Big Bend National Park

Nestled in the rugged landscapes of southwest Texas, Big Bend National Park beckons adventurers with its breathtaking vistas and untamed wilderness. Named after the prominent bend in the Rio Grande, this vast expanse of over 800,000 acres offers a diverse array of outdoor activities, from hiking along desert trails to kayaking through towering canyons. Visitors are captivated by the park's striking geological formations, including the towering Chisos Mountains and the iconic Santa Elena Canyon. As night falls, the sky transforms into a mesmerizing canvas of stars, making it a prime destination for stargazing enthusiasts. With its rich biodiversity, encompassing over 1,200 plant species and 450 bird species, Big Bend promises unforgettable encounters with nature at every turn. Whether seeking solitude in the backcountry or embarking on a scenic drive along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, travelers are sure to find inspiration and awe in the rugged beauty of Big Bend National Park.

3 Day Itinerary

Big Bend is one of the most underrated national parks in the country. Despite its remote location, it has the perfect mix of desert and mountain terrain to explore, along with the famous Texas night sky. This itinerary is easily done on a long weekend for anyone living within driving distance, or taking a flight to a nearby airport like El Paso (ELP) or Midland/Odessa (MAF). This specifically applies to those with accommodations on the west side of the park in the Terlingua area.

DAY 1: Arrival

If you're driving, which most Texans will be doing, the haul out to West Texas is a long one. You'll want to start earlier in the day so you aren't showing up to your accommodations in the middle of the night. Gas stations are also few and far between, so a SUV with high range is recommended. Here are a few drive times for reference (destination of Terlingua, TX):

• Albuquerque - 8 hours and 38 minutes (571 miles)

• Austin - 7 hours and 43 minutes (486 miles)

• Dallas - 8 hours and 52 minutes (576 miles)

• El Paso - 4 hours and 41 minutes (303 miles)

• Fort Worth - 9 hours and 57 minutes (655 miles)

• Midland/Odessa - 3 hours and 49 minutes (239 miles)

• San Antonio - 6 hours and 46 minutes (460 miles)

Once you exit off of I-10 and head south through Alpine, TX and Marathon, TX on the way to Terlingua, be sure to drive careful as you're likely to run into Javelina or other wildlife potentially crossing the roads. Border Patrol will also likely have a checkpoint to go through.

Once you check into your accommodations, unpack and then enjoy staring up at the stars after your long travel day to get to the park. The Airbnb we stayed in was about 15 minutes north of Terlingua and was the perfect set up for 6 people. The link is to the left if you want to book the same.

DAY 2: Exploring Big Bend

Wake up early and see the sunrise, or choose to sleep in if you got to your accommodations late that previous night. If you aren't staying at a hotel (which there are few in the area), you'll likely be cooking your own breakfast. Our kitchen at the Airbnb was great and we made breakfast tacos each morning to fuel up for the day. Since there aren't many places in the park to eat, be sure to take a pack lunch and plenty of water.

 Big Bend is a massive park, so measuring how far to the park from Terlingua depends on where you want to go. The closest entrance from Terlingua is at Maverick Junction, and is about 15 minutes east of Terlingua. Once you reach that checkpoint, you'll have to stop to check your car in at the ranger station and pay an entrance fee ($30.00 per vehicle for 7 days).

 After this point, the Chisos Basin rises in the distance and looms over the rest of the park. For a good first hike to your trip, continue another 20 minutes or so to the Upper Burro Mesa Pour-Off Trailhead. There are plenty of photo opportunities off the side of the scenic drive to the trailhead. The hike is 3.5 miles roundtrip, and descends down to a narrow slot canyon. Once you get to the end of the trail, there is some boulder scrambling and you end at a lookout (pour-off) at a grotto-like cavern. While a great trail when its dry, don't attempt if there's a chance of rain as you can get caught in a flash flood and be washed over the pour-off.

 Continue along the road you were on before stopping for this hike a short distance up to the Sotol Vista Overlook. From here, you can look south into Mexico. You should also be able to see Santa Elena Canyon cut into the huge rock cliffs that separate Texas from Mexico. This is also a good place to eat if you brought a pack lunch.

 Just below the Vista is a another good trail, the Chimneys Trail, which is a 2.4 mile hike to a volcanic dike where you can find pictographs and petroglyphs created by natives long ago.

 Head south another 35 minutes to Santa Elena Canyon to see the towering rock walls up close. The car park for the canyon is just a few hundred yards from the entrance and is an easy hike. You can also walk along a trail into the canyon on the Texas side. It is a 1.6 mile roundtrip trail and is an easy addition to the first hike you did earlier that day.

 There are plenty of other places to explore, but if you're tired for the day, continue just past the Santa Elena carpark towards Old Maverick Road. This is a dirt road that goes directly back to Terlingua, but you'll need a 4x4 car or something with good suspension.

 Take a break back your accommodations for an hour or so, then get changed and head into the Starlight Theatre for dinner and drinks. The Starlight is an old historical movie palace that has been converted into a restaurant where most everyone who visits the area will eat at. With the rise in tourism, the wait times at the Starlight can be over 2 hours, but they have a great front porch where you can find a seat with a margarita to watch the sunset and light fade over the landscape.

 
 
 
 

DAY 3: The Chisos Basin

Having spent the first day in the desert part of the park, take the second day to go up in elevation to the Chisos Basin. This mountain range in the middle of the park rises to 5,400 feet at the main campsites, and can be up to 20 degrees cooler in the summer months. With this elevation, the landscape turns into what you'd expect to see in the mountains of southern Colorado and New Mexico.

There are so many trails to choose from in the Chisos, but the most famous and probably one of the most strenuous, is the South Rim Trail. This 12.7 mile loop, takes over 6 hours to complete and has around 2,500 feet of elevation gain. Despite how strenuous it is, the views from the top looking out over a hundred miles into Mexico are beyond worth it.

Another famous hike is The Window. This is a 5.5 mile out and back hike which takes about 2 and a half hours to complete with 960 feet of elevation gain, all on the way back. The trail takes you down to a narrow vista point carved by water run off that collects high in the mountains and has created a perfect window lookout over the desert floor.

If you want to have the views of the South Rim, but not spend the entire day hiking, the Lost Mine Trail is perfect. It's a 4.8 mile, out and back trail with 1,100 feet of elevation gain. The hike takes about 2 and a half hours up to a beautiful vista, which gives you essentially the same view as the South Rim. It's a great place to have lunch and look out over the desert.

There are also some great hikes and things to do on the east side of the park. If you head east after getting down from the Chisos Basin for another 40 minutes, you will get to the Rio Grande Village. This is a large campsite with a general store right along the Rio Grande. From the village, you can park and walk half a mile along the river to natural hot springs on the Rio Grande. Another hike is to walk the 1.2 mile out and back trail into Boquillas Canyon. The hike is flat and takes you along the Rio Grande into a canyon. There's also a huge sand dune that you can hike up and then run/roll down which is a lot of fun.

After a long day exploring the park, spend the evening making a camp fire at your accommodation and wait for the stars to come out. In addition to the amazing sunsets of Big Bend, the stars are some of the best in the country.