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Alpine is a city of 6,000 people (2019) in Texas. It has an historic downtown, and is a good base for exploring Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, and Davis Mountains State Park.

Understand

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Climate

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In the winters, ample sunshine usually warms the days, though the nights can be chilly due to the 4,475 feet (1,360 m) elevation. In the summer, the fierce sun causes hot days, pleasantly relieved in the evening by the same high elevation.

Get in

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Map
Map of Alpine (Texas)

Alpine has a small general aviation airport, the closest major airports are Midland International, 3 hours 15 minutes away, and El Paso International, about 3½ hours away

By car

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Alpine sits at the intersection of US Hwy 67 and 90 and Texas Hwy 118.

  • & Ave E & Holland Ave Coming from the east, US Hwy 90 makes for an interesting, scenic drive to Alpine. Plan your fuel stops wisely, as it's possible to go almost 200 miles between cities. US Hwy 90 takes in a couple of all-but-ghost towns along the way, as well as the Trans-Pecos crossing and some breathtaking scenery. US Hwy 67 runs concurrently on US Hwy 90 from Marfa, through Alpine, to its turn-off (at Brewster County Rest Stop) 8.5 mi (13.7 km) east of town. US Hwy 67 than continues north towards I-10, 10 mi (16 km) west of Ft Stockton.
  • to N 5th St goes 24 mi (39 km) northwesterly to TX-17 in Fort Davis. One can continue north on TX-17 to I-10 in Saragosa, from Ft Davis, if going west on I-10. Going south TX-118 goes to Big Bend National Park from Alpine.
  • Travelers in more of a hurry may prefer to take Interstate 10 to US Hwy 67 (Exit 248) from Ft Stockton or anywhere east or US Hwy 90 (Exit 140A) from Van Horn (or anywhere further west) straight into Marfa. Likewise one can also exit off at TX-17 from Exit 209 of I-10 to Ft Davis and go southeast/east of from Ft Davis on TX-118 into Alpine (as 5th St).

By train

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The tri-weekly Sunset Limited, running between Los Angeles and New Orleans, and the Texas Eagle from Chicago provided by Amtrak serves Alpine via El Paso, Sanderson, Del Rio and San Antonio. The 1 Alpine Amtrak station is at 102 West Holland Avenue, just south of downtown.

By bus

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  • 2 All Aboard America, Alon Gas Station @ 2305 E Hwy 90, ☏ +1 432 837-5497, toll-free: 1 800 628-1335. Buses between Presidio and Midland/Odessa via Marfa, Alpine, Ft Stockton, McCamey and Crane along US Hwy 67/385. Connections to Greyhound Lines are in Odessa/Midland and Ft Stockton. Tickets for this route are booked through Greyhound.com. (updated Aug 2021)

Get around

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See

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  • Historic Downtown Alpine includes many historic buildings constructed in the late 1800s. An informative brochure that describes a walking tour is available from the 1 Information Center visitor's center at 106 N 3rd St ☏ +1 432 837-2326.
  • 2 Museum of the Big Bend, 400 N Harrison St C-101 (on the Sul Ross State University campus), ☏ +1 432 837-8730. Large collection of artifacts with exhibits on the long history of habitation in the area, from the earliest native tribes up through the Spanish, Mexican, and American eras. 
  • 3 Last Frontier Museum, 2310 W Hwy 90, ☏ +1 432 837-2451. Exhibits focusing on the geology of the region. 
  • 4 Sul Ross State University, ☏ +1 432 837-8011. Began as a teachers college in 1920, with its original campus in Alpine. Named for Lawrence Sullivan Ross, a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, Texas' 19th governor and later president of the new land grant college which became Texas A&M, it is now a member of the Texas State University System. The 600-acre main campus on the lower slopes of Hancock Hill contains 20 or so buildings, most designed in Classical Revival style, and all harmoniously faced with red brick and white trim. The hillside gives fine views of the town below and the surrounding mountain ranges. (updated Aug 2021)

Sites on National Register of Historic Places

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  • 5 Brewster County Courthouse, 201 West Ave East. Built in 1887–1888 by Tom Lovett, a local contractor, who apparently designed the buildings, as well (documentation is scarce). Open to visitors, historic photographs are displayed in the great hall. The red brick courthouse is a fine example of the American Second Empire Style. The rectangular mass has five bays of paired round-arch window openings on the longer north and south facades. The shorter east and west facades have three bays. On three facades, the center bay contains a doorway at ground level, set in a thin, barely protruding pavilion. The second-story windows are slightly taller than the first-floor openings, a trick of the eye making the two-and-a-half-story building seem even taller. The walls are topped by a pressed-tin entablature composed of a frieze and cornice. The mansard roof is marked by steeply hipped pyramidal towers with pressed-tin cresting. The interior retains exemplary pressed-tin ceilings and some original woodwork. A wooden staircase with Eastlake-type details rises to the general courtroom on the second floor. (updated Aug 2021)
  • 6 Brewster County Jail (adjoining Brewster County Courthouse). Distinguished by a crenelated brick parapet wall, suggesting "a fortress-like impregnability". (updated Aug 2021)

Do

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  • Big Bend National Park. One of the least visited national parks in the continental U.S. 
  • Big Bend Ranch State Park, ☏ +1 432 424-3327. Just west of the national park, with over 300,000 acres of wilderness, miles of rugged and remote backcountry trails. The park is great for mountain biking, horseback riding, and canoe excursions on the Rio Grande. 
  • Davis Mountains State Park, ☏ +1 432 426-3337. High in the mountains of West Texas, formed by volcanoes and sculpted by wind and water, the Davis Mountains rise more than 8,300 feet above sea level out of the Chihuahuan Desert. Miles of hiking trails, backpack, mountain bike, horse riding, camping. Indian Lodge hotel has a restaurant, and a swimming pool for lodge guests. 
  • Hancock Hill, behind Sul Ross State University, has hiking trails on university and private property. Theere are views of the town and a path to “The Desk”. To find the trailhead: turn left at the end of Avenue B (SRSU Entrance 4). 1 Hancock Hill trailhead is at the far edge of the old Mountainside dormitory parking lot.

Buy

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Eat

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Budget

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  • 1 Alicia's Burrito Place, 708 E Gallego Ave, ☏ +1 432 837-2802. 
  • 2 Bread & Breakfast / Bakery & Cafe, 113 W Holland Ave, ☏ +1 432 837-9424. 

Mid-range

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  • 3 La Casita, 1104 E Ave, ☏ +1 432 837-2842. Mexican restaurant. 
  • 4 Penny's Diner, 2407 E Hwy 90, ☏ +1 432 837-5711. 
  • 5 Smokehouse BBQ, Hwy 90 at N Cherry St, ☏ +1 432 294-4091. 

Splurge

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  • 6 Reata, 203 N 5th St, ☏ +1 432 837-9232. Great western atmosphere and decor, decent but somewhat overpriced steaks. 

Drink

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  • 1 Railroad Blues, 504 W Holland Ave (between N 8th St and N 10th St), ☏ +1 432 837-3103. Tu-Sa 5PM-2AM, closed Su M. This nightclub/bar has live music a few times a week. There is usually a $5-10 cover charge on nights that bands are playing. 

Sleep

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Interior of the historic Holland Hotel

Go next

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Routes through Alpine
Tucson ← El Paso ←  W  E  → Del Rio → San Antonio
San Angelo ← Fort Stockton ←  N  S  → Marfa → Presidio
Van Horn ← Marfa ←  W  E  → Marathon → Del Rio
Jct W E ← Fort Davis ←  N  S  → Study Butte-Terlingua → Big Bend N.P.


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