Texas State Highway 166
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by TxDOT | ||||
| Length: | 43.089 mi (69.345 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1927 – present | |||
| Tourist routes: |
Davis Mountains State Park Highway | |||
| Restrictions: | 10' maximum width between SH 118 and FM 505 | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: |
 SH 118
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 RM 505
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| East end: |
 SH 17
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| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Jeff Davis | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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State Highway 166 or SH 166 runs for 43.0 miles (69.2 km) from SH 118 near Nunn Hill in northern Jeff Davis County, Texas passing around a major portion of the Davis Mountains before ending at SH 17 about two miles south of Fort Davis. The highway is maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
The scenic highway was originally a longer loop around the mountain range and was envisioned in 1927 as a "state park highway" until an actual state park could be established in the area. SH 166 facilitated construction of Davis Mountains State Park and the University of Texas at Austin's McDonald Observatory during the 1930s.
SH 166 is located entirely within Jeff Davis County and forms part of the route linking Fort Davis, the county seat, to Valentine, the county's only incorporated town. The highway link to Valentine is the only highway intersection between the termini of SH 166, and the rural route does not pass through any cities or towns.
In 1923, the Texas Legislature directed the State Parks Board, a predecessor agency to today's Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, to consider the Davis Mountains as the location of a new major destination park. After the parks board was initially unable to acquire appropriations or land donations for a park, the Legislature in 1927 instructed the Texas Highway Department, a TxDOT predecessor, to build the Davis Mountains State Park Highway on donated right of way. In 1933, the effects of the Great Depression finally encouraged local landowners to donate land for the proposed park to stimulate the local economy. By this time, the road had been built from Fort Davis as far as the Fowlkes Ranch enabling construction of nearby McDonald Observatory and Davis Mountains State Park.
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