Marfa Mystery Lights Viewpoint | Informal Campsite

United States

Details

Verified:
about 1 month ago
Altitude:
1494.0 masl
Website:
None

Amenities

Electricity:
No
Wifi:
No
Kitchen:
No
Restaurant:
No
Showers:
No
Water:
No
Toilets:
Pit Toilets
Big Rig Friendly:
Yes
Tent Friendly:
No
Pet Friendly:
Yes

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Description

A large pull out rest area with tables, restrooms and seating designed for the overnight viewing of the Marfa Lights. Overnight parking in all Texas rest areas is legal, but this one truly expects it! Added bonus is seeing the lights on the horizon. We did!! Highway noise and trains can be a disruption. Also lots of viewers pulling on/off the road may be an issue. None of this bothered us, but be aware. No charge for this location.

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Latest Check-Ins

If you come through this area, it would be such a shame not to stop and stay the night and see the Marfa Mystery lights. The viewing area has several picnic tables, clean bathrooms, and a viewing area with binoculars. It is legal to stay over not here for up to 24 hours

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We stayed here for a night. Didn't see any lights, but it was a very comfortable place. A lot of travelers stayed also. Some train noise, but that's what you get for sleeping next to tracks. Bathrooms were nice and Marfa is a cool town nearby.

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Great free place 10-15 minutes Marfa. Huge lot has plenty of room that is on the Marfa side of the overlook. Beautiful sunrise. If coming at night it is the only light in the area. Looks like a house but is the overlook. Bathrooms are 24 hours. Picnic tables and garbage. If going into Marfa watch your speed going into town, there were cops writing tickets all day.

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The signs that state the prohibition of camping on public land refer to tent/cowboy camping. Sleeping in any vehicle is permitted at any rest stop and roadside picnic area in Texas, up to 24 hours. The Marfa Lights are cars 25 miles away on highway 67 coming and going over the hilly range north of Shafter TX, turning corners and peaking through unobstructed lines of sight. Watch long enough and you’ll identify a pattern that they keep appearing in the same 6 spots, and how those spots are all aligned in a row that gradually descends from left to right. They appear as pinpoints of light that turn on and off. Look toward the red blinking tower light in the distance. They’re mostly clustered just to the right of it.

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Signs that camping is prohibited on public land. Also really noisy next to the street. We left and stayed closer to Marfa.

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As described. Nice place with good views, pit toilets and no sinks and decent parking space. The area got pretty busy around sunset, but we were just 2 RV's and a camper that stayed the night - so there was plenty of room for all of us.

US 90 and a rail road is literally right next to you when you sleep, so you will be hearing a good amount of road noise in the evening and in the morning. The night was however pretty quiet and we were lucky enough to not have any trains come through until after we woke up in the morning.

We saw the lights even though it had been a cloudy day - however they didn't appear until a while after the sunset.

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all as described. noise does down after 11. The train rumbled me awake. just remember it is legal to boondock at rest Areas in Texas (see picture). FYI I did see a couple lights but it was overcast.
Full 4g LTE on TMOBILE stream Netflix no problem.

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Great spot. Close to Marfa. Several others here and lots of traffic on road and at spot on Saturday night. Saw the lights…

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We saw the lights! What an awesome experience. Even if you don't, though, the sunset, sunrise and stargazing were all awesome. The highway traffic does down later at night, and honestly the couple of trains that did go by weren't all that noisy. So don't let that deter you from camping here for a night!

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Cars passing by, but other than that it is a nice spot to stop for a night and see the stars.

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Great night
There is plenty of space to park and there's a toilet facility co-located with the viewing platform. No water, though.
It's right alongside the highway so there is some road noise if you're paying attention. Quite a lot of arrivals and departures of other Marfa Lights seekers.

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Wonderful spot for a night. Busy at dusk, lots of people coming to view the lights but fairly quiet at night, occasional vehicle going by as you are close to the highway. Bathroom was clean (pit toilet).

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We saw no lights. But we stayed overnight. No trains an the road noise is not to loud.

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Great overnight. Safe, a bit of road noise, bathrooms open all night. Also a chance to see the famous Mystery Lights. . Unfortunately I did not but had a good night’s sleep.

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Middle of no-where Texas off a busy two lane and rail. Ok to stay night. Good Verizon and AT&T LTE. Bring your tinfoil helmet and ya, the antenna does help

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Loved it here. Beautiful site with lots of folks coming out to watch the night sky and maybe catch a glimpse of the mystery lights. It was quiet all night, except for the idling truck. We were the only ones there in the morning and our dog enjoyed exploring off leash.

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Nice location outside of Marfa to stay for a night to, hopefully, see the Marfa lights. We did not see them but the skies twinkled all night with brilliant stars. The place gets busy at nightfall with Marfa light viewing hopefuls but quickly becomes empty after an hour or so. People just come with chairs snd sit quietly, staring into the darkness. 3 other overnight vehicles are here, a clean, composting toilet bathroom, passing trains to watch and listen to at night ( no whistles). The trains and occasional passing vehicle did not bother us at all and I am a light sleeper. Mountains, grasses, big sky, warm temps, Texas hospitality, Marfa cool vibe. Hello to RoadOm! Happy to be here!

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Amazing views of the desert in daylight and the stars at night. We saw the lights. At least 8 RVs here for the night plus dozens of people in the evening for light watching. Noisy due to the proximity of the railroad

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It was nice! I was going to stay at a place in marfa but to pay just to park in their lot didn’t seem like fun so I headed here. Layers and layers of stars like you’ve never seen before- amazing. I didn’t bother looking for the “lights”. Lots of people coming and going til @10. Then no one. One other van showed up. I enjoyed taking a walk around the area in the morning. Very nice. basic bathrooms was a nice bonus.

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Great spot! Pit toilets were open the whole time we were there. Gorgeous spot to watch the sunset and you can also see the mystery lights on the horizon here. We stayed from 6pm to 8:30am without a problem.

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great spot for a night, incredible views, super clean bathrooms. A bit noisy (trafic and trains) but quieted after dark.

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Great rest area , gets busy at night with those looking for the ghost lights plan on arriving by 7 pm

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We saw “the lights” but everyone seems to have a vastly different idea of what they look like, so not really sure about that whole deal… anyways, had a good nights sleep with lots of other campers and people staying. Plus decent restrooms. Good stopover between big bend and Guadalupe. Also the best stargazing we had in texas as it just happened to be super clear the night we were there!

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Great stop for the night. A good number of people watching the lights but after it was a quite night. There was an occasional semi truck driving by which wasn’t bad. One train came through and woke us up with earplugs in. Incredible view of the stars.

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Great overnight here. Two travel trailers there overnight with me. With vent fan on, couldn’t hear any road noise. Bathrooms on site, surprisingly clean pit toilets. Felt safe. Only 1 very weak bar on T-Mobile but solid AT&T.

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Pulled in early in the morning before sunrise just checking out the spot. Multiple rigs parked here. Good cell reception for ATT, Verizon, and T-mobile. Stay here if you prefer company.

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Currently very crowded on a Sunday night in April. Probably won’t stay the night. Cars lining the entire parking area.

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Stayed here again and had no problems. Unless you come on a weekend there is plenty of room for everyone, no matter what time you show up. Overnighted with four other vans and had a great time.

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kind of noisy, headlights are kind of annoying, ear plugs and face masks recommended if you're a light sleeper. really great view of the stars at night. restrooms in moderate condition at the moment a couple of stalls in both the men's and women's rooms are missing doors so just be advised. no running water. picnic tables basically as everyone else describes it plaques detailing the history of the area around.

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Nice place to park for the night. Pulled in around 6 ish right before the sunset and there were quite a few vans, trucks and an RV. Still space though. I would say get there before 5pm to ensure there’s a spot to park.

Restrooms are there although did not check them out to see if they’re up to par.

Right off the highway so it could be noisy if you’re not use to that kind of noise. It was ok for me.

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After a long drive we decided to stay here. We enjoyed it. It was busy when we arrived but got quiet after awhile. There are cars and trains but didn’t bother us.

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This place works great! Beautiful sunset and sunrise. I saw the lights. Not really sure what the big deal is though. Haha. Not too noisy for me. There is the occasional train and highway traffic. Great place for the night. Pit toilets. One bar t-mobile that worked for streaming Netflix on my phone.

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Yeah it’s noisy beside the highway but it is also fun to be on the lookout for floating orbs with a bunch of other weirdos. Bathrooms are a little gross. Great place to stop before exploring Marfa, which is a fun little town to walk around.

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What a great spot! Parked for a night here and really enjoyed the atmosphere of the place. A number of people gathered to enjoy the lights. No disturbance, easy parking along the curb. Plenty of other trailers and campers. Highly recommend!

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Great place to spend a night. A bit busy because of other people coming to see the lights (btw we saw them 😉). No water, only pit toilets

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We didn't see any lights, but had a good nights sleep. Bathrooms and garbage cans are a plus!

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Saw the lights! Very basic but usable pit toilets. Stayed the night no problem. In and out zero on signal. Not good enough for working, but good enough for texting.

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Stopped here last night, pretty clean, toilets good. The main downside in the highway and trains. As a rest area other travellers do sometimes stop to use facilities. No probs, just noise.

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Great and quiet place to stay. More campers this nights. Toilets not so clean but open

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Stayed overnight. We hunkered down during a wind and ice storm. There were about 5 other vans and one large RV. There was a lot of garbage all over the grounds. We stayed and picked up trash for about 30 minutes after packing up. Would be nice to have other boondockers in the area do the same. Was able to see the lights around 7am. Never seen them in the AM. There were more there than the last time I was there.

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Not a bad place to stop on your way out of Big Bend. Pretty much as described. Close to the highway and railway line so you do hear the cars and train but we didn’t find it too bad. Several other cars, trucks and rvs there with us. Washroom facilities are extremely basic with no running water.

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Roadside rest area, large lot ,highway noise but not too bad

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Not very noisy even though it is close to the highway. Clean pit toilets. Would stay here again.

Had 2-3 bars of service with AT&T.

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Nice place with picnic tables and restrooms. Many visitors. Be aware that you cannot lock the doors in ladies restrooms.

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Silly fun to try to see the lights. Basic rest area close to highway and train tracks. On the plains so can be windy and surprisingly cold for Texas!

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Rest area not so noisy despite the rail nearly
A lot of people came to see the Marfa light. Funny to watch. No clear explanation about the existence of the light (atmospheric effect, car lights ?)
Pit toilet - no water

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As said before, close to the road and train tracks but was not too bad at all. Not much as far as the lights go, but good overnight spot.

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Beau stationnement et nous avons les lumières mystérieuse toute la nuit, un phénomène vraiment spécial. Très tranquille et plusieurs autres VR. Nice place.

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Parked in the pull off area, ok bathrooms.

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No lights 😢. Good for one night. Closed by street.

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When you plan your overnight stay here, keep the folowing in mind. The railway track is less than 300 feet away and the US state main road 150 feet. Your exposure to the passing traffic is 100 %. Basically, the parking is nothing more than a roadside stop. Our night was reasonably quiet though.

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just like original description. fairly loud with traffic and train and visitors until late. No water. free!

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Pretty quiet pullout close to Marfa. Free.

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A large pull out rest area with tables, restrooms and seating designed for the overnight viewing of the Marfa Lights. Overnight parking in all Texas rest areas is legal, but this one truly expects it! Added bonus is seeing the lights on the horizon. We did!! Highway noise and trains can be a disruption. Also lots of viewers pulling on/off the road may be an issue. None of this bothered us, but be aware. No charge for this location.

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