Texas Film Tour

Del Rio and Brackettville

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cities and attractions on your tour.

Del Rio, which bills itself as “The Best of the Border,” is southeast of Marathon on the Texas-Mexico border on U.S. 90. The Steven Spielberg-directed action film Sugarland Express was shot in this little border town. In it, Goldie Hawn plays a woman who helps her husband, played by William Atherton, escape from prison so they can kidnap their daughter back from foster parents. The film features a chase scene through the desert that grinds to a halt in the Rio Grande.

Featured action for the acclaimed television miniseries Lonesome Dove took place around the Del Rio area. Del Rio also offers plenty of recreational activities at the huge Amistad Reservoir. The huge lake spans across the border of the U.S. and Mexico, making it an international waterway. National Park Service maintains the U.S. side of the lake and features boat ramps, marinas, campgrounds and picnic areas. Just across the Rio Grande from Del Rio you can enjoy some great nightlife, restaurants and shopping in Ciudad Acuña. It’s known to have great bargains on decorative wrought iron, jewelry, woven goods, leather craft, pottery and souvenirs.

From Del Rio, take a short detour southeast to Brackettville where John Wayne’s The Alamo was filmed at Alamo Village. It was one of the largest and most complete backlots, having played host to more than 200 major feature films, TV movies, miniseries, documentaries, commercials and music videos. Some of the productions filmed here include Barbarosa, Lonesome Dove, The Good Old Boys, Bad Girls, and The Bullfighter. The full-sized replica of the Alamo was designed using the mission’s original plans and took two years to complete.

A year after The Alamo, John Ford directed the 1961 Western Two Rode Together in Brackettville. In this film, James Stewart and Richard Widmark attempt to rescue prisoners taken by the Comanches.

Another interesting attraction near Brackettville is Fort Clark. It’s a privately maintained fort that was once home to heroes including famous officers, Medal of Honor recipients and common soldiers who protected the Texas frontier. Facilities include a military museum, two golf courses, a spring-fed pool, tennis courts, nature trails, a bird sanctuary and many other amenities, including overnight accommodations in two-story stone cavalry barracks.