Marathon Motel & RV Park

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Marathon, TX
Marathon Motel & RV Park

10 private rooms, 19 full RV hookups, 10 beautiful acres, a handful of camping sites, and a whole lot of wide-open skies
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Established in 1940 and recently renovated, the Marathon Motel sits on 10 acres with 10 newly decorated rooms *WITH UPDATED HEATING AND AC UNITS!!!* divided among four duplex cabins. The motel is a wonderful example of vintage Americana. Here, guests can relax in the adobe-walled courtyard with flowering native plants, fireplace, fountain, and spectacular views of the mountains and starry skies. T

he easy-to-navigate RV Park has 19 full hookups with an array of services. Camping is available in the rear of the property that provides seclusion, privacy, and a beautiful view of the mountains.

08/31/2026

September’s starts tomorrow, so here’s our September moon phase calendar 🌙

Our new moon arrives on September 11, which means darker skies and some of the best conditions for stargazing. Once the full moon rolls around on September 26, the extra moonlight washes out many of the fainter stars and deep-sky objects, so Bill’s Star Parties take a little break around the brightest part of the lunar cycle, which you’ll find in red.

Check the calendar for this month’s star party nights, and if you’re planning to join us, reservations are always a good idea. Star parties are weather permitting, of course!

🗓️ Reserve your spot at www.darktexasskies.com/reservations

08/28/2026

Room Seven is looking especially inviting lately.

A little West Texas sunshine outside, a warm glow inside, and a quiet place to come back to after a day out in the desert. Come stay awhile.

08/25/2026

We love when our guests share a little piece of their Marathon experience with us. 📸

Digging through the archives, we came across this incredible long-exposure shot by Patty B and thought it deserved another moment in the spotlight.

Thanks for letting the Marathon Motel be your muse. 🌌

08/22/2026

Feeling especially grateful for our Bortle 1 night skies today. 🌟

There’s something extraordinary about looking up and seeing the Milky Way in all its detail—and even more extraordinary when a camera can capture what our eyes can only begin to see. Dark skies give astrophotographers the opportunity to reveal faint stars, dust, and distant structures that would otherwise be washed away by light pollution.

This beautiful image was captured right here at the Marathon Motel by the incredible Andrew Klinger Astrophotos, using a Canon 6D Mark II and Sigma Art 14mm f/1.4. It’s a stack of 100 × 25-second exposures, combined with a foreground image to create the final photograph.

We’re lucky to call these skies home, and we’re even luckier to share them with the photographers, astronomers, and curious night-sky lovers who come here to experience them. 🌌

08/18/2026

A pause is not the same thing as stopping.

For now, border wall construction in the Big Bend is on hold while officials “take a closer look at the plans”. But the threat to this landscape has not gone away—and neither should our opposition.

The Big Bend is one of the last truly wild places in Texas. It is home to wildlife corridors, fragile desert and river habitats, archaeological sites, dark skies, public lands, and communities whose livelihoods depend on this landscape remaining intact. A permanent wall would fundamentally change all of that.

And for what? The Big Bend Sector accounts for less than 2% of annual apprehensions, while billions of taxpayer dollars have already been committed to wall construction in the region.

We believe there are better ways to protect our border without destroying the very place we are trying to protect.

The wall may be paused. Our voices are not.

The Marathon Motel & RV Park stands with our neighbors and the broader No Big Bend Wall coalition in saying: Protect Big Bend. Visit No Big Bend Wall or www.nobigbendwall.org to find ways to help and to stay informed.

📸: Photo from our very own Danny Self at the No Big Bend Wall protest last week, one day before bulldozers arrived at this exact spot and began work.

08/14/2026

Sometimes all you need for a good night of camping is a truck, a cozy setup, and a good spot to park. 🚙

Our camping area gives you a quiet place to settle in, with wide-open skies, mountain views, and plenty of room to breathe. (Wi-Fi, too, if that’s your thing!)

⛺ Camping: $15/night

Bring the essentials. We’ll provide the scenery. ⛰️

08/10/2026

🎉 Happy Birthday, Chelo! 🎂

Nearly 28 years of welcoming travelers, sharing her Marathon wisdom, keeping things running smoothly, and being a familiar face behind the front desk deserves a pretty big celebration. ❤️

A true Marathon native and an irreplaceable part of the Marathon Motel family, we’re so lucky to have Chelo here with us after all these years.

Help us wish her a very happy birthday in the comments! 🥳

08/07/2026

Have you ever looked through a telescope with both eyes? 👀🔭

This beautiful setup is a Takahashi FC-100D binoscope, created by pairing two identical refractor telescopes into one instrument. Instead of viewing the night sky with one eye, a binoscope lets you use both—creating a more natural, immersive experience and making faint celestial objects easier to appreciate.

It’s always a treat to see the incredible equipment our astrophotography guests bring to Marathon. Every visit brings something new beneath our Bortle 1 skies. 🌌

08/05/2026

The countdown is on… 🌑✨

We’re officially one week away from the New Moon, when Marathon’s already-dark skies become even darker, revealing some of the best stargazing of the month.

Bill’s Star Parties will be running all week, giving you the chance to experience our Bortle 1 skies through professional telescopes and learn about the wonders of the night sky.

🌌 Reserve your spot today at www.darktexasskies.com/reservations.

Please note: All star parties are weather permitting.

08/01/2026

Hello, August! 🌙✨

A new month means a new Moon Phase Calendar—and if you’re planning a trip to Marathon for stargazing or one of Bill’s Star Parties, now’s the time to plan ahead.

🌑 New Moon: August 12th
This is the darkest night of the month and one of the best opportunities to experience the Milky Way, planets, and deep-sky objects under our Bortle 1 skies.

Here’s how to read the calendar:
🟢 Green = Prime stargazing nights with little to no moonlight—the best time to see the Milky Way and faint celestial objects.
🟡 Yellow = Some moonlight is present, making the faintest objects a little harder to see.
🔴 Red = Bright moonlit nights when deep-sky observing is limited. Star parties are paused during these nights so we can offer the best possible viewing experience.

Summer is peak Milky Way season, and August is one of our busiest months for astronomy. If you’re planning to join a star party, be sure to reserve your spot in advance at DarkTexasSkies.com/reservations 🌌

Address

701 US-90
Marathon, TX
79842

Telephone

+18663864241

Website

https://linktr.ee/marathonmotel

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