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Stacy
Trip Date 09/14/2017 Posted On 09/27/2018 17:01:31 |
Camping | Texas | Marfa | Tumble In RV Park | Review of RV Park in Marfa | Camping in Marfa | Camping in West Texas | Marfa Lights Viewing Area
Five hours after leaving our campsite in Junction, Texas, we "tumbled in" to Marfa, TX. This stopping point was a perfect home for the next three nights as we were on a journey from Austin to Big Bend National Park - plus we had an interest in this town that we've read and heard so much about.
If you are in search of a place to camp in west Texas with your RV or tent, this post is for you. You'll find an overview of our experience at the park, as well as some of the nearby sights that you might want to see - including the famous (and mysterious) Marfa Lights.
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Campground Amenities at Tumble In RV Park
Located on Highway 90 just a short distance east of the city limits of Marfa, the gravel entryway to Tumble In R.V. Park is easy to find. The RV park is a small one with only 14 RV sites plus two first-come, first-serve areas for tent campers.
Guests at the park will likely meet Israel at some point during their stay. As the on-site manager of the park, the friendly and welcoming Israel can usually be found working somewhere in the park.
Tumble In offers some community facilities including restrooms and showers plus an "indoor" kitchen with a refrigerator, oven and table. An outdoor picnic table and fire pit sit in a nearby gravel area as well. With a suggested donation of $3.00 per load, the park also has a washer & dryer available for guest use.
Our three night stay came at a total cost of $85.84 including the 3.5% credit card fee. RV sites are priced at $27.00 per night for 50' back-in and 35' or 45' pull-through sites or $32.00 per night for 100' pull-thru sites, with a reduced rate for weekly stays. Prices for RV sites are for two adults and include parking for an RV and one tow or towed vehicle only. Tent camping starts at $15.00 nightly per person.
If making an online reservation, read the instructions on the website reservation engine carefully. The "end date" for a reservation actually refers to the final night of your planned stay - not the day of departure as is typical for other campsites.
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Campsite Amenities at Tumble In RV Park
Although reservations can be made on-line, campsites are assigned upon arrival. For those with pre-paid reservations, check-in at the park is an extremely quick process - just look at the whiteboard in the mini-RV at the park entrance to see your assigned space and fill out an easy, quick form confirming your arrival.
The dirt and gravel RV sites are a combination of pull-through and very easy back-in sites. All sites are equipped with 50-, 30- and 20-amp electric, water and on-site sewer (except for two smaller sites with electric and water only). Other than the community facilities offered, the park is a no-frills campground with no additional features at the individual sites. (At no additional charge, an early morning wake-up service is provided to all guests courtesy of the nearby farm animals!)
We had good phone service on Sprint's extended network, and had no need for data service as free wi-fi is provided throughout the park. No broadcast television stations are available in the park.
Although the park was very clean during our visit, the small burrs common to this part of the state are all over the ground. Be sure to check your socks and the soles of your shoes before entering your RV so that you don't track them all over the inside of your home away from home.
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Favorite Campsites at Tumble In RV Park
With only 14 campsites in the entire RV park, we skipped our walk through of the park as we could stand outside "RV There Yet?" and see virtually all of the other 13 sites! As none of the sites have trees (or, for that matter, any other amenities), choosing our favorites was based solely on sites with afternoon shade. The six that met our criteria were campsites 7, 8 (our site), 9, 10, 11 and 12.
Hiking near Tumble In RV Park
Although there are no hiking trails in the park, I had read that there was a path that led from the RV park into downtown Marfa, so we exited the park in the back and headed towards town. Although we were unable to find an easy and safe walkable path going all of the way to the city, we did find some of Tumble In's neighbors - the cutest little baby goats as well as the culprits of our early morning wake-up alarms.
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As I was interested in learning more about the lighted art that we saw each evening from "RV There Yet?", we also walked to the display located adjacent to one of the tent camping areas but nearer the highway. I looked for signage near the display, asked the manager of the RV park and, later in the day, inquired at the Visitor Center, yet was unable to find any information. It's hard to believe that whoever created the artwork doesn't want everyone to know more about it ... unless ... maybe it was dropped down by a UFO? We were in Marfa, so anything was possible!
Marfa Lights Viewing Area
On two of our nights at the park, we took the opportunity to take the 10 minute drive to the Marfa Lights Viewing Area in search of the mystery lights that we've heard about for years. Upon our 8:15 PM arrival on the first night, there were several other cars already at the viewing area with more coming and going during the 1 1/2 hours that we spent waiting for the light show. While visiting with others or overhearing conversations, we learned:
- prime viewing time is between 9:00 PM and 9:30 PM;
- one group had been at the viewing area for three consecutive nights, seeing nothing; and
- one man and his wife saw lights several months ago, and returned with others to see them again.
As 10:00 PM approached, we decided to return on another night as the mystery lights must have taken the evening off! (I did enjoy the light show on the Google Maps App. With the destination set for the viewing area, the app displayed a field of blinking lights as we neared the destination - although the location was incorrect!)
On our return to "RV There Yet?", we made a quick stop at the historical marker just east of Tumble In to get a better view of the lighted roadside artwork which we could see from our RV).
Two nights later, we departed on our last attempt to see the famed Marfa Lights. Just as before, there were several other carloads of people already in the viewing area. The difference this time was that there was a group of people looking at some lights that they were positive were "the" lights. Maybe we should not have made a visit to the viewing area when the sun was shining, as seeing the road in the distance earlier in the day made us very skeptical about the source of the lights that they saw. Although I can't say that I saw the Marfa Lights, it was sure fun trying!
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Area Attractions in and around Marfa, Texas
In addition to the Marfa Lights, you can easily fill a couple of days seeing the city of Marfa plus some other nearby attractions - both historical and cosmic! Stop back by this weekend to read our post titled Marfa, Marfa, Marfa: 11 Things to Do and Sights to See in and around Marfa, Texas to make plans for your visit to this city in west Texas.
The Marfa Lights
What do you think about the Marfa Lights? Do you believe the stories shared by so many people who claim to have seen these mysterious lights? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below on why you do (or don't) believe that there is anything strange about the lights that have reportedly been seen for over 130 years.
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