park
  • #spring-fed pool
  • #swimming
  • #scuba diving
  • #west texas

Good to know

General sport & outdoor guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Weather calls the shots

    Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.

  • Shoes, water, sun cover

    The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.

  • Parking and launches fill early

    On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.

  • Daylight shrinks in shoulder season

    Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Balmorhea State Park, ordered by straight-line distance.

  • Sightseeing
    Quirky Fun

    Marfa Lights Viewing Area

    Free

    A roadside viewing area on U.S. 90 east of Marfa where you scan the dark desert horizon after sunset for the Marfa Mystery Lights.

    47 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Chinati Foundation

    $25–$50

    Take a guided tour of large installations by Donald Judd, Dan Flavin and other artists on a former Army post in Marfa.

    47 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing
    Quirky Fun

    Prada Marfa

    Free

    Pull over on a lonely stretch of US-90 to see a sealed Prada storefront sculpture standing alone in the desert.

    49 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing