Presidio County can be explored from very different perspectives: the border landscape along the Rio Grande, historic Adobe buildings and art that brings architecture and land together. You’ll encounter these themes in different forms—as a vast high-desert landscape, a structure built by a community or a collection spread across multiple buildings and locations.
Landscape along the Rio Grande
Big Bend Ranch State Park stretches across a high-desert landscape along the Rio Grande, on the border between the United States and Mexico. Fort Leaton State Historic Site offers a different relationship with the river: it sits on a floodplain terrace overlooking the Rio Grande. Here, landscape and history meet in one specific place, though the two impressions are not the same.
There is also a 26-acre bird-watching area at Fort Leaton in Presidio. Alongside the river landscape, bird-watching is therefore another possible focus of a visit. If you are interested in both nature and history, you can take these different perspectives into account when planning your trip without combining them into a single attraction.
Adobe buildings and local history
Fort Leaton was established in 1848 as a large fortified Adobe complex. Its historic date and construction style give the site a distinct focus: here, the history of the fort and Adobe as a defining feature of the building are both part of the story. Combined with its location on the floodplain terrace, this creates a picture in which architecture and landscape stand side by side.
El Corazon Sagrado de la Iglesia de Jesus in Ruidosa also tells a story of Adobe and community effort. The church was completed in 1915 using sun-dried Adobe bricks. The people of Ruidosa made the bricks under the guidance of the pastor, Father Mariano. The building thus speaks not only to a material, but also to the people who helped create it.
Blackwell School in Marfa offers another kind of local history. From 1909 to 1965, it was the city’s only public educational institution for Hispanic students. It is a significant local example of the era when the principle of racial segregation, under the slogan “separate but equal,” shaped educational and social systems in the United States. The school’s history therefore adds a perspective on education and social conditions to the story of local architecture.
Art, architecture and land in Marfa
At the Chinati Foundation, art, architecture and land form an integrated whole. The collection is installed in 21 buildings and at two outdoor locations. This distribution conveys the scale of the site: it is not just about individual works of art, but also about their connection to the buildings and the surrounding land. Guided tours are the only way to see most of the collection and grounds. If you would like to explore this larger portion, a guided tour is therefore part of the visit.
Visits to La Mansana de Chinati/The Block provide access to Donald Judd’s home and studio in Marfa. There are 27 works of art installed at The Block. The site is part of the Donald Judd Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Unlike the Chinati Foundation’s collection, which is spread across multiple buildings and outdoor locations, this visit takes you to a named area with a home, studio and installed works of art.
Getting oriented and local places to visit
Marfa is in the northeastern part of Presidio County, at the intersection of US Highways 90 and 67. Highway 170, known as River Road, is also relevant for getting around by road; it runs between Presidio and Lajitas. These two details answer different questions: Marfa’s location and highway junction help you place the town within the county, while Highway 170 is described by its named endpoints.
A farmers market is held in downtown Presidio every Saturday morning. If you would like to include it in your travel plans, check the schedule before you arrive. This lets you plan for the market as a specific weekend stop without having to fit the other discoveries—from bird-watching at Fort Leaton to art and history in Marfa—into the same itinerary.
Discover more destinations: Marfa, Wood County, Nacogdoches, Kerr County, Orange, Mcmullen County, Parmer County, Kenedy County.
For the main travel overview: Texas.
