Sunday, August 23, 2020
Montezuma Quail Trail in Davis Mountains State Park has two trailheads. Both trailheads are on Park Road 3, the main road through the park. The obvious trailhead, shown in the picture above is about half way between the ranger station and Indian Lodge.
The second trailhead, shown below, is next to the Wildlife Viewing area. Trees hide the second trailhead from the road.
Thinking of the trail and the park road as being part of a big loop, I walked the trail clockwise from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, starting at the first trailhead and ending at the second. The two hour trip provided rewarding views of both sides of the mountain. This was not the first time I hiked this trail.
The trail goes up hill and then veers to the right about halfway up the mountainside.
From the trail traversing the mountainside, hikers will see campgrounds to their right. In the above picture, the orange Jeep in the lower righthand corner marks the left side of our campsite.
The junction with Indian Lodge Trail isn’t real clear. The “Camping” sign points back in the direction I came from. The “Indian Lodge” sign points to the Indian Lodge Trail. The “Park Headquarters” sign points in the direction I wanted to go. If this seems clear to you, then you might already know about the Headquarters Trail and how the far end of the Montezuma Quail Trail crosses the Headquarters Trail.
Once past the junction, the trail begins to climb again.
This part of the mountain flattens out into a ridgeline. Following the ridgeline allows hikers to see outside the park and inside the park.
In the above picture, the three largest telescopes at the McDonald Observatory can be seen on far mountain tops.
Further down the ridgeline, Indian Lodge came into view.
Campgrounds can also be seen from the trail. These hillside full hookup campsites are down the hill from the Amphitheater.
On the opposite mountain, Skyline Drive snakes up the mountainside. At the base of the mountain on the left, Water and Electric campsites. On the right, some Water and Electric campsites and some Full Hookup campsites.
The trail begins to drop down toward the Wildlife Viewing Area.
Near Park Road 3, Montezuma Quail Trail crosses the Headquarters Trail.
The path to take may not be obvious at the Montezuma Quail Trail crosses the Headquarters Trail. Montezuma Quail Trail heads away from the ranger station toward the Wildlife Viewing Area.
When Hikers are standing on Park Road 3, Montezuma Quail Trail trailhead is just to the right of the Wildlife Viewing Area shown above.
This is a great hike. Maybe not as scenic as a some of the other trails but it also isn’t the most demanding either. I will do this hike again.
Hope to see you on the road ahead!