UT McDonald Observatory Reviews

Ice cream/soda fountain, which is fun as well as well-run.

Awesome place. Really friendly, knowledgeable people, just try to schedule night tickets on a clear, dry night!

Too the tour and went to the Star party. All of it was great. Loved the talks they gave.

Beautifully set tucked in the mountains to see incredible views of the sky!

Amazing Star Party in the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11!

Make reservations ahead of time to go on the tour!!

Incredible! For being in the middle of nowhere, the star party was packed - and for good reason. It was a very interesting presentation involving an overview of the night sky via laser pointer and great story telling followed by a chance to see thru almost a dozen different manned telescope stations. My favorite part was looking through one telescope and seeing hundreds of stars. I asked where the telescope was pointed, and the astronomer used a laser to point to a spot in the night sky where I couldn't see a single star with the naked eye.

Well, for starters, how often do you get to visit a research observatory that's also designed with the public in mind? This is the ultimate in higher education, no pun intended(!): Advancing our knowlege and providing service so more may benefit.

Absolutely one of the gems of the State of Texas and Country!
Very long trip to Fort Davis Mountains. Keep nightime Dark so we can see the Stars and planets. Stay for programs and they have weekly updates on line. Been there twice and hope to go back. Excellent fo adults too! 5+++

Astronomers world. Educational and fun for anyone! Friendly staff. Had a blast looking through many different size telescopes pointing at different stars. Highly recommend making your reservations for the star party online before making the drive. That attraction sells out quickly.

This place is beautiful! The staff is so sweet and excited about astrology that they just love talking about it and answering any and all questions while making a number of bad astrology puns!
The view was something that anyone interested in space needs to see!! It is so beautiful and memorizing. We, unfortunately, went on a cloudy night but the view was still breath taking.

2 Stars - For it being one of the least light polluted places in the US. How often would you hear that!
1 Star - Staff. Amazing staff, very friendly and full of knowledge.
1 Star - This star is for all the knowledge you'd gain there. Everytime you go there, you're gonna come back smarter.
1 Star - All the science they do to make the world a better place and an educated place.

Word of Advice: It's almost always pretty cold out there, don't forget to take a jacket if you're planning to do a Star Party.
When going to Star Party, pick a new moon day and possibly summer months. On a good night you can see the Milky Way and you don't wanna miss out on that.

It is a beautiful center with very knowledgeable staff. The exhibits are modern and the star parties are awesome for every member of the family.

The McDonald Star Party is a great way to see the planets and stars while also learning a lot. It's 100% worth the trip if you're in the area.

Great sky and star shows followed by outdoor observation. Fantastic staff let you look through a variety of telescopes. Low light pollution so you have an excellent view of stars.

Educational AND fun! Did the twilight program and star party. Evening started out cloudy, but we stuck with the alternate program and were able to see several craters on the moon (which we had just learned about during the twilight program) later when the conditions improved. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. We'll be back!

What to do out in West Texas, reserve a spot at the Star Party. Got to look through the biggest telescope I ever looked through. Could almost count rocks on the moon.

Thought we could see sky from telescope, but no, it's just a tour of telescope. You have to book a separate tour (2-3 months in advance) to actually view cosmic bodies through the observatory's telescope.

This is actually one of my favorite places on the planet.

I usually find an excuse to stop here if I'm anywhere within a hundred miles. It's a truly fascinating center if you have any kind of interest in Astronomy. Lectures are held here on a daily basis, and a tour of the facility yields insights not only into the Observatory itself, but into the lighting-policies of the surrounding towns. This may sound weird, but chances are you'll learn a number of things you'd never naturally associate with an installation of this kind.

Pro-Tip: Star Parties... These are held a number of times each year, with night-time lectures at the amphitheater and an opportunity to actually look through the optics. I've been to a couple, and as soon as I find an excuse to revisit this area, I'll go to another one.

Went for the star party and was blown away by the efforts the staff went to put this event together and how knowledge everyone was for this amazing star viewing experience!

Used to stop by anytime and I did again this weekend only to get ran off.
Website didn't say stay away or closed. Even Google search says they open. Lies! Reservations only. Good luck. That's 6 hrs driving I did for nothing with my disillusioned kids. You'd think they'd let one or two in the facility to buy a water or use restroom but NOOO. WHOLE THING CLOSED. Extreme precaution. Use caution when visiting here.

Update:
Now they put updated closed status of visitors center. Finally. But still...they could open with social distancing! Comon! Its a cool place to visit

A must visit for all. Really far from any urban area making the night sky amazing.

Star Party was excellent! Dress warm and bring a blanket to sit on!

Great place to learn about astronomy. Went to the star party and really enjoyed it.

Worth the drive off of 10. Nice scenery and a great experiance.

I loved it! At the star party, we learned about some constellations, got to look through 6 big telescopes and saw star clusters, the planet Uranus... Was fun to talk to the astronomers.

The McDonald Observatory is absolutely worth your time. On the tour, you have the opportunity to view both the Hobby-Eberly telescope, and the 107 inch classic telescope.

The tour includes a viewing of the Sun, a viewing of the dome that houses the large single mirror telescope, and a visit to the Dome that houses the Hobby-Eberly telescope also known as the HET.

This is the largest telescope of its kind in North America, and the fifth largest of its kind in the world.

Our guide was so kind, informative, and even letting the kids move the telescope and the Dome.

We are members of the EAA aka Experimental Aircraft Association which enables us through a partnership with the ASTC passport program to gain free entry. Definitely something to look into.

Great place to explore astronomy and see the stars
I highly recommend attending a Star Party. The astronomers are very friendly and hugely knowledgeable.

Awesome place to explore. The day program was wonderful and the staff awesome!
A great place to bring kids to pique their interest in science!

This place is really cool to come to. A must if you like seeing the stars at night with their star watching party.

Incredibly AMAZING! Star party was so educational. Makes you truly realize how short our time is in the universe.

Wonderful place to visit!!! Friendly and knowledgeable tour guide really made the experience one in a million!

I've always loved their Star Gazing Parties! Fun for the whole family!

Reservations required for everything. Plan ahead. Its not a spontaneous stop. :(

Great educational tour with up close views of the telescopes. Our tour guide Joe entertained and Educated.

Awesome view it is really breathtaking with the davis mountains I was impressed. As a kid I have dreamt of coming here and being 47 yrs old i still feel like a kid. I have always loved watching the midnight skies seeing debris fall from the ski. I encourage anyone to take the family there if your interested in seeing the view and looking at the stars at night thru a huge telescope. They have a small restaurant you can eat are a little high but pretty good.

Super cool laser to point out the stars! That was the best part

Very cool place to visit and learn what is going on on the scientific world of the space. As being part University of Texas at Austin campus, they have very well informed staff, the presentation at night about the stars, constellations, big bang, planets was great and we were able to see thru the big telescopes available for the public. Excellent. Also, the afternoon we were there, the observatory had 12 javelinas visiting check the pictures bellow

Having worked on several optical systems there for over 25 years, I can say with confidence that the McDonald Observatory Visitor Center is a world-class, 5-star public astronomy facility. All the staff are great people, the Star Date Cafe serves delicious sandwiches, the displays are state of the art and changed often, the auditorium is super, and the grounds are immaculately kept. Check their online schedules, and if they have a public viewing night and you see clear skies, treat yourself to the best telescope viewing in the entire country. That is not an exaggeration.

I have been visiting the McDonald Observatory since I was a kid, over 50 years of visiting, and it s still one of my favorite places in the entire state of Texas. A great place to visit for anyone interested in astronomy. There s a lot to learn here, and beautiful country to look at.

Most beautiful experience of my life! Saw billions of stars. Would love to attend every season. Can't wait to go back!

Wonderful star party Saturday night, gorgeous clear sky, learned a lot!

One of the darkest places in the US provides a great location to have an observatory. Large sundial.

It's nice but the twilight conference is a bit long. This should be more interactive in my opinion. See with the telescopes then it's really nice. I enjoyed seeing saturn

WOW! we had a really fantastic experience, we saw a couple of galaxies and we could see the Seven Sisters clearly. Highly educational , and would recommend to all ages

Against government law they asked me if my small dog was a service dog , then because She was an emotional support dog, she showed me a picture of what a service dog has to look like( a German shepherd) ,, and told me I couldn't come in. Even though I had the necessary paperwork from a physician.She wouldn't even look at it. What she did I have been told is against the law. They have to stop this. We won't be back.

Tonight's star party presentation and telescope viewing was worth my 1400 Mile drive. The visitors center amenities (gift shop, cafe, exhibits, etc.) provided a compliment to the popular viewing.
Our presenter used humor and stories to make astronomy entertaining and educational for all ages. Her concluding remarks made astronomy relevant to all in the audience.
Dress warmly. Get reservations far in advance. Don't be late.

Zero stars. Evidently the monsoon season runs from July to mid October. But tours were great and we got in depth studies of the telescopes. They offered refunds and reschedules for anyone who did not want to stay. So, it's still on my bucket list for a future trip.

Beautiful sky got to look through all the telescopes

My family and me had amazing time here, the staff is very helpful and knowledgeable on the telescopes and star correlations .

Unfortunately, the Star Party jumped. The nice thing we can come back when we want in the next 5 or even 10 years to free!

We stayed about 30 minutes on the road ahead. It is mentioned that we can visit the main telescope but the visit is rather disappointing, few explanations. The museum down the hill is good.

Wonderful place to stop. Interesting even if it's cloudy out. Fun to check out the different telescopes and views.

Observatory with five telescopes including the Hobby-Eberly, one of the largest optical telescopes in the world
!!!

Wonderful place but clouds covering ruined our viewing

The Star Party is amazing and all of the staff are super friendly.

Friendly knowledgeable staff, but feel the telescope viewing is over rated. Stayed the night in Fort Davis from Deming to Houston just to see the viewing. The public telescopes are just not that great.

Star Party is simply amazing! Highlight of our annual trip to Ft. Davis! Love it. But be sure to buy tickets ahead of time as it's usually sold out!

Star Party Review: **we were not able to explore the museum.**
This is a great experience. When you arrive before the Star Party, you will wait in the lobby or cafe that is open for most of the evening (serving drinks and sandwiches). Gift shop is open as well.
Group is escorted to a large circle area with concrete benches. Tour host will explain the evening and give you an excellent (and humerous) lecture on constellations and the night sky. The group is then released to look through the scientific telescopes that are used for research (these are not the really huge ones but they are stored in small dome structures). It was a crowded night so we had to spend a lot of time waiting in line to look through the telescopes (that was the only negative about the evening). Student scientists were on hand at each telescope to explain what you were looking at and answer any questions. We had a great time and would recommend the trip. Buy your tickets early as this event will sell out.

It was awesome!!! Very educational saw Saturn and it's rings!!

The visitor's center gives the family something for a few hours that's not in the heat. Their science museum is interactive and even has a meteorite you can touch. The souvenir shop is small but there's something for kids of all ages. Outside there's an awesomely huge sundial. If you're wanting a tour, this is where you register. If you're not on a tour, you can only drive up to and see the outside of the observatory buildings. Check their schedule for solar viewings during the day along with presentations and opportunities to look through telescopes at night.

It was very cold and windy which hampered with our stargazing as most of the telescopes are sensitive. The people at the observatory however provided other activities to do. All in all I would say it w as s a good experience.

Great place to visit. We did the star party and despite the cold it was really enjoyable. The staff was also extremely knowledgeable and happy to answer questions.

Unbelievable what this telescope can discover. Worth a look

A unique family experience I must-see if you're into astronomy.