Monahans Sandhills State Park never looks the same way twice. As fine as and the same color as sugar, the sand is in constant motion pushed by a permanent West Texas wind. It is a sandbox playground 500 miles from the nearest beach.
One of the most popular activities at the park is sand-boarding, a game that has become a sport. The park rents plastic sand saucers that would be called “snow saucers” in colder climates. And the thrill is pretty much the same as sliding down a snow-covered hill. Unlike slippery snow, the 70-foot sand dunes are a fine powder that take some finesse to keep from plowing to a slow stop.
Formed more than 10,000 years ago in the ancient floodplain of the nearby Pecos River, the sand hills cover more than 200 miles from the park into southeastern New Mexico. South of Jal, N.M., off of Highway 18, the hills are brownish-red sand instead of pale-white quartz granules. The state park is the only portion of the dunes that is open to the public.
There is evidence that the inhospitable sand was inhabited by America’s First Nations as early as the Jumano, a tribe of hunters that occupied the Pecos River valley. Later, the Apache and Comanche tribes survived the dunes by knowing where to find water.
The area normally gets about 13 inches of rain annually, which isn’t much, so nature has provided an efficient way of storing the precious resource. The water seeps down to the clay layer below the sand, where it is protected from evaporation. Knowing where to dig can yield a fresh-water spring.
The sand hills were discovered by European explorers as early as 1583, but most travelers avoided the area. The soft sand was difficult for the wagon wheels to cross, so it wasn’t until 1932 when the first road was built across the area. Six miles to the southwest, the town of Monahans was established in 1881, when a well was dug for the railroad. In 1928, the population of Ward County exploded with the discovery of oil. The park is one of the few that has working pump jacks within its boundaries.
A small portion of the sand belt, the 3,840-acre park was established in 1957. Five years later, I-20 passed within a mile of the visitor center. The park has a camping area with 26 campsites, most with water and electrical hookups. Restrooms and hot showers are located near the camp and two picnic areas. Without the roofs over the picnic tables, there would be very little relief from the Texas sun.
This is not to say that this little bit of the Sahara Desert in West Texas is barren of life. One of the most unusual features in the park is the forest of shin oaks that poke out of the mounds. These 3- to 4-foot-tall trees are not dwarf versions of a taller variety but fully developed trees that can have root systems that extend 90 feet.
The trees, along with a wide variety of grasses, help stabilize the dunes to a certain extent. The vegetation also provides shelter and food for a number of different kinds of animals. It is always fun to try and identify tracks found in the ripples of sand before the wind erases the heaviest of footprints.
During the summer, the sand can become a frying pan to bare feet, so the best time to visit the park about 30 miles west of Odessa is between September and March. It is no coincidence that this is also when Texas Camel Corps Camel Treks provide camel-assisted overnight excursions into the sand hills. For more information or to make reservations, call 254/675-4867 or go to www.texascamelcorps.com.
Monahans Sandhills State Park is truly a unique treasure among public properties in the state. About 360 miles from Austin, the park’s visitor center rents sand saucers for $1 an hour. There is a small museum in the headquarters as well as a quarter-mile nature trail. Equine visitors have 600 acres of sand dunes to play on. For information, call 432/943-2092 or go to www.tpwd.state.tx.us.
847th in a series. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of “Day Trips” 101-200, is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.
This article appears in September 21 • 2007.
