Marfa, Marfa, Marfa.
Like the frustrated Brady Bunch sister Jan who was tired of always hearing about her older sister Marcia, I am tired of hearing that this quirky far west Texas town is a must-see for travelers.
I truly enjoy any chance to soak in the cool, clear desert air and see blue sky and clouds arching over the Davis Mountains, but there are better places to do that than Marfa.
Whenever you read articles about West Texas in fancy travel publications, or blurbs about how celebrities like to escape to Marfa, they all pretty much say the same thing: “Ooooh, look, there is art and culture plus food trucks way out in the middle of nowhere. Ooooh.”
It’s quite snotty, really – these low expectations of U.S. “flyover country.”
From the InStyle link above, you’ll learn that many people go to Marfa for experiences like:
“….a weekend-only grilled cheese shack where diners sit surrounded by vintage TVs that display various forms of static.”
Um, sure, OK.
The modern art vibe is certainly there, anchored by the Chinati Foundation’s boxes of milled aluminum, various galleries, and an independent bookstore. You can listen to award-winning programming and news on Marfa Public Radio KRTS 93.5 FM, broadcasting from a converted gas station/car dealership. You can book yourself into funky lodgings (for more money than I care to spend,) and eat at some interesting funky places, assuming they’re open.
Beyond that, let’s tone down the hype machine, people. There’s just not that much there, there.
As a visitor, I want to go to a lively, vibrant place, and not a traveler’s Potemkin Village that seems to only wake up to cater to outsiders looking for buzz.
If you show up in Marfa on a random Tuesday afternoon, as I did recently with my daughter on our way to El Paso, you’ll most likely find a “neutron bomb town” – the buildings are all standing (including the new Hotel Saint George, an artsy-fartsy white minimalist box where rooms start at US$200+ a night) but there are no people, no particularly interesting shops to explore in the tiny downtown, and you’ll have a devil of a time finding someplace to eat lunch.
“After being open and working all weekend for visitors, most places close on Monday or Tuesday or both,” said the front desk person at the historic Hotel Paisano, when we asked where we could eat after everything on Yelp indicated “Closed,” AND the hotel’s restaurant was deserted. I was looking forward to eating again at tiny Squeeze Marfa, which I’d enjoyed on a previous visit, but nope, closed.
I totally understand small town hours, but when everyone’s hollering for years about what an amazing place you are, then be ready to deliver on visitor expectations.
People pour into Marfa for special events like the Trans-Pecos Festival of Music + Love, to experience the whole desert/wide-open spaces vibe on weekends, or because someone insisted that it was the greatest place EVAR, and then they leave.
Meanwhile, locals are being priced out of their homes as property taxes and real estate values soar from out-of-towners trying to buy a piece of remote hipster heaven, with sriracha sauce on the side.
It’s similar to what’s happening to Austin – everyone says a place is cool, and pretty soon the people who made it cool can’t afford to live there. If I want to see that sort of depressing development, I don’t have to go all the way out to western Texas to do so.
There is indeed a cluster of interesting smaller towns below the section of Interstate 10 bracketed by Fort Stockton and Van Horn, and north of Big Bend National Park, but Marfa is only one of those towns.
Instead, soak in the beauty and silence at the gorgeous Gage Hotel in Marathon. Spend time in Alpine, a bustling and fun college town. Go to a Star Party at the McDonald Observatory and don’t miss a chance to stay at the historic Indian Lodge in Fort Davis. Leap into the huge spring-fed pool at Balmorhea State Park. Decide if you really want to drive 30 minutes west of Marfa to Valentine to look at the Prada Marfa “art installation,” because there are plenty of other worthy places to go.
Take my friend Diann’s advice on things to see and do in this Texas Mountain Trail Region, and if you decide to go to Marfa, temper your expectations and plan your trip to coincide with some sort of performance or event, so you’ll see the town when it has a pulse.
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Sheila,
Thank you so much for this honest review. I’m a Texas native, and I haven’t been to Marfa mainly because it’s a pretty far drive from DFW. I have read so much about Marfa and how great it is that my mom and I were thinking about going. It’s still going to be on my list, but only if I can find something else to do along the way. Thanks again!
Thanks, Jessica. That whole section of Texas is WELL worth the drive from DFW, but with all there is to see in other towns in the area, I don’t want people to waste their time. If, during your trip, there’s some sort of event going on in Marfa, then fine, go there (but beware jacked-up lodging rates.) Otherwise, a drive-through to see downtown, maybe Chinati/an art gallery or two, the info plaques at the Marfa Lights viewing area, the Hotel Paisano, and the pretty Presidio County courthouse should do ya.
Wait- you are a travel blogger and you went to Marfa on a Tuesday? Research your trips much? Marfa is a town of 1800 people. There are more people living in my subdivision in Houston than in Marfa. That we have the art, the restaurants, the amazing creative people living here doing the astounding things they do is a small miracle. This is a deeply complicated place and if you had bothered to do the slightest bit of research before you came you would have had a very different experience. Although maybe not, – I don’t think you would ever “get it” from the tone of your blog. And that’s really good news to those of us who have invested in this place. You sound like a 70 year old in a poly pantsuit. Not our type.
Hi Susan, thanks for your comment.
I had no choice about day of the week – was on my way to a conference in El Paso. As I mentioned in the blog post when I said I’d hoped to eat at Squeeze Marfa, I’ve visited the town before, & stayed at the Paisano, which is lovely. I’m 55 years old & don’t wear polyester pantsuits.
The problem with Marfa is that people hype it up so much that misinformed people hit town expecting to be over run with all these amazing hip options jumping out and smacking them in the face (much like Austin) and that’s just not the case. Marfa is one of my favorite getaways in Texas and not because it has a thriving art scene and hipster grilled cheeses, it’s because it’s a great weekend getaway to a whole other world as far as I’m concerned. Having grown up in a small Texas town that has less than 3,000 people in it, I’m well versed in finding my own fun in a place that is lacking of options. My fiancé and I ventured out this past February and the entire town was basically shut down and you know what? It was still a damn good time because we took a drive out into Pinto Canyon, drank way too many margaritas at Paisano and enjoyed every second. Marfa is what you make of it.
Thanks for your input, Lauren. I’m always trying to find the good side of places and I usually succeed, but just got fed up with this one. I’m glad you have good experiences there!
Your first mistake was believing the hype. Your second mistake was going to a town in the middle of nowhere Texas with a population of 2000 and expecting them to cater to your needs because of said hype. The beauty of Marfa is that there is nothing going on most of the time which is why only 2000 of us actually live there.
Your first mistake was believing the hype. Your second mistake was coming to a town in the middle of nowhere West Texas with a population of 2000 people and expecting them to cater to your needs because of said hype. The beauty of Marfa is that there is nothing going on most of the time. Things open when they open, and the locals are chillin on their porches watching the tourists get angry because they don’t have anything fun to do.
Hi Lesley & Les (assuming same person since the first sentences of your comments are the same.)
I do appreciate your input. It’s great that the town is mellow, but so are other towns in the area like Marathon, Alpine, and Fort Davis; places where at least I can get lunch on a Tuesday and maybe stroll through a shop or two, without hunting all over for something that’s open.
Why did you come here in the first place. Stay away. Born and raised here I love my small hometown.
Well that’s a tad bit snarky. No need for that attitude. She was only telling the truth, but not in a bitchy way. Calm down there friend.
Marfa is ridiculous, overrated, and pretentious. My wife and I love Fort Davis, we’ve stayed at Indian Lodge 3 times now, which we adore (despite its abominable restaurant, they really need to do something about that) and I’ve been scuba diving in Balmorhea State Park, which is still one of my favorite diving experiences even though I’ve dived throughout the Caribbean and in the Indian Ocean. The star parties at McDonald Observatory are great, Chihuahua Desert Nature Center is cool, Blue Mountain Bistro has surprisingly good food, Fort Davis Drug Store has serviceable downhome food, Stone Village Market is a gem of gourmet picnicing supplies and deli sandwiches.
As much as we rave about Fort Davis, people respond by saying “Is that near Marfa? Have you been to Marfa? I hear Marfa is great! I want to go to Marfa one day.” We even have a gay hip friend here in Houston who has a second home in Marfa. So the second time we went to Fort Davis, we thought we’d stop in Marfa and see what all the hubbub was about. This was Spring Break 2015, and Fort Davis had been busy, the star party on Saturday had been packed, and there was a wait for tables at the Fort Davis Drug Store. So we assumed that Marfa would be at least somewhat busy. We arrived in downtown Marfa about 10 on Sunday morning expecting to do brunch. We had heard great things about Cochineal, how its food was incredible, like a hip place in NYC or LA, and they had a great brunch. I had double checked their Sunday hours on their website just that morning. As we pulled into town, we noticed it was pretty dead, but we just assumed that all the hipsters must still be sleeping off their craft beer and cocktail hangovers from the night before.
We followed our phone’s directions to Cochineal, and passed it about three times before we finally found it, no prominent sign to tell you that it was there. We went in and the door was open, said “hello” a few times, before some guy came out, and said “oh, we’re closed, we stopped serving brunch about a month ago, because I had trouble getting staff for it.” Well, you could have changed the website to reflect that. So, we went by the famous food truck park, and none of the trucks were serving yet, they were still setting up. Looking at their menus, nothing looked that great (I think food trucks in general are as overhyped as Marfa, they are generally overpriced, underwhelming versions of fast food.) So, we went to the Hotel Paisano, thinking we would eat at their restaurant. They were not serving breakfast. I asked the lady at the desk, and she recommended Cochineal. I told her what had just happened, and she was surprised, thanked me for letting her know. She directed us to the only other place that was open, a little coffee shop tucked in so tight we never would have found it on our own, and it turned out to be pretty good.
After breakfast we went by the Chinati Foundation. There were three people sitting at the desk when we got there, and none of them appeared to be doing anything, just sitting there. When I went to ask one about visiting, the person I spoke to acted as if I was inconveniencing her. She me seeing the full collection was by guided tour only, and they only had one tour a day, and we’d already missed it. The tour would have cost my wife, daughter and me $60 – that’s as much as it costs to see the Met in New York, and the Met is a bigger and better collection, and you can see it at your own pace. From what I saw of pictures of the exhibits in the lobby, I would have been really unhappy if I had paid $60 to see such pretentious hacky crap. The outside stuff we were allowed to walk around, the famous concrete boxes, looked like ordinary square storm sewer culverts. I don’t mean to sound petty, but I hope that pretentious place runs out of money and has to close up shop.
Maybe Marfa is fun on an Art Walk weekend, but the rest of the year it is a boring ghost town that pales in comparison to its neighbor Fort Davis just 30 minutes to the north. My wife and I do our best to counteract the buzz about Marfa by telling people how dead and overrated it is.
Pro-Tip: Don’t drive all the way out to west Texas JUST to see Marfa because you read about it or whatever. If you do that, you’re gonna have a bad time. Come see far west Texas as a whole. We have a college town, a mountain community, an art haven, a border town, state and national parks, wildlife, AND nightlife!
Absolutely agree, Lena, which is why I talked about those other towns in the last paragraph. The area as a whole is well worth a trip, for sure.
The deal about Marfa is that it’s really pretty boring if you’re a visitor just breezing through for a couple of days. If you know people there and are involved in the local scene at all, it’s a lot of fun and there’s cool stuff going on all the time. Stick around for a week or two, get to know some locals, and the whole town will open up for you.
Thanks, Tom, good to know!
This article is spot on. There is little to no affordable rentals in Marfa and most of the local housing was bought up and renovated out of the price range of the average Marfadite’s budget. You have the Artsy crowd buying up all of the storefronts in town for their pet art projects while driving the price out of reach for legitimate businesses to open that are capable of generating local revenue. You have properties turned around simply to cater to summer and vacation rentals while the rest of properties in town are falling down.
You have restaurants that are run more as a hobby than a reliable business. That’s the last thing the town needs.
Marfa needs restaurants and retail stores with regular hours that will create taxable revenue and jobs for the town, not more art galleries and trinket shops that simply contribute to property taxes.
Thanks for the feedback, Billy. It’s always a tricky balance between popularity, sustainability/economic development, and livability for residents. I hope Marfa figures it out.
Come and face off with La loma del Chivo on the sw side of old Marathon…..We’ve our own “Judd” boxes
Your place looks really interesting, & I’d like to see more of Marathon. 🙂
Being a Marfa native, I agree with Billie. After living there for 30+ years, I was ready to leave. The changes that have come our way, have only hurt the town. Sadly, all the long-time Marga citizend are feeling the negative impact and it’s only getting worse. The small town of Marfa is no longer the same. Rather than changing for the best, it’s only getting worse. I’m glad I no longer live there and have no plans to return.
That’s really sad to hear. It’s such a stunning region.
I found myself looking at home prices in Alpine, Marathon, and Fort Davis, and I’m TOTALLY a city kid! It had that effect on me….
What billy and you don’t seem to understand is that in a town of 2000 people, with 600 of them being under 18 and around 85% of the voting population being above the age of 65 (who mostly live on social security/fixed income) that means the working population is somewhere around 150-200 people. Then you have border patrol, the public jobs, art foundations, etc and the working population that can actually work a service job is EXTREMELY small.
As a small business owner there we struggle to keep it staffed.
Also business fluctuates between 100-1000% from let’s say a Tuesday to a Saturday. And it’s quite difficult to predict (outside of obvious tourist weekends).
The reality is this is an art town that has gotten a lot of hype – people mostly come here to create (we have 4+ residency programs).
So seems like you just don’t get it, and that’s ok!
Seems like you’re angry about not getting it. Like you’ve been duped. Sorry about that.
Maybe sometime you can come stay a week in Marfa at a house on a ranch, slow down and take sunset walks. Then go to an art opening. And then maybe get a late night beer at the lost horse.
There’s magic here, you just have to find it.
Thanks for reading, Magic, & I appreciate your perspective, particularly about the problems with staffing local small businesses.
Magic in plain sight – if Marfa, a town of 2000 people, doesn’t have enough people to keep service jobs staffed, then how come Fort Davis, with only 1200 people, doesn’t seem to have the same problem, because it has restaurants with regular hours unlike Marfa?
It’s like bird watching, a new flock every weekend! Small town America, what I don’t understand stand why big city people want to change our town to big city way! The DQ is open 7 days a week, and if you can cook ,we have 2 grocery stores & also 2 stop & robs! Good grief what more do you need for a weekend visit!
Keep it simple!
Thanks for your comment, Ed, and for stopping by the blog.
I don’t want your town to change; I just want it to somewhat live up to its reputation for being so amazing. No one wants to travel all the way out there only to have to end up at the DQ – we can eat tacos or burgers under the “Texas Stop Sign” in hundreds of other places. 🙂
I don’t know if the town needs to do anything to live up to its reputation, I just think travel writers need to be more responsible and truthful about what Marfa is (or mostly, isn’t). I don’t understand why Marfa gets so much national press when Fort Davis, just 30 minutes away, has loads more appeal to the average traveler. If travel writers were more responsible, they’d a.) explain that Marfa is really only “on” Friday through Saturday night, and not even every Friday and Saturday, and b.) promote Marfa as one stop on a trip to West Texas that would include Fort Davis at the very least, but also Alpine, Marathon, and Big Bend National Park.
Sounds good to me. Thanks, Mark.
The Big Bend has a great deal to offer….one place you didn’t mention was Terlingua and the Big Bend National Park and Big Bend State Park…over a million acres that are spectacular, unique and educating. Biking/river rafting/hiking/rock climbing/stargazing/people meeting….all there all the time and all the restaurants (famously the Starlight Theater, La Kiva, La Posada Milagros Espresso..y Poco Mas, plus others) are open daily. Its more of a destination w/ many options in all directions. But many of us who live in Terlingua and Lajitas and Study Butte and Marathon also love Marfa. It has lots of theater, cultural offerings, interesting people visiting, music venues and great food. We drive to Alpine where there is a university and big grocery stores and banks and restaurants…30 min from Marfa. We all cherish…everyone of us…the fact of the grandiosity of the surroundings, the history it represents and the individuals who love it deeply. Come back and experience it all…if one area is recuperating from a major tourism influx, the rest is awaiting you.
I do love the area as a whole; have not had a chance to go further south into Big Bend country.
And then there are those of us who love D Judd and the permanent installations in town. I’ve been twice and plan on visiting again. His house and library are fascinating. The AFB is a great afternoon. His downtown offices are stupendous.
I understand that minimalist architecture is not everyones cup of tea, but that is what drew me in and I find it a wonderful place, slow pace and all.
Your review makes it sound like Langtry or Luckenbach when you were expecting Brooklyn or Taos, and that is not what I have found there at all.
I kept thinking another trip to Marfa would change the initial impression I had from an earlier visit, but it did not. Was not looking for Brooklyn or Taos – have been to both and know how apples/oranges it is to compare Marfa to them. Have also been to Langtry and Luckenbach 🙂 so knew that wasn’t it, either. I will definitely visit the region again – I hope many times – but now will simply give a lot more of my attention to Marathon, Alpine, and Fort Davis, plus hopefully a run down into Big Bend country.
I could not agree more with this article. My wife and daughter and I love, love, love Fort Davis, been there 3 times now, but our two side excursions to Marfa on those trips yielded exactly the same experience you describe.
I found your quote of the Paisano hotel employee interesting: “After being open and working all weekend for visitors, most places close on Monday or Tuesday or both,” especially her comment about “working all weekend for visitors” – the last time we gave Marfa a chance was on a Sunday morning during Spring Break 2015, we thought such a “hip” place would have at least a few Sunday Brunch options, and NOTHING was open. We finally found a little hole in the wall coffee house that was out of most things besides only having two other customers the whole time we were there. I have a friend who is very hip and has a house there, and he just loves it, but he says other than going to unplug, in which case he hangs out at his house and cooks his own meals, the only time to go is when they are having art gallery openings. I like art and all, but I’d rather drive an hour to one of Galveston’s monthly art walks along with all the other stuff to do there than 9 hours to a town with nothing else going for it.
Oops, sorry, I didn’t realize until just now I had already replied to this post in greater detail last December.
That’s OK, Mark, strong opinions on this piece keep coming in. 🙂
I really agree with your points Sheila. The Hotel Paisano is really cool but these artists will need to make sure that they consider the visitors are the ones that pay the bills. A few gems but overall you have to work too hard to find anything worthwhile in Marfa. We walked into one of the outide exhibits not realizing you needed a tour pass and were greeted with a “what are you doing?!” instead of sorry you need to buy tickets. A lot of rude, pretension. And overpriced “art” abounds. Marfa need not be Santa Fe, but it needs to grow up.
Thanks, David. I do love the Paisano, but I can also stay at the historic Indian Lodge or the Limpia in Fort Davis, and have a little more going on in the town around me. Or stay at the Gage in Marathon or the CCC-built cabins at Balmorhea State Park, with less pretension.
AMEN…I spent a few days there back in 2010 and was hearing such amazing things about the town. I think the hype was the problem. That said, I drove up to Fort Davis and loved that little town (not seeing anything written about it probably made it easier to have low to no expectations). Marfa is a neat little town BUT with the TV and press coverage that I’ve read (especially living in far away Nashville), I totally agree with you. Honestly, I was in a bar there one night and felt a little of place….me and a couple from Australia (strangely enough) were feeling the same about that and finding it quite funny (to be in the middle of nowhere…and kinda uncool).
Thanks for your thoughts, Scott. It’s not that there’s NOTHING in Marfa; it’s that there’s not as much as the hype would lead visitors to believe, especially if your timing is off, or you aren’t there for an event of some sort (so places are actually open.) I’m a big fan of nearby Fort Davis. The Indian Lodge there just finished a big renovation, too – https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/releases/?req=20180620a
I’ve been traveling through Florida, all of the South and Texas for the last six months. Marfa was the biggest nothing burger. I have been in so many delightful small towns like Grapevine, Texas, Natchez, Mississippi or Eufala Alabama or Hoover Alabama, where they are making a huge effort with the main street…. Another town I like is Deland, Florida. Flourishing art scene, gorgeous downtown and people on the streets.
So many towns outshine the dead, pretentious Marfa.. Dumbfounded by the press it has received
Thanks for your comment, Victoria. Yeah, I don’t get it, either. For that “great wide open” feeling, I’d rather be in Marathon, and for activity, I’d rather be in Fort Davis or Alpine.
I absolutely agree with you, Sheila. I’ve been to Marfa about 3 or 4 times. The first time we went on Labor Day weekend and the other times, we were just passing through. So much hype around this town, but the hype doesn’t match the town actually delivers.. My boyfriend has been there 4+ times with friends and loves it SO much. He doesn’t understand why I don’t feel the same way. We we’re actually discussing this subject and it’s how I came across your article. You hit the nail on the head. Thank you for clarifying all my thoughts.
Thanks, Kanya, appreciate your perspective. Plenty of other wonderful things to see and do in West Texas.