A short walk from the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, just five minutes or so in, you'll find the ruins of the Sam Nail Ranch. Nail arrived in 1909 and raised cattle, sheep and goats here, leaving in 1946. The windmill still pumps for no one's benefit, and the ruins of the adobe house and the shed can feel vaguely haunted, especially at dusk.
Sam Nail Ranch
West Texas
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
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Nearby West Texas attractions
10.45 MILES
This national park is almost the size of Rhode Island: when you’re traversing Big Bend’s 1252 sq miles, you come to appreciate what ‘big’ really means. It…
13.29 MILES
Dwarfed by the looming Sierra Ponce, the Castolon Compound buildings date from 1920. A half-mile historic stroll offers a brief look at frontier life…
17 MILES
As you look out at the desert from the pavilion that houses this recent addition to the park, it's hard to imagine that a shallow sea once covered much of…
4. Barton Warnock Visitor Center
23.4 MILES
If you only stop at one Chihuahuan Desert exhibit in Big Bend country, make it this one, at the eastern entrance of Big Bend Ranch State Park, 1.4 miles…
23.41 MILES
At 486 sq miles, this massive park is more than 11 times bigger than Texas’ next largest state park (Franklin Mountains in El Paso). Taking up almost all…