- Lancaster Hill Scenic Drive and Observation Point -
Dropping over 500 feet within a little over two miles, the Lancaster Hill Scenic Drive takes the traveler from the high flat rangeland into a vast canyon which opens into the Pecos River Valley. The canyon has been a thoroughfare for centuries, beginning with nomadic Native American tribes that crossed the Pecos River at a nearby ford. The Spanish explorer Gaspar Casta?o de Sosa is believed to have traveled through the region on his trek in 1590. By the mid-1850's the United States government set up Fort Lancaster in the valley, strategically placed to guard the mail route from San Antonio to El Paso from Comanche and Apache tribes. The canyon proved a difficult place for the travelers to cross. The bluffs north of the scenic drive are still marked where the wagons were lowered and can be viewed from the grounds of the Fort Lancaster State Historical Site.
By the early 1900's the area had become more settled and the need for reliable travel routes was evident. With the discovery of oil in the region in the 1920's, it became critical. During the Depression, construction corps were sent into the area to build the highway now known as the Lancaster Hill Scenic Drive. Much of the beautiful rock retaining walls beside the highway were built at this time. At the bottom of the canyon, travelers cross the famous Pecos River on a historic covered steel bridge completed in 1932. The finished highway, originally called US 290, continued to carry the majority east-west traffic through the region until Interstate 10 was completed in the early 1980's. Redesignated as State Highway 290, the highway still carries travelers and locals alike through this historical area.
For detailed driving instructions from Ozona, visit the www.Ozona.com/Itinerary page and select "Take a Drive" !
