— Davis Mountains State Park is one of those precious gems in the state of Texas park system. Located in the Davis Mountains and close to The University of Texas (UT) McDonald Observatory, the Nature Conservancy’s Davis Mountains Preserve and the Fort Davis National Historic Site, the park offers breathtaking views whether you camp, stay at the Indian Lodge, hike, bike or simply drive to the top of Skyline Drive. I have done this Indian Lodge Trail hike twice in recent years. No matter what season you go, the scenery is majestic. The hike is fairly short — about 3 miles — but you climb 697 feet. Once at the top, the terrain if fairly flat and easy to hike. You will have commanding views of the Indian Lodge, scenic Highway 118 as well as Mount Locke (6,790 ft), where UT’s observatory is located. Although not very visible in this shot, the observatory is dead center in the horizon. In another area of the trail one can even see one of those VLBA antenna, one of 10 antenna of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
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