Sports & Outdoors
Outdoor AdventureBig Bend Ranch State Park
Under $25Hike, bike, paddle the Rio Grande or drive rough desert roads in Texas' largest state park, an old ranch on the Mexican border next to Big Bend.
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
SightseeingHistory BuffLocal Gem
Fort Leaton State Historic Site
Walk the thick adobe walls and restored rooms of an 1800s border trading fort on the Rio Grande road, the western gateway to Big Bend Ranch.
16952 FM 170 East, Presidio, TX · Presidio, TX
About Fort Leaton State Historic Site
Fort Leaton is a large adobe compound 5 miles southeast of Presidio on FM 170, the river road along the Rio Grande. Built as a home around the 1830s, it was bought in 1848 by trader Benjamin Leaton, who used it as a trading post and fortress, and it later served as Presidio County's first seat of government. Its walls stand 18 to 22 feet tall, and you can walk through restored rooms with a self-guided brochure, or join a guided tour from November through April. Entry is $5 for ages 13 and up, and the fort is also the western entrance to Big Bend Ranch State Park.
- #historic site
- #adobe fort
- #rio grande
- #big bend
- #border history
What's around here?
The closest stops to Fort Leaton State Historic Site, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
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No admission feeA roadside viewing area on U.S. 90 east of Marfa where you scan the dark desert horizon after sunset for the Marfa Mystery Lights.
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