Marfa Lights Viewing Area — Attraction in Marfa

I and a few other people were able to see the lights. Make sure to bring binoculars or a telescope!

The lights were observed 3/14/2025 around 9 pm (local time) - a bit after sunset and right around when the moon was a few degrees above the horizon. There were at least 3 lights observed and each was about 1 degree above the horizon, very faint, blinking, and not changing color.

The first one, and the one that reached the highest brightness, was about 30 or more degrees left from the shed. This one appeared blueish-white, a large halo from the dust, and it was the only one that reached a similar brightness to car headlights for a few seconds. Later in the night, we stabilized some binoculars on the railing and looked at this light, we discovered that it was actually 2 lights very close to each other. Other than when it got super bright for a few seconds, it was very faint to see with the naked eye (at its average, it was less bright than the visible stars.

The other notable light was about

An unusually charming subject of Texas lore - Oh sure this state is known for its tall tales about Jackalopes and lassoing twisters but magical / mystical lights possibly from space aliens seems a bit of a stretch. It doesn’t matter because unlike a Jackalope - you can actually find the Marfa Lights of Texas, and the kind people of Texas have even set up a Viewing Area for you - free of cost. Just off the roadway you’ll have a chance to pull over and investigate this local phenomenon for yourself. You decide. Are the lights merely a reflection of motor vehicle headlights? Well no so fast ‘cause these lights were first reported in the 1880’s not the 1980’s so it can’t be a motor car. Could the lights be swamp gas, maybe but there’s no swamp out there. St. Elmo’s Fire? Possibly but local Apache’s claim it’s no saint but rather a long dead Apache Chief searching for lost tribesmen. Come on out and have a look see! Be advised you’ll be in company of some opinionated and passionate people. My son and I were standing near the binoculars mounted to the viewing area and a group told us we shouldn’t be standing there because we blocked their view. Now we were standing where the architects wanted us to stand - but go figure. My biggest complaint is that the Marfa Lights Viewing Area is much too close to the main road. Motorists pass by slowly and create both sound and light corruption of the area. I also think that the viewing area platform might benefit from a second elevated floor. Come on...

Sharing details for the future/first time travellers.

This place is located on Marfa-Alpine highway (US 90) Detailed signs are kept on either sides before a mile and you can spot the same even during midnight. Based on research n experience, good time to visit is 10.30pm -1.30am, we stayed from 12.15am -1am and saw the mysterious lights multiple times but was difficult to capture in camera. (There were telescopes but was hard to focus at night). Lights appeared in once in 5-10mins intervals and multiple lights emerged in a time merging into one and disappearing as mentioned. This place is in middle of nowhere and was hard to understand the phenomenon. Limited parking space with details of the Marfa lights is located at entrance wheelchair accessible parking. Group of 20people consisting of 2families were also there on a Saturday night so didnt feel any safety concern.

Have a good stay and visit. Wish you good experience to see the Marfa mysterious lights....