Balmorhea State Park was a pretty reasonable 239 miles from our last stop in Las Cruces, NM and turned out to be a perfect place to refresh ourselves between back-to-back driving days.
The focal point of this small state park is San Solomon Spring and the enormous pool of its crystal clear waters. The park was built in the 1930's by the amazing Civilian Conservation Corps and you can swim, scuba dive, picnic, camp or rent a motel room here.
The pool holds 3.5 million gallons of water, more than 15 million gallons flow through it each day, the water remains between 72 and 76 degrees year round, it ranges from 3 feet to 25 feet deep and covers 1.75 acres. Oh, and there are two types of small, endangered desert fish that clean your toes while you swim!
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This photo shows maybe a third of the pool.
Hans is hanging out at the edge of the drop off...the deep blue water behind him is 20 feet deep! |
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Nice looking Spanish-style buildings dot the property.
There's a scuba lesson taking place left center. |
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| Fish pedicure! |
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| A motel building behind Hans, and one of several small canals that carry the spring water into the desert. |
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| Texas Spiny Soft Shelled Turtle. |
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| A snake in the canal. |
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| Green heron. |
The park has 28 water/electric sites and six water only sites, all with decent separation. We had site 27, a pull out site which had a more private sitting area than most of the sites. We had full 4G Verizon signal using our booster. There is a little bit of road noise from the minor highway outside the park, but it's really quiet at night.
Water/Electric sites are only $14/night but Texas also charges $7 PER PERSON/PER DAY to enter this state park. Since we're spending the next couple of months in this state we purchased a state parks pass.
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| Site 27 sitting area. |
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| Here's a nice looking pull out site (#26) with a ramada. |
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Looking across the open area behind the back in sites.
Most sites have ramadas. |
Balmorhea turned out to be a wonderful place to overnight, just what the doctor ordered after having to drive through El Paso!
I had to "gut up" to jump into that pool mid-March, and the cold took my breath away. I can't believe you two polar bears went swimming in February!
ReplyDeleteDidn't know there was such a thing as a soft shell turtle. Interesting!
It was sunny and about 75 degrees outside so the pool felt just fine on this particular day!
DeleteI didn't know about those turtles either and he seemed very flexible against that rock!
El Paso is one of the worst cities we've driven through. You will definitely get your money's worth out of that TX SP pass.
ReplyDeleteYeah, El Paso traffic was ugly...but so was San Antonios!
DeleteThe spring looks very refreshing! And I know what you mean by driving through El Paso which is not exactly fun. That turle looked like a gymnast flexing his body on the edge.
ReplyDeleteI would love to take a dip there too. It would only be a 34 mile drive from our last stop in TX, Ft Davis State Park end of March.
A couple people have said Ft Davis is great...Balmorhea could be a nice overnight after Ft Davis...fingers crossed it is warm for you so you can take a dip!
DeleteSure does look like a great rest stop!! That is a very interesting "pool."
ReplyDeleteIt really was wonderful!
DeleteWe enjoyed Balmorhea. That bountiful spring in the midst of dry West Texas is amazing.
ReplyDeleteTruly a sight for sore eyes!
DeleteWe stopped at Balmorhea SP to and from our Texas journey and most likely will again next year although we passed on the pool.... too cold during our visit. I'm looking forward to following your Texas excursion.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get a sunny warm day on your pass through this area!
DeleteOh my gosh...a few days there would be great! The pool is beautiful! And I have never seen a soft shell turtle or a green heron...awesome!
ReplyDeleteThose two critters were firsts for me too!
DeleteWhat a unique pool/spring! Love the spacious sites, and I imagine the ramadas are very popular in the summer months. As much as I love snakes, they always freak me out in the water :-( . The little green fish are interesting - can you feel them "working"? Hope you get to slow down soon!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, you could feel little nibbles...and if they grabbed a larger piece of dead skin you might feel a little tug!
DeleteSlow down has commenced!
We always enjoy an overnight at Balmorhea SP on our way through Texas and have stayed there several times. But it's always been too chilly for a swim in the pool, even though it looks so appealing! Next time you pass through El Paso, check out Hueco Tanks SP -- great campground, beautiful hiking -- I think you guys would enjoy the adventure. Here's our blog on it: http://ravenandchickadee.com/?s=hueco+tanks
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip about Hueco Tanks. We couldn't wait to get thru El Paso, it's good to know there is a decent option there!
DeleteWhat an interesting place. And I love the merman in the pool! Looks like you had it all to yourselves, except for those cut fish of course. Those green herons really get around. We saw one just yesterday here in Florida. Your pictures are wonderful. They really bring the place to life. It looks like a place we would really enjoy if we ever get back to Texas.
ReplyDeleteHello were Jerry and Lorena we met you as you were leaving Balmorhea . Great pictures and we felt the same when we went through El Paso,!😥
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading the blog!
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