2023 TSP Lodging Rates
Prude Ranch
These rates are not standard Prude Ranch rates.
TSP 2023 accommodation rates for Prude Ranch housing are in effect during TSP only. If you are a guest of the Prude Ranch prior to the official start of TSP Week-Sunday May 14th, 2023, (May 13th for approved volunteers and before Saturday May 13th, 2023 and earlier days.) you will pay the standard Prude accommodation rates in effect at that time for Prude Ranch Guests. (Meals are not included.)
If you have arrived early for TSP 2023 prior to May 14th, 2023, you must exit the Ranch on Saturday if you are not an approved volunteer to allow TSP staff to install star party infrastructure.
Please Note:
Saturday May 13th, 2023 is the day when Early Arrival Volunteers are installing TSP infrastructure. Accommodations at Prude Ranch for Saturday night, May 13th, 2023 are “Blocked Out” for attendees. Access to Prude Ranch and Ranch accommodations for Saturday Night May 13th, 2023 are reserved and only available for volunteers who have been approved for Early Arrival and Early “Saturday Night” accommodations.
Ranch accommodations for TSP attendees become available on Sunday May 14th, 2022.
===Daily Rates WITHOUT MEALS:======================
(No Tax charged)
Per Person Adult Child 6-11
Camping 25.00 12.00 (no meals)
RV Site 36.00/ up to 2 people 10.00 (no meals)
($18.00 for each additional person over 2 people in RV)
“Camping includes Tent Camping and Dry Camping”
All Tents, Dry Camping RV-Vehicles-etc and Equipment Tent/Trailers Require a Permit. As noted above, Tent Campers and Dry Campers pay $25/day/person.
Equipment Tent/Trailer permits are required for all attendees. If you are paying for ranch accommodations, you need a Permit but do not have to pay for the Permit. If you have offsite accommodations, you do have to pay for the Permit.
Equipment Tent/Trailer Permit Fee for attendees staying offsite is $15.00/day.
Permits are different colors to denote those used for sleeping accommodations vs equipment storage. If you sleep in your equipment trailer or equipment tent, you must pay the Camping rate and not the Equipment rate. This is Prude Ranch policy that TSP supports.
======Daily Rates WITH MEALS: (Lunch & Dinner)=======
(Includes 13% Lodging/Meal Tax)
(per person) Adult Child 6-11
Bunkhouse $78.00 $39.00
Family - Sgl (not available)
Cabin Dbl $111.00 $50.00
Trpl+ $101.00 $50.00
Motel - Sgl (not available)
Dbl $128.00 $50.00
Trpl+ $113.00 $50.00
Motel Rooms have service once a week (Odd numbered rooms on Tuesday and Even numbered rooms on Wednesday-actual day subject to change). Fresh towel service provided daily if used towels are left outside of door.
There are 34 units available, each with 2 double or 2 queen beds. One two-bedroom suite is also available. Special rates apply. No charge for children under age 6. Family cabins have a queen or king size bed plus a set of bunks.
Campers/RV’ERS. TSP Week Meal-package $325/person including tax (13 meals: 6 lunches
and 7 dinners starting May 14th, 2023)
INDIVIDUAL MEALS CAN BE PURCHASED AT THE FRONT DESK WITH
24 HOUR NOTICE FOR CAMPERS, RV’ERS AND OFFSITE ATTENDEES.
* TSP 2023 Application/Reservation request for 5 or more days receive top priority in the TSP Random Lottery Drawing and related Housing Assignments chosen from your 3 housing choices (top down priority).
All Prices Subject to Change without Notice
Confirmation of TSP 2023 Status for Prude Ranch Accommodations and Prude Ranch Deposits
In early March 2023, you will receive an email from TSP Housing informing you that you have been assigned a Confirmed Reservation for one of your 3 housing choices if you are assigned ranch housing. You will not have secured your Prude Ranch Housing until you have paid your accommodation deposit(s) to the Ranch.
The Ranch will send you an email with instructions and links to their Online Payment system for you to pay your Ranch Deposit(s). If you do not receive an email from the Ranch, you are still responsible for the deposit payment.
TSP 2023 does not process nor collect the Ranch deposits. Contact the Prude Ranch regarding TSP 2023 Prude Ranch deposits. While we can sometimes assist you, TSP is not involved nor responsible for collecting these deposits for the Ranch. Contacting TSP will only delay your deposit being received, your accommodations being confirmed by Ranch Staff and your deposit amount being credited towards the total payment of your Ranch accommodations.
Note: Your initial payment of $120/person for Full TSP Registration and/or $120/person attending Family member ($50/person for those 17 to 12 and must be accompanied with a parent) that you paid when you registered for TSP 2023 was only for your TSP 2023 Registration Fees. Your Prude Ranch Housing Deposit is a separate payment that is made to the Ranch. And this Deposit must be paid to the Ranch on or before March 25, 2023. Instructions are below.
Prude Ranch Housing/Accommodations Deposit(s) Payments:
A Deposit IN ADVANCE per person is required to hold a reservation.
Those staying in offsite housing are not required to make a deposit payment to Prude Ranch.
NOTE: Attendees who are staying offsite must purchase an Equipment Tent/Trailer Permit if they are bringing a trailer or tent and storing it on the ranch to store equipment. Attendees must not sleep in their equipment tents or trailers. THESE TRAILER AND TENT PERMITS ARE COLOR CODED TO INDICATE BETWEEN SLEEPING ACCOMMODATIONS AND EQUIPMENT STORAGE.
Please mail your deposit check (SEE DEPOSIT SCHEDULE BELOW) You have to pay a deposit for your Prude Ranch accommodations based on the type of accommodations and the number of family members attending. Example: 2 people in a Motel Room is $200 deposit/person times 2 people = $400.000 deposit that you would need to mail to the ranch or pay using the Ranch’s Invoicing system.
Deposit Amounts for Prude Ranch Accommodations per person and based on the type of accommodations you were assigned.
Deposit Payment Schedule Payable to Prude Ranch
- $50/person – RV Site & Tent/Dry Campers
- $100/person – Bunkhouse
- $200/person – Family Cabin & Motel Rooms
No Deposit refunds after April 20, 2023
Pay your Deposits before March 31, 2023, Payable To :
Prude Ranch
PO Box 1907
Fort Davis, TX 79734
Cancellation and Refunds Policy:
After April 15, 2023 there are no refunds for cancellations/unused nights for accommodations.
Please request refund of Prude Ranch deposit or other Ranch payments by mail or email postmarked on or before April 15, 2023. Cancellation after this date will result in loss of deposit/other payments.
Send any request to cancel your Prude Ranch Reservation and to request a refund of your Prude Ranch
pruderanchfrontofice@gmail.com
or
Prude Ranch
PO Box 1907
Fort Davis, TX 79734
Prude Ranch
TSP Housing (motels, family cabins, bunkhouses), RV site, AND CAMPING reservations are being assigned by Drawing this year. The drawing will be held in February, 2023. Learn about the Drawing!
Attendees staying off-site are part of the drawing. They need to submit their TSP Application To Attend/Random Drawing Form in order to receive confirmation of their Attending TSP 2023. After the Random Drawing, Attendees staying in Offsite Housing will receive their confirmation that they are attending TSP 2023 and instructions to submit their completed Registration forms and TSP Registration Fees.
Ranch meals are served at the Dining Hall. Tent, Dry campers and RV’ERS can sign up for an optional meal plan of 13 meals, starting with Sunday dinner. The meal plan includes daily lunch (Except Sunday Lunch-No Lunch) and dinner. Cost is $325/person. Breakfast (extra-cost is not covered with meal plan) is available at nearby snack bar if it is open.
- TENT and DRY (see notes on Dry Camping) – CAMPING: Bring your own sleeping bag, tent, car, or giant Dobsonian to sleep in. Water and showers are available. While some sites have electricity nearby, 3 central areas with electricity for your telescope are provided. Since the ground at the Ranch is very hard, it is recommended that you bring heavy-duty stakes ( landscape timber nails or Timber Bolts and a battery power driver) to secure your tent and a good hammer. Camp sites are available on a first-come, first-serve basis (not reserved in advance).
Read about Dry-Camping Your Car, Truck, or RV at TSP. - TRAILER/RV SITE: Arriving RVs must arrive before 6pm to allow enough time for setup before it gets dark. No white light after 9pm.
Water and electrical hookups are included. Specific sites are assigned. There are RV Sites near the North and South observing fields. (See the Ranch map link below). Specific RV sites will be assigned in advance. - BUNKHOUSE:
These cabins sleep 8 to 20 persons and include community bathrooms. But TSP is only using the lower bunk beds, not the top. (TSP only uses half of the Bunkhouse occupancy.) Bring your own linens and pillows. Ideal for astronomy clubs and large families. - FAMILY CABIN:
Sleeps 2 to 4 (Spanish Family Cabin Sleeps max of 6 people) people and includes a bathroom. Linen and maid service. - MOTEL ROOM:
These are beautiful rooms where you can go first-class with linen and maid service. Nice rooms for 2 to 4 people.
Maid service: Includes a fully-serviced room upon arrival, and partial service daily. Daily service includes pickup of used towels and trash, and fresh towels/supplies. In addition, full maid service will be provided at all even-numbered rooms and half of the Family cabins on Wednesday and the remaining rooms on Thursday (including any skipped on Wednesday).
Meal Plan: Prude Ranch also offers attendees who are Tent/Dry Camping, RV’ing and those who have accommodations offsite to purchase the optional meal plan. For the full week of TSP, that is 13 meals: Evening meal on opening Sunday and mid-day and evening meals Monday through Saturday night. For individual meals (unless you are on a meal-plan), you must sign-up at least a day in advance at the Ranch Front Office. All of the covered housing accommodations on the ranch include the meal plan. Due to the fact that most attendees are sleeping when a breakfast meal would have been served, there is no breakfast meal. The ranch does provide a coffee service and fruit in the dinning room for those who need a snack during the day.
Red Light Snack Shack: Across the parking lot from the ranch office attendees can find a “Midnight Oasis” A red light will be your guide to this gathering of like minded friends – old and new. Here you can obtain hot drinks to warm the body and soothe your mind as well as candy bars and hot foods that the ranch staff are cooking up. One never knows what will be found at the Red Light Snack Shack. I know from first hand experience, at 3am in the morning on a typical west Texas night a mile high, the walk to this mecca is worth the trip. Be sure to check it out. Oh, and remember to leave a generous tip for the ranch staff serving you.
Tipping: Think of your time at TSP 2023 as being on a vacation aboard a cruise ship. It is customary to give tips to the service staff when you are on a cruise. It is customary to tip the food server at the restaurants when eat out. Please consider the same generosity for the staff at Prude Ranch. They are providing services that normally you would have to do if you were at home. A smile, a thank you for your service and a generous gratuity will brighten a person’s day and let them know that they are appreciated. Everyone likes to be appreciated. Thank you, TSP management.
Reservations for 5 or more days: will be given highest priority when the random drawing is run. The computer generated sequence numbers that are assigned when the program runs determine the order of the housing accommodation assignments. The processes in simple. Lowest sequence number first (assign housing starting with 1st choice, 2nd choice and then 3rd choice of housing) to the highest; repeating the process for the next in line. Sequence number trumps all other considerations. If after reviewing all 3 attendee chosen housing choices, TSP Housing cannot place an attendee into their choice of housing, they go to a wait list. And will stay on the wait list until an opening in one of their choices become available, or the attendee communicates to TSP Housing a different choice of housing. If that choice is available, that choice will be where they are assigned.
Reservations for 4 or less days: will run the same as above, but the sequence numbers assigned to this group is much higher and outside the range of numbers that is assigned to those attending 5 days or more. This means the initial ranch housing assignments are in preference to those attendees who are staying 5 days or more. This is done to maximize the occupancy of the Ranch’s available housing. Those attendees who are staying 4 days and less will be assigned the remaining available housing. The process is the same as described above. Lowest sequence number to highest; housing choice 1st to 3rd and the on to the next highest sequence number.
TSP’s method of assigning housing provides everyone with a fair chance at obtaining onsite housing and attending TSP star parties. If you are staying offsite, your application is automatically approved. I have stayed offsite and of course onsite. I prefer onsite.
Private rooms and Family cabins are not available for single-occupancy.
Prude Ranch accommodations PRICES.
Area Motels
If you are staying off-site, please remember to also pay your TSP Registration Fee(s).
Fort Davis: (6 miles)
* Butterfield Inn (432) 426-3252
* Davis Mountains Inn B&B (432) 426-3939
* Davis Mountains State Park (800) 792-1112
* Fort Davis Inn and RV Park (432) 426-2112
* Harvard Hotel and Harvard Lodge At Sproul Ranch(432) 426-2500
* Hotel Lympia (800) 662-5517
* Indian Lodge (432) 426-3254
* Mountain Trails Lodge (800) 403-3484 (432) 426-3481
* Old Texas Inn (432) 426-3118
* Overland Trail Campground & RV Park (888) 478-5267
* MacMillen RV Park (877) 426-2056
* Roadrunner Inn (432) 249-0107
* South Gate Lodges (432) 426-3939
* Stone Village Tourist Camp (432) 426-3941
* Veranda Country Inn (888) 383-2847
* Webster House (432) 249-1234
Marfa: (30 miles)
* Thunderbird Hotel (877) 729-1984
* Hotel Paisano (866) 729-3669
* Riata Inn (432) 729-3800
Alpine: (35 miles)
* Alpine Inn (432) 837-3417
* Best Western (800) 528-1234
* Bien Venido Welcome Motel (432) 837-3454
* Highland Inn (432) 837-5811
* Ramada Limited (800) 272-6232
* Sunday House Motor Inn (800) 510-3363