Davis Mountains State Park, State park in Jeff Davis County, Texas.
Davis Mountains State Park covers 2,709 acres (1,096 ha) of the Davis Mountains in Jeff Davis County, Texas, at 5,000 to 6,000 ft (1,500 to 1,800 m) above sea level. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the five-mile Skyline Drive, a series of switchbacks to trails and viewpoints, plus Indian Lodge, a southwestern-style adobe hotel with thirty-nine rooms.
Landowners donated 560 acres for a park in 1933, when the Great Depression had crippled the local economy. That June, CCC Companies 879 and 881 set up Camp Washington Seawell, named for the first commander of nearby Fort Davis, and built roads, an overlook shelter, stone picnic tables and Indian Lodge. The park opened to the public around 1938.
The Interpretive Center displays exhibits about local plants and animals native to the region. Visitors can watch birds and other wildlife through the indoor observation window while they move through their natural habitat.
The park sits at a higher elevation, which brings cooler temperatures and different weather patterns than surrounding regions. Visitors should come prepared for variable conditions and pack appropriate layers and gear for their activities.
The park lies between 5,000 and 6,000 feet (1,500 and 1,800 m) above sea level, a "sky island" that catches more rain than the Chihuahuan Desert around it. Ponderosa pine and quaking aspen grow on the higher slopes west of the park, visible from its viewpoints though outside its boundary.
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