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Homebase: Midland

Homebase: Midland

  • Kris Rose

Traveling through Texas, sometimes visiting the next town over can feel like a day trip. Midland, on the other hand, is an anomaly. It feels, in the vast Texas landscape, close to everything. With multiple national parks within a couple hours’ drive, crystalline spring-fed pools and picturesque rolling sandhills, learn why Midland is your perfect homebase for countless epic Texas day trips.

  • Big Bend National Park [4.5 hours]: Explore the end of the road. In Big Bend, it’s your choice: admire the steep limestone cliffs of The Santa Elena Canyon—carved by the Rio Grande. Gaze at wildlife (it’s the nation’s most species-diverse place) or stargaze America’s darkest skies. Stop in Marathon—more than a national park gateway, a jewel of shopping and industry waits for you in this quintessential West Texas oasis.
  • Guadalupe Mountains National Park [3 hours]: For the adventurer this park offers the opportunity to crest Texas’s highest point—a strenuous and incredibly rewarding 8.5 mile hike to Guadalupe Peak—and Texas’s best view. If time or thunderstorms are a concern, the park offers a diverse trail system, developed campgrounds, and horseback riding. Experience the Pinery Nature Trail or swing by the Pine Springs Visitor Center.
  • Carlsbad Caverns [3 hours]: In 1898 teenager Jim White explored Carlsbad Cavern with little more than a homemade wire ladder. Today—thankfully—there’s an elevator. Explore The Big Room, the largest chamber in North America—over 300,000 square feet—while admiring this system of over 100 caves and caverns*. Above-ground activity more your speed? Carlsbad has you covered: hiking trails and scenic drives offer access to the Chihuahuan Desert’s ecosystem and scenery. Unfurl a blanket and enjoy lunch at Rattlesnake Springs Picnic Area, a natural oasis with picnic tables, landscaping and an overabundance of wildlife.
  • Balmorhea State Park [2 hours 15 minutes]: In the heart of the West Texas desert lies one of the world’s largest spring-fed pools. Balmorhea State Park has been operating for nearly a century serving swimmers, scuba divers, campers, nature lovers and bird watchers alike. Over 15 million gallons of crystal clear water—fed by San Solomon Springs—flow through the pool every day, which rests comfortably at 72 to 76 degrees year round.
  • Fort Davis National Historic Site [2 hours 45 minutes]: Nestled in the rolling—and rugged—Davis Mountains, this site is so much more than a pristine frontier Southwest military post. Located in a box canyon, this oasis is a crossroads for history and outdoor-lovers alike. Fort Davis’s preserved buildings, ruins, and guides will keep you engaged inside the fort while recreation spots like Davis Mountains State Park and the 75-mile Davis Mountains Scenic Loop provide countless options for fun and relaxation outside.
  • Odessa[25 minutes]: A short drive south on I-20, Midland and Odessa share a great deal—but make no mistake, Odessa is a trip itself. Visit this creative hub for one of the Southwest’s preeminent museums of art, the Ellen Noël Art Museum of the Permian Basin, and catch a performance at a to-scale replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, Globe of the Great Southwest.
  • Big Spring State Park [45 minutes]: A short trip to Big Spring State Park will give you access to ten miles of hiking and biking trails, expansive views of the Texas plains, and the perfect spot to stop for some lunch and nature watching.
  • Seminole [1 hour]: Come for Gaines County Golf Course—a stunning 18-hole oasis and verified hidden gem in the West Texas plains—and play the same front nine that hosted golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.
  • Monahans Sandhills State Park [50 minutes]: Incredibly unique to Texas, explore 3,800 acres of sweeping sand dunes—this is one of the only places in the state where you can spend your days sand dune surfing and your nights camping under the dune field stars. Equestrians have access to 800 acres of unmarked trails—the perfect way to take in a spectacular Texas sunset.
  • McDonald Observatory [3 hours]: Resting in the Davis Mountains, this University of Texas at Austin affiliated—and world class—astronomy observatory is perhaps the best way to experience the 100 billion stars that make up the Milky Way. Learn how the 433-inch Hobbs-Eberly Telescope searches distant galaxies for research on planetary systems, black holes, and exploding stars.