Recreation, Rodeo & Tourism

Recreation

From shopping and dining to hiking and hunting, there’s something fun to do in and around Pecos year-round. Our residents and visitors enjoy community parks, tennis courts, a skateboard park, an athletic center and a nine-hole golf course. In the past several months Pecos has seen the completion of an all-new splash pad, the groundbreaking of a state-of-the-art sports recreation complex and a $8 million dollar expansion to develop our existing golf course to 18 holes.

Livestock shows, sporting events, concerts, rodeos, parades, BBQs—these are just a few of the festive events hosted in Pecos each year.

Tourism

Pecos is proud to share its local charm, and has created many opportunities for visitors to learn about its early beginnings and the people and places that make up our history. We carry the braggin’ rights to being “home of the the world’s first rodeo,” held July 4, 1883. This western tradition continues annually with the West of the Pecos Rodeo, held at the Buck Jackson Arena. Today it’s one of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s top 40 prize-money rodeos.

Pecos also is home to three museums, including the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame, 17 churches, the Reeves County library and a historic hotel/saloon with real bullet holes preserved in the walls from an Old West gunfight. Our cemeteries are the final resting place for many cowboys and outlaws, such as Clay Allison, the “Gentleman Gunfighter.”

Pecos is also home to some 'must-stop' eateries like La Nortena’s world-famous tamales, the Burrito Depot as well, as is Pody’s BBQ—named "One of the 50 Best BBQ Joints” by Texas Monthly. Make a day of it in Pecos!

West of the Pecos Rodeo

On July 4, 1883, Pecos was home to the World’s First Rodeo. This tradition continues each summer at the Buck Jackson Arena, where it has been held every year since 1936. Today it is one of the PRCA’s top 40 prize-money rodeos.

The story of Pecos dates back to around 1873; the famous Chisholm Trail, Goodnight-Loving Trail, and Butterfield Overland mail route all crossed right here. It wasn’t long before Pecos grew into a supply town for the many ranches within a 100-mile range.

But when you get a bunch of cowboys together, some fights are bound to happen. Thanks to the “Law West of the Pecos,” things were kept in check, outside of a few gunfights (you can still see the bullet holes in the West of the Pecos Museum).