Everywhere you go in the Balmorhea State Park you are
reminded of the 20 million gallons of water a day pouring out of the springs.
In the dry, low lands of the Chihuahua Desert west of Fort Stockton where cacti
are the primary vegetation, San Solomon Springs turns the West Texas park into
an oasis.
By Texas standards, the 46-acre park is not very big. Since it was completed
by the Civil Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1938, the park has been mainly known
as the home of the “world’s largest spring-fed swimming pool.” The
13/4-acre pool is still spectacular 60 years later.
The pool was built in a giant V shape with a 200-foot circle around the
spring and two 389-foot arms. The water stays a constant 76 degrees with depths
varying from three to 25 feet.
The pool area has a tree-shaded picnic area and a bath house for swimmers.
There is also a scuba diving shop next to the park and restaurants in
Balmorhea.
In the 1970s, when Comanche Springs in Ft. Stockton dried up, a small canal
was built in the park to protect the last of the Comanche Springs Pupfish and
one of two populations of the Pecos Gambusia.
The reconstructed desert cienega (wetland) has made the oasis even
more a natural treasure. Before leaving the park to feed over 10,000 acres of
farmland, another canal filters through the cienega that was completed this
year. Besides providing habitat for a variety of plants and animals the
restored wetlands were constructed with viewing areas.
When the Mascalero Apache Indians inhabited the area the cienega surrounded
the springs for miles. White settlers began arriving around 1875, and by 1906,
land promoters — Balcolm, Morrow, and Rhea — arrived and combined their names
to give the town its name. Over the years a series of canals from the San
Solomon Springs and a 600-acre reservoir were built.
When the CCC began work on the pool in 1935, Balmorhea had one old hotel, so a
cluster of 18 cottages was added to the campground. Made of white adobe with
red Spanish roof tile, Solomon Courts still provides basic comfort with central
heat and air and 10 units have kitchenettes for $40 per couple. The covered
back patios of the cabins open to the Pupfish canal filled with schools of the
one- to two-inch long fish begging for pieces of bread and tortillas.
Use Balmorhea State Park as a home base to explore the other sites in the
Davis Mountains. The park rangers offer guided tours of nearby Phantom Cave on
Saturday mornings by reservation. The park also hosts the Frijole Bean Cookoff
on Labor Day weekend.
To make reservations for the campsites or San Solomon Courts at Balmorhea
State Park, contact Central Reservations at 512/389-8900. For more information
on the park, call 915/375-2370. For local information, contact the Balmorhea
Chamber of Commerce at 915/375-3207 or Fort Davis Chamber of Commerce at
800/524-3015.
Coming up this weekend…
Bluegrass Music Festival along with arts & crafts show fills
Robinson Park in Llano, Aug. 8-10. 915/247-5354.
Vintage Auto Racing at Texas World Speedway in College Station brings out the
unusual and rare cars, Aug. 10-11. 409/690-2500.
NIOF Pari-Mutuel Race Meet at the Gillespie County Fairgrounds on TX16 south
of Fredericksburg offers a weekend of horse racing with post time at 1pm, Aug.
10-11. 210/997-2359.
Coming up…
Summer Movies at the Orange Show in Houston offers a selection you won’t find
anywhere else including “Mondo Elvis,” “Gates of Heaven,” “Folk Art Found Me,”
and “Salvation Mountain,” Aug. 17-18. 713/926-6368.
This article appears in August 9 • 1996 and August 9 • 1996 (Cover).
