This spectacular Texas highway is a travel dupe for Route 66

Andrew Nelson (Writer)
·4 min read
While driving epic Highway 90, road trippers should consider visiting Big Bend National Park to see Boquillas Canyon near the Texas-Mexico border.
While driving epic Highway 90, road trippers should consider visiting Big Bend National Park to see Boquillas Canyon near the Texas-Mexico border. Photograph by Bryan Schutmaat, Nat Geo Image Collection


Route 66, the iconic “Mother Road” that winds from Chicago to Los Angeles, will celebrate its centennial in 2026, but U.S. Highway 90 through far west Texas is only a year younger, and it offers an alternative—and equally spectacular—journey. Its scenery rivals the more famous route, but with opportunities to experience the vast open spaces of the Chihuahuan Desert and Big Bend National Park along the Mexican border.

Opened in 1927 as a southern route west from Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. Highway 90 passes through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, but was gradually replaced by Interstate 10 by the 1980s. Today the portion of the drive through the Lone Star State is a heady spectacle of diverse landscapes, wildlife, and sky-sweeping vistas.

Route 90, the Interstate highway in Southern Texas.
Interstate Highway 90 may not be as well known as Route 66 but the drive through west Texas takes in similarly vast, lonely vistas. Photograph by Teun Voeten, Redux

“Driving Highway 90 is like a trip into the classic West. The people who live along the highway are both friendly and fiercely independent,” says Big Bend artist Chris Ruggia, whose work is inspired by the region’s plants and animals, such as jack rabbits, road runners, and javelina. “Travelers are going to find the scenery breathtaking. It’s an authentic experience along the Texas frontier."

Here are five unforgettable Texan stops on or near Highway 90.

Pecos River High Bridge

The Highway 90 bridge over the Pecos River.
The Highway 90 bridge over the Pecos River is the tallest in Texas at 273 feet. Photograph by Bob Daemmrich, Alamy

This dizzying span vaults across the Pecos River, 273 feet below. Pull over into the observation area on the bridge’s eastern side for views of the limestone gorge and the river itself as it flows towards the Rio Grande. Upon crossing the storied waterway, travelers will be “West of the Pecos,” a famous 19th-century expression for the rugged, mostly lawless lands stretching from the river to New Mexico.

Langtry

Langtry was the home town of Judge Roy Bean, the legendary dispenser of frontier justice. “My family loves stopping at Langtry’s visitors center with its 3-D dioramas and quirky, kid-pleasing holograms reenacting Bean’s life,” says San Antonio resident Cristina Sousa Noriega. Also on the premises is a cactus garden and the Jersey Lilly saloon, a rustic wooden structure belonging to the judge. “It instantly transports you to the Wild West,” she says.

Alpine

This classic small town is where to find the newly expanded Museum of the Big Bend, which showcases the history and arts of the region. Other attractions include Kokernot Field, a classic 1947 baseball stadium, built by a local rancher to be a miniature version of Chicago’s Wrigley Field. The well-stocked Front Street Books shares its building with Cedar Coffee & Supply café. In the evenings, stroll to the Ritchey. This historic bar serves flautas and tacos in a former cowboy hotel built near the town’s Amtrak station.

Marfa

Dusk settles in over Prada Marfa, an art installation in Valentine, Texas.
Art installation “Prada Marfa”, built in 2005, is one of the contemporary art works to be found in and around Marfa, Texas. Photograph by Patrick Semansky, AP

Artist Donald Judd had his studio in this former ranching town, which served as an inspiration for the 1956 film Giant. Marfa is now a creative-class playground with attractions such as the sleek Hotel Saint George. Its pool serves as one of the town’s social hot spots. Don’t miss the Chinati Foundation’s tour of Judd’s installations; the Marfa Lights viewing area for a chance to observe this nocturnal and mysterious phenomena; or the conceptual art piece “Prada Marfa,” located 36 miles west of Courthouse Square on 90.

(Neon is making a comeback along classic roads.)

Big Bend National Park

View of the Chisos Mountains along the Lost Mine Trailin Big Bend National Park, Texas.
About an hour off Highway 90, Big Bend National Park protects rugged vistas of the Chisos Mountains. Photograph by Bryan Schutmaat, Nat Geo Image Collection

While far west Texas offers numerous man-made and cultural attractions, Big Bend National Park is the region’s must-see natural attraction. The 1,252-square-mile park takes in the spectacular Chisos Mountains and monumental Santa Elena Canyon set on the Rio Grande River along the Mexican border. Located about an hour’s drive south of Highway 90, the wilderness provides a dramatic contrast to the small towns and ranches along the road. Alpine, with its grocery and hardware stores, makes a good stopover for provisions before visiting this natural wonder.

(Legends of Texas come alive in Big Bend.)

Andrew Nelson is author of Here Not There, a book of destination “dupes.” Follow him on Instagram.