With only one day left, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view a total solar eclipse is fast approaching.
If you haven't seen it yet, there are many locations where you can observe the celestial phenomenon on April 8, when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun for several minutes along the path of a total solar eclipse, turning daylight into dusk. .
Totality will cross Mexico, cross the United States from Texas to Maine, and exit North America along the Canadian coast. In Texas, the eclipse will begin around 1:25 p.m. CT along the Texas-Mexico border and end about 25 minutes later across the Texas-Oklahoma border. Power outages are expected to last more than four minutes in some parts of the state.
No matter where you go to observe the eclipse, be sure to have eclipse glasses on hand to view it safely. Except for the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the moon completely blocks the bright side of the sun, it is not safe to look directly at the sun without special eye protection for sun viewing. You can also experience a solar eclipse using indirect viewing methods such as a pinhole projector.
Also, please do not trespass. Remember, almost 95% of Texas is privately owned.
Here we detail a near-final list of the best places to view the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8th.
Best Texas towns to see a total solar eclipse
Texas cities and small towns from the Mexican border to Texarkana are bracing for an influx of tourists for Monday's total solar eclipse. That's because some Texas towns boast some of the longest total periods in the country.
If you're looking for the longest period of totality, you might want to head to the following cities:
- Bandera
- fredericksburg
- eagle pass
- car building
- Killeen
- waco
But if you want to avoid traffic in the Hill Country or other less populated areas of the state, staying within the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area may be your best bet. Dallas is expected to have a total of 3 minutes, 51 seconds, and Fort Worth about 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
If you're looking for the least cloudy part of the state, it might be wise to head northeast. Mostly cloudy skies are expected in south-central Texas, but forecasters expect mostly clear skies in Paris and Texarkana.
Observe lots of solar eclipses for free
While this may not be the most attractive place to view a solar eclipse, one easy solution to ensuring you see this event is to find a wide open parking lot. This is an economical solution and there are no trees blocking the view.
walmart
Walmart is known to be fairly lenient regarding daytime and overnight parking in its store parking lots.
Here are some Walmart stores in Texas along or near the path of the April 8 total solar eclipse.
- Del Rio's Walmart, 2410 Dodson Ave., Del Rio, Texas.
- Eagle Pass Walmart, 496 S. Bibb Ave., Eagle Pass, Texas.
- Walmart of Uvalde, 3100 E. Main St., Uvalde, Texas.
- Kerrville Walmart, 216 Junction Highway, Kerrville, TX.
- Marble Falls Walmart, 2700 US 281, Marble Falls, Texas.
- Waco Walmart, 4320 Franklin Ave., Waco, Texas.
- Bellmead (North of Waco) Walmart, 1521 Interstate 35, Bellmead, Texas.
- Dallas Walmart, 200 Short Blvd., Dallas, Texas.
- Walmart of Texarkana, 4000 New Boston Road, Texarkana, Texas.
Mr. Bushy
Buc-ee's convenience stores are known for being huge, and so are their parking lots. Buc-ee's doesn't allow overnight parking, but it's okay to pull into the Buc-ee's parking lot, grab some jerky, beaver nuggets, or brisket sandwiches, and watch the celestial happenings from the hood of your car. there is no.
Here are some Buc-ee locations in Texas that are along or near the Total Trail.
- Buc-ee's is located at 4155 General Bruce Drive, Temple, TX.
- Buc-ee's (1402 Interstate 45, Ennis, TX)
- Buc-ee's is located in Terrell (east of Dallas), 506 Interstate 20, Terrell, Texas.
- Buc-ee's in Royse City (northeast of Dallas), 5005 Interstate 30, Royse City, Texas.
cracker barrel
Planning your Cracker Barrel parking lot has the distinct benefit of allowing you to enjoy a pile of pancakes and delicious biscuits and sausage gravy early in the morning before witnessing a major celestial event.
Many people don't know that you can park for free overnight at Cracker Barrel. This policy varies by each property's management, but most travelers have no problem with his one-night stay.
Here are some Cracker Barrel locations in or near Total Road, Texas.
- Kerrville's Cracker Barrel, 2110 Sidney Baker St., Kerrville, Texas.
- Temple's Cracker Barrel, 3687 S. General Bruce Drive, Temple, Texas.
- Harker Heights Cracker Barrel, 201 E. Central Texas Expressway, Harker Heights, Texas.
- Cracker Barrel at Lacey Lakeview (north of Waco), 4275 Interstate 35, Lacey Lakeview, Texas.
- Cracker Barrel on Hewitt (South of Waco), 221 Enterprise Blvd., Hewitt, Texas.
- DeSoto (South of Dallas) Cracker Barrel, 1421 N. Beckley Ave., DeSoto, Texas.
- Cracker Barrel at 5304 N. Galloway Ave. Mesquite, Texas (east of Dallas).
- Cracker Barrel in Texarkana (3302 St. Michael Drive, Texarkana, TX).
best festivals and events
There are several events happening around the state where you can still get tickets for Monday, April 8th. Includes:
- Texas Eclipse Festival in Burnet, Texas.
- Events around Denton, Texas, including “Get Eclipsed Crawl” and the University of North Texas Watch Party.
- Events around Waco, Texas, including the Eclipse Over Texas festival and several watch parties.
- Solar Rodeo in Mesquite, Texas.
- Waxahachie's Bee Eclipse of the Heart Watch Party and other free events in North Texas.
Best Texas lakes and rivers to view the total solar eclipse
If getting out on the water to watch a solar eclipse is more your thing, Texas has several bodies of water located in the path of totality. Please be sure to check boat launch status before setting out as some boat launches may be closed due to the drought.
Lakes managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that are undergoing totalization include:
- lake aquila
- birdwell lake
- belton lake
- benbrook lake
- canyon lake
- Ferrells Bridge Dam/Lake o' the Pines
- granger lake
- grapevine lake
- lake georgetown
- Lake Labon
- lewisville lake
- navarro mills lake
- Pat Mays Lake
- proctor lake
- Stillhouse Hollow Lake
- lake waco
There are 31 state parks along the way. A day pass or campsite pass is required to access the park's rivers and lakes. Most passes are sold out, but there are still passes available at Tyler State Park and Cedar Hill State Park.
Lakes managed by the Lower Colorado River Authority where you can view the total solar eclipse are:
- lake austin
- Lake Buchanan
- inks lake
- Lake Lyndon B. Johnson
- Marble Lake Falls
- lake travis
Other lakes that will be completely covered by the moon's shadow on April 8 are:
- mountain creek lake
- ray hubbard lake
- white rock lake
- Cedar Creek Reservoir
- Richland Chambers Reservoir
- Amistad National Recreation Area (Lake Amistad)
- lake fork
From the comfort of your home
While getting outdoors and witnessing the eclipse with your own (protected) eyes is the best way to experience the event, a live stream offering a zoomed-in view of the total solar eclipse on April 8 will be available in the U.S. Some things will take place inside.
This option is especially useful if the selected spot is below the clouds during the peak of totality.
Weather permitting, NASA plans to provide live views of the eclipse from several locations along the eclipse's path, including views of the partially eclipsed Sun in different wavelengths of light. The agency will broadcast live on NASA TV, NASA.gov, the NASA app, and YouTube on April 8 from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM Central Time (5:00 PM to 8:00 PM UTC). .
NASA will offer two views. The main broadcast will include conversations with experts and provide telescopic views of the eclipse from several locations along the eclipse's path. There's also a pretty telescopic feed of the eclipse moving across North America.
Other organizations that do live streams include:
- The Exploratorium will broadcast four livestreams on the day of the total solar eclipse.
- Skywatching's website timeanddate.com will cover the total solar eclipse from start to finish with livestreams and live blogs, featuring real-time progress reports and background information. The live stream is also available on YouTube.
- The Eclipse Over Texas: Live from Waco event will livestream the eclipse on Discovery Channel's YouTube page.
