The Marfa Mystery Lights viewing station is a 5-10 minute drive outside of Marfa. The Lights were first reported by a cowboy named Williams in the 1880's The viewing station is an attractive structure with plenty of parking and clean restrooms. The Viewing Station was built with a donation from Clayton Williams and his wife. The latter Williams ran for Governor of Texas against Anne Richards several decades ago. Not sure if he was related to the cowboy who first reported seeing the Lights. We did not see the Lights but the evening sky in the area is fantastic. There are many scientific explanations for the lights so we'll withhold judgement until we actually see them. In any case it's a free and fun way to spend some time.
The facilities are great - lots of parking, interesting signs posted about the area - from geology to history. Unfortunately, the lights did not come out for us during our visit. To get here you just head east on 90 (or east at the only 4 way stop in town) and keep going for about 6 miles. Look for the viewing station on the right.
We went searching for the lights two nights. Really didn't see anything or maybe we did. After the fact learned where to look and to take binoculars. Will try again on next visit. I think they are easy to spot with a bottle of wine or a 6 pack.lol But a fun time looking for them. In Feb it was cold.
There is a nice parking area outside of town. We did not see the lights, but were not expecting to. The stars were magnificent!
When my wife suggested that we visit the site of the Marfa Lights I was skeptical. Although I believe that there are a lot things that happen that can't be explained, seeing lights in the distance was not one of them. We arrived at the viewing site at about 20 minutes before dark and someone there told us the lights are usually seen between dark and 2 am, and he told us where to look to see the lights. As soon as he said that my wife pointed out 2 lights that looked like a cars headlights, far out on the side of the mountain. I explained to her that they were just headlights of cars or trucks on the road. At that point the person that had explained where to look informed us that the nearest road was about 30 miles from where we saw the lights. During his explanation and as he said that I watched in wonder as the "headlights" not only separated but went in different directions. Over the next hour or so we saw many lights go on and off, move from side to side and up and down. This was truly an amazing site to see. The State of Texas put up a small observation building that made it easy to know where to look and easy to see. These lights were first reported back in 1883, long before the advent of headlights or any other light that could be seen from that distance, and because of that I have become a believer of the Marfa Lights. If you are anywhere near this, and even if you are not take the time and check it out. I am sure you will be as amazed as we were.
It was not too great, saw some lights that seemed weird but pretty positive that I could explain it if we went back in the day, mapped the roads and terrains. Honestly the star filed night sky was much more awesome to look at.
We were staying in the area, so we drove to the viewing area one night about 9:30 pm. There is a sign about one mile ahead of it but it's still hard to see the turn off for the viewing area at night if you've never been here before. There is a bathroom here and a couple of historical signs but no unusual lights. We've come to the conclusion that the lights are either traffic light reflections or somebody's way of drumming up business for Marfa. Much like the Loch Ness Monster hoaxes, we fully expect someone to confess "down the road." This stop is only worth your time to get in some good star gazing.
Headed out from Marfa after dinner to the rest stop, takes a bit for your eyes to adjust and the star gazing is insane. We were there at 8:30pm and the lights were dancing in the distance. Very cool, tons of people in and out while we were there. Completely worth a stop and should be at least #2 in Marfa.
I stopped here for a bit one evening in Marfa. The viewing platform is a little tough to find at night, but is quite nice, particularly the use of red lights for the most part so as not to ruin your night vision. A family was there at the same time as I was, and they helpfully pointed out some of the mystery lights. What we saw looked like car headlights that would variously sit near the horizon, converge or disappear. Of course, the mystery lights almost certainly are headlights; they just don't behave the way one would expect due to a combination of the clear air and darkness. As a result, you can't easily spot the horizon and the light from headlights will travel a very long way. As others have noted, the stargazing is good here as well due to the darkneww.
We drove the four hours through some of the most beautiful land in Texas to teeny, tiny Marfa for a chance to see the mysterious light show and we were not disappointed. It was truly amazing. We found out that the lights don't appear every night, but they did for us.