Monahans Sandhills State Park - Monacans, TX - State/Provincial Parks on Waymarking.com

One of the most unique parks in Texas, Monahans Sandhills State park offers an otherworldly experience, unique wildlife, ever-changing vistas, and sand surfing too.

Blasterz have been to Monahans Sandhills many times -- Younger Blasterz always have a great time :)

These sand dunes stretch over a vast area of multiple counties in West Texas.

According to the handbook of Texas online: (visit link)

"SAND HILLS. The Sand Hills of West Texas are found in portions of north Crane County, northeast Ward County, west Winkler County, and south Andrews County, with a small section in southwest Ector County. They are active, migrating sand dunes, subject to wind erosion and sediment transport. While fringe areas of the Sand Hills contain scattered oak mottes with local freshwater marshes present during wet cycles, the dunes are commonly barren of plant life. The Sand Hills range in elevation from 2,600 to 3,200 feet."

Park Type: Overnight Activities: Camping; hiking; picnicking; horseback riding; bird and wildlife watching sand surfing. Park Fees: $3 per person over age 12 per day Background: From the Texas parks and Wildlife website: https://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/monahans-sandhills/nature The park is only a small portion of a dune field that extends about 200 miles from south of Monahans westward and north into New Mexico. Most of these dunes are stabilized by vegetation, but the park is one area where many dunes are still active. Active dunes grow and change shape in response to seasonal, prevailing winds. At Monahans Sandhills State Park, the visitor will experience a dynamic landscape. Fresh water occurs at shallow depths within the dune field and sometimes stands in shallow ponds in low areas between dunes. A quiet vigil near such ponds at dusk or dawn is the best way to observe wildlife such as mule deer, gray fox, coyote, bobcat, opossum, wild hog, porcupine, skunk, ground squirrel, jackrabbit and cottontail. Shin oak (Quercus havardii), one of the plants that stabilize the dunes, is not a stunted or dwarfed form of a larger tree, but a plant that when fully mature usually stands less than four feet tall and bears an abundance of large acorns. Monahans Sandhills State Park consists of 3,840 acres of sand dunes, some up to 70 feet high, in Ward and Winkler Counties, about a half-hour's drive west of Odessa. A majority of the land was leased in 1956 by the state from a private foundation (Sealy-Smith Foundation) until 2056, and the park was opened in 1957. The Williams family of Monahans, Texas, also leased to the state approximately 900 acres for the park. More than 400 years ago, Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to report the vast hills of sand. Native Americans were present in this area as far back as 12,000 years ago. Various Indian tribes used the area for temporary campgrounds and a meeting place, finding game, abundant fresh water beneath the sands, acorns, and mesquite beans for grinding into paste with their stone tools. The area remained a favorable environment for Indians until the 1880s, when the Texas and Pacific Railroad selected Monahans as a water stop between the Pecos River and the town of Big Spring. In the late 1920s, oil production began in the area, now commonly known as the Permian Basin, and today Monahans is a marketing center for more than 800 square miles of oil and cattle country. Date Established?: 1957 Link to Park: [Web Link] Additional Entrance Points: Not Listed

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Date Logged Log   03/26/2024 new.neo visited it 11/15/2020 Crazy4horses visited it 03/12/2017 wb96bobwhite visited it 09/18/2016 Raven visited it 12/30/2013 Benchmark Blasterz visited it 09/03/2009 WalksfarTX visited it

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