Its summer, the kids are home, and you are trying desperately to think of ways to entertain them in the West Texas region. Yeah, I hear ya! Summer in the desolate and hot West Texas area can be rough, but it is actually full of surprises. One of the perfect places to spend a hot summer day not too far from Midland/Odessa, Texas is Hobbs, New Mexico.
When I told my husband I was going to spend the day in Hobbs, New Mexico he scoffed saying nobody would want to go there. Well here I am back in Midland, already planning a trip back! Hobbs is a small oil town located on the very border of New Mexico and Texas. It is an hour and a half drive from the Midland/Odessa area, a perfect getaway for the day!
Now if you are skeptic about Hobbs like my husband was, prepare to be pleasantly surprised! Because today I am going to take you just past the Texas border and into the ‘Land of Enchantment!’
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Things To Do In Hobbs, New Mexico
Eat Donuts At Eagle Donuts
Just because we aren’t in Texas anymore doesn’t mean we can’t start with a Texas breakfast. All over West Texas are donut/kolache shops and Hobbs isn’t much different. Our favorite donut shop is Eagle Donuts! Not only do they have delicious soft donuts, but an adorable backdrop to enjoy them by.
Location: 1616 N Dal Paso St, Hobbs, NM 88240
Hours: daily 4am-1pm
Play At Taylor Splash Pad
One of the best parts about Hobbs, New Mexico is that it takes summer seriously! Summers in Hobbs are average about 92-94 degrees and it is HOT! While most surrounding towns have maybe one splash pad, Hobbs has 5 splash pads, 3 pools, and one indoor pool! They know how to survive the high heat in this town!
One of the first splash pads in the area is located by Taylor Elementary School. Though Hobbs is a hard place to grow beautiful flowers, it does have this adorable flower themed splash pad! Tulips filled with water constantly drop while a large yellow flower spins water all over the children playing here.
It is a cute and fun splash pad located right next to several playground structures. My kids kept hopping from one playground to the next, to the next, to the splash pad!
Location: 1800 E Pecos Dr, Hobbs, NM 88240
Hours: daily 10:30am-7:30pm
Walk Through An Old West Town…Sorta
What would a town be without having some sort of quirky attraction. Hobbs, New Mexico’s quirky attraction comes in the form of an old west town. Welcome to Hardywood! Now this isn’t a town of actual buildings, but a series of large wooden cutouts that look like an old west town.
Walk down the boardwalk path past the Hardywood’s Grand Hotel guarded by a dog on the roof, drop off a letter for the Pony Express Riders, relax in front of the barber shop, and be sure to check out the wanted posters. This is a quirky stop you won’t want to miss.
Location: 3117 E Hardy St, Hobbs, NM 88240
Hours: open 24 hours daily
Picnic at City Park Splash Pad
The next splash pad is my kids favorite splash pad in Hobbs, New Mexico. City Park is the nicest park in Hobbs, and it has to coolest playground and splash pad. The splash pad has a giant bucket in the center that every so often dumps a large wave of water. There is water spraying everywhere. Water that spins, water the shoots, a water arch, a water bubble, just water everywhere!
One of the biggest appeals to us at this splash pad was the toddler/baby area! There were was a little pondlike area where little babies could play and splash without being sprayed in the face. It was so nice for my little baby to have fun in the water without getting sprayed!
Location: 1001 E Clinton St, Hobbs, NM 88240
Hours: 10:30am-7:30pm
Western Heritage Museum And Lea County Cowboy Hall Of Fame
Now if you follow me on Instagram or on my blog you know I am a HUGE fan of the GetOut Pass. This is a pass that gets you into 50-100 places per area. With the New Mexico/West Texas pass and my discount code WESTXMOM you get into all sorts of mini golf, waterpark, escape rooms, and more for an amazing price.
I am bringing this up, because one of the things you can do with your GetOut Pass is visit the Western Heritage Museum and Lea County Cowboy Hall Of Fame for FREE!! This museum is pretty small, but every so often they bring in a traveling exhibit that makes it so much more fun!
Their permanent exhibit is all about the cowboys that settled this land. There is literally a wall of fame with cowboys recognized for their achievements. This wall has boots, saddles, spurs, and any other western momentum to honor these cowboys. There is also a room of the history of Hobbs, from the Native Americans to the pioneers on up.
For kids there is a movie theater as well as a coloring station, and a saddle to sit in. When we visited their traveling museum was about Steampunk and it was really interesting. My kids got to try different Steampunk type experiments and design their own machines. It was very interactive and interesting for both me and my kids.
Location: 1 Thunderbird Cir, Hobbs, NM 88240
Hours: daily 10am-5pm
Admission: FREE with GetOut Pass, or $5 adults, $3 ages 6-18/seniors, 5 and under FREE
Slide Down Some Waterslides At Del Norte Aquatic Facility
While splash pads are fun, it is kinda more fun to be in a pool as an adult. Our favorite outdoor pool in Hobbs, New Mexico is the Del Norte Aquatic Facility. This large pool has so much more to it then just a swimming area. It was its own walk in beach area, splash pad, kids waterslides, deep pool, lanes for laps, and large waterslides.
This is a pool that is fun for all ages. I enjoyed floating in the pool and the giant waterslides, my kids still got to go on waterslides, and they loved just walking into the water without having to swim. It is a super fun way to beat the intense summer heat.
Location: 4314 N Grimes St, Hobbs, NM 88240
Hours: Tues-Sun 12pm-6pm, CLOSED MONDAY
Admission: $2 ages 4-61, everyone else FREE
Mills Splash Pad
Talk about adorable themes, Mills Splash Pad has the cutest theme! Welcome to the old wild west! Run through the watery arch of a covered wagon. Get sprayed by the giant rattlesnake, cool off under the old wooden water tower, or just get dumped on by the bucket horse trough.
This splash pad could use a little TLC, but it was absolutely adorable! A+ for being such a cute splash pad!
Location: 3000 N Acoma Dr, Hobbs, NM 88240
Hours: 10:30am-7:30pm
Have A Country Meal At Outlaw Grill
We are just gonna stick to this old west theme! You have been to an old west town, an old west museum, an old west splash pad, well now its time for some good old west cookin! The Outlaw Grill is a small restaurant located in the same building as the Kountry Korral Boutique. So after you get the old western food in your belly, you can get some old western shopping in.
This grill had so many All-American dishes from steak to pastas, to burgers. Each dish even has an adorable old west name to it. You can try the Billy the Kid Burger or what about the Jesse James Steak? The food was absolutely delicious too! If you are lookin for a great stop to rustle up some grub, then you just found it!
Location: 521 W Navajo Dr, Hobbs, NM 88240
Hours: daily 10am-9pm
Swim At Humble Pool
In this day and age we like everything to be fancy and Instagram worthy, but it is kinda nice to just have the simple things in life; like just goin to the pool. Humble Pool, I guess is a good name for it, cause this pool doesn’t have a cute theme or a splash pad. No water slides or lazy rivers, just a plain old swimming pool with a diving board.
Even without all the fancy extras, we still had a blast relaxing poolside, diving for swim toys, and jumping in the water. With kids though you don’t always need the extras, you just need to live in the moment and give them attention! A humble lesson for a Humble Pool!
Location: 700 S Grimes St, Hobbs, NM 88240
Hours: Wed-Fri 12pm-4:30pm, Sat-Sun 12pm-6pm, CLOSED MON-TUES
Admission: $2 ages 4-61, everyone else is FREE
Cool Off At Jefferson Splash Pad
I did say this was a summer list right, cause we are adding yet another fun splash pad to the list. Jefferson Splash Pad was our least favorite of the splash pads, but that does not mean we did not have fun! On the contrary, we loved the giant bucket that dumps every so often and the water guns that you can move around.
There isn’t much more then water splashing from the ground at this splash pad, but it still does its job well. We had fun and we cooled off in the intense heat, what more could we need?
Location: 1120 W Park St, Hobbs, NM 88240
Hours: daily 10:30am-7pm
Other Fun Things To Do In Hobbs, New Mexico That We Haven’t Tried Yet:
- Space Jump Trampoline Park– A trampoline Park
- Big Cheese Pizza Arcade– Pizza and arcade games! My kids dream come true!
- Veterans Memorial at McAdams Park– A great park for feeding ducks and enjoying the large airplanes on display
- CORE Center of Recreational– the most epic looking indoor waterpark in the West Texas region
- Zia Park Casino Hotel & Racetrack– Watching a live horse race in person is on my bucket list! Is it on yours?
- Cherryberry Frozen Yogurt– The only thing better than swimming in the heat is eating ice cream….or frozen yogurt works too!
- Washington Splash Pad– the only splash pad we have not visited!
Final Thoughts On Hobbs, New Mexico:
Before visiting Hobbs myself, the only stories I ever heard about this town were from the days my husband worked in the oil field. Let’s just say he isn’t a fan. So I had my doubts, but I was shocked by how much fun we had visiting this middle of nowhere town. Most of what we did involved the water, but honestly what is more fun in this intense summer heat then playing in the water.
All I can say is well done, Hobbs, New Mexico! You surprised me today and I hope you also take the time to enjoy this small, but fun town!
Other Fun Day Trips From Midland/Odessa:
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