Marathon Motel & RV Park, near Marathon, Texas, is a cozy retreat that caters to a variety of camping styles, from tents to RVs and even cabins. With a beautiful courtyard and the option to enjoy bonfires, it’s a great place to unwind after a day of exploring the stunning Texas landscape.

The campground is known for its clean facilities, including modern bathrooms and showers, which visitors appreciate. One guest highlighted the unique experience of using private outdoor showers while stargazing, saying it was “truly a unique experience for the books.” The night skies here are something special, making it a prime spot for stargazing enthusiasts.

If you’re planning to venture into Big Bend National Park, this location serves as a convenient launch point. Campers have noted the breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, along with the peaceful atmosphere that allows for a quiet evening under the stars. Whether you're passing through or staying a while, Marathon Motel & RV Park offers a welcoming environment to relax and enjoy the beauty of Texas.

Marathon Motel & RV Park

Join the fun near Alpine. With tons of outdoor activities and scenic camping, this is an excellent vacation spot for all kinds of travelers. Alpine is filled with the activities, sights, and experiences to make everyone in your crew a happy camper. Search nearby campsites and find top-rated spots from other campers.

Alpine

The Best Camping Near Alpine, Texas

We camped in the back corner camping area, it was $15 a night for two bikepackers with one tent. Very clean bathrooms and showers were included. Our tentsite had a flat tent pad and picnic table. What makes this campsite special is that it’s also a stargazing park and they have star-specialists here every night with telescopes to answer any questions about the night sky! We are planning to camp another night and do laundry while we’re here. 

Stargazing and desert Mountain View’s 

We stayed for almost a week and enjoyed our time in Marathon. The first night we enjoyed looking at the stars with the resident astronomer. The rest of the week we stayed cozy in our warm RV at night as it got really cold!  The stars were truly spectacular, but too cold for me. During the day we explored Big Bend, which was convenient to access from the RV park. The only reason we give four stars and not five was the difficult to use laundry room, and the train next to the park. 

Oh, My Stars!

Loved this place! Price was super reasonable for FHU at $35 a night! We had a site in the back so it was a little more spread out and away from the road. Might not have been so happy with the front sites. This place has great landscaping and a beautiful courtyard that boasts a nightly fire. Marathon is also the darkest city in the USA so you get to see tons of stars. If you’re lucky some nights they pull out the telescope. 

It’s about a 45 minute drive to the Big Bend gate and maybe another 30 minutes to a hike or exhibit inside the park from there. 30 minutes to Alpine and maybe a hour to Marfa. Not much in the town it’s self but what’s there is super quant and cute. 

We would 100% recommend and stay here again. 

Darkest nights, coolest vibes

Great small RV park with motel. All spaces with electric and water, showers are great. Has a nice courtyard with large fire pit. Very clean and quite. It’s right off the main road into Big Bend National Park, about a 40 minute drive. 

Fine Place To Overnite Before Entering Big Bend

Gravel parking side by side without much else. The town was very small too. They did allow access to a private shower and wifi if needed. Stars were great!

Convenient for Big Bend

Stayed here for the night before heading into Big Bend National Park. Friendly staff . The tent section is away from the RVs and have a private flushing toilet. There is a larger bathroom available with shower. We were able to have a fire in the court yard fireplace , even in the middle of fire season. They have a star gazing facility with large observatory . Hotel rooms are available for $100. Tent sites are $15

Great tent camping site

We stumbled in this place on the way to Austin from big bend. The camp is in a dark sky reserve and had an astral photographer there showing us the telescopes. Pretty unforgettable! 

Dark sky’s! 

Great place to stay on the way to Big Bend.  Stop in at White Buffalo Bar - where ranch water was first introduced.  Food is great, large portions suggest split plates.  Campground has showers. Modern Bathrooms in tent camping area.  Night skies are beautiful 
.

Breathtaking 

Not the sexiest campground but def great enough to stay. They have telescopes for viewing planets and stars set up so folks can pay 10$ and have a look. We stayed to be closer to Big Bend so it does the job in that way. 

Among the stars

A great little town to launch your adventure into Big Bend , French Grocer is a great place . Nice showers and WiFi here as well as power and water if needed . We stayed in the back and had a quiet evening . Highly recommend for this passing through 

Dark Sky

We don’t like being on a schedule so we don’t make reservations prior to leaving home.  We have a van that we sleep in so if things don’t work out for a nite, we can use a rest stop.  We found  Marathon Motel and RV camping on The Dyrt.  What a cute place!  Surrounded by mountain views and beautiful sunrises and sunsets, night skies that are breathtaking, you really know your deep in the heart of Texas (clap,clap,clap!)

Super clean and lowkey

We loved staying at Marathon Motel! We will be back for sure. Such a neat hidden gem. The courtyard is beautiful and they let the guests start the fireplace and bonfires at will. The lights at night are so cool and makes the experience feel very special. The moon was too bright for their “star parties” when we were there unfortunately, but those sound super fun to go to. Perhaps the coolest thing we enjoyed was using their new private outdoor showers where you can look up and stargaze while soaking in warm water getting all clean. Truly a unique experience for the books. We will definitely be back!

Love Marathon!

Lovely RV Park and Motel. Clean and well kept facilities. Iconic location of several scenes from Paris, Texas.

Small Slice of Paris, Texas in Marathon

Great spot, $40 full Hookups or dry for $15.   Showers, evening stargazing program and several telescopes

Stargazing!

We camped here to visit Big Bend NP, 70 miles away. We had a nice visit, Marathon was in process of a bit of a revival so I'd be interested how it ends up. We stop at the White Buffalo bar in the gage hotel, good time.
The park itself was well maintained and they have outdoor showers, kinda nice.

Decent park

This place is amazing! It’s the perfect place to stop for a night or even a week if you’re in the area. The outdoor showers are heavenly, and the stars are incredible. They have tent spots, RV hookups, and little cabins. Plus a beautiful courtyard in the center of the property. There’s also the Dark Sky Park right there where you can check out some awesome telescopes. 

This place is really beautiful and the staff and residents are so kind and friendly.

The only thing that wasn’t great is that the water is hard and has a very high mineral content. It’s totally fine to drink, but if you’re sensitive to that kinda thing, take that into consideration. It does leave a white crust on stuff. 

True hidden gem

We came for the Dark Skies Astronomy class with Bill. It was SO amazing! The park offers hot showers, indoor and outdoor, and free wi-fi. It truly is an oasis in the desert. 

Photos of Marathon Motel & RV Park

Real photos from real campers