Big Bend National Park
Exploring Big Bend National Park over 3 days
USA
We spent three days exploring Big Bend National Park, located in southwest Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border. Known for its remoteness, Big Bend covers over 800,000 acres of diverse landscapes, from vast desert plains and rugged mountains to the lush banks of the Rio Grande River.
Big Bend remains one of the largest, most remote, and least-visited national parks in the US. It still has great facilities with several visitor centers. You also want to get to the more popular hikes early to ensure you can find a parking spot.
The area has a fascinating prehistoric history, with dinosaur bones and footprints discovered here, evidence of a time when the region was covered by a warm, shallow sea. These fossils mostly date back 145 to 66 million years. Plaster replicas were on display under a shaded structure and allowed you to get a feel for the large size of these prehistoric animals.
Our next stop was the Rio Grande Village campground and nature trail. Located in the park's eastern section, nestled along the Rio Grande River. This area blends desert landscapes with riparian habitats and rich cultural history. The river serves as the natural border between the U.S. and Mexico.
The Rio Grande Village Nature Trail, a short 0.75-mile loop that winds through desert scrub, tall grasses, and cottonwoods along the river. Along the way, we spotted a wild horse walking the trail. At the trail's end, we were treated to stunning views of the surrounding mountains.
Off to the side of the main structure was a paved trial leading to an overlook where you could admire the surrounding landscape. Off in the distance we spotted a wild horse trotting around.
After making our way back down we made the short drive over and parked at the Chisos Basin Visitor Center. We filled our water bottles back up and then made our way to the Window view trail. This was a short 0.5km loop trail that allowed you to see the sights in the basin.
We continued down the scenic drive and stopped at the Goat mountain observation point and the Mule Ears Viewpoint. The striking unique look of the Mule ears on the landscape and ability to view them from multiple vantage points made them a key navigational marker in the region.
Just off the parking area for the viewpoint was the Mule Ears Spring Trail. Due to the heat we decided to continue on the scenic road to our next short hike.
Our next stop was the short Tuff Canyon Trail. This short trail took about 30 minutes to loop around and view the canyon that has been cut into the landscape. The trail was well maintained and had several viewing platforms to take in the views.
At the end of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive is the Santa Elena Canyon Trail. We were glad that we started the hike later in the day as with the sun lower on the horizon the canyon provided much needed shade from the heat.
Getting across the river at the start is the biggest challenge of this hike. Luckily for us the side river channel was mostly dry and we could hop on some rocks across the narrow channel. We then begin our hike up the canyon. As we walked along we spotted some naturally formed Calcite Crystals on the canyon walls.
For our stay we enjoyed staying at an entirely off grid cabin in the town of Alpine, about 30 minutes North of the West entrance to the park. The cabin had everything we needed and was a neat way to immerse ourselves into the desert landscape.
The trail switches back and forth up the sidewall to a beautiful vista to look down at the Rio Grande.
The next day our plan was to drive down the Ross Maxwell Scenic drive. We first stopped at the Sam Nail Ranch. The farm was once the home of Sam Nail, a rancher who settled in the area in the early 1900s. The site features remnants of his homestead, including a stone house and a windmill that pumps water to the surface.
With lower water levels in the river we were able to then walk along the river bank and explore the depths of the canyon. Aliya had a blast playing with rocks and dipping her toes into the cool fresh water.
For our third and final day in the park we went to the Lost Mine Trail. This is a 4.8 mile round trip hike with 1100 feet of elevation gain. We started early in the day and brought lots of water due to the hot and dry climate.
The views were stunning as we made our way up and the grasshoppers on the trail were absolutely massive with a lot of colour on them as well.
The end of the Lost Mine Trail provides great scenery and lots of flat spots to sit down for a snack.
On our way back down the scenery kept our heads on a swivel as the landscape continued to unfold over different perspectives as we hiked switchback after switchback down the valley.
The Window view trail also had information boards about the geological history of the area with volcano's shaping much of the surrounding landscape. With its increased elevation in comparison to the rest of the park the Chisos basin is about 5 - 10 degrees Celsius cooler than the lower lying areas.
Our last stop for the day was the ghost town of Terlingua. The town was founded in the 1800's due to mines in the area. When the mines ran dry the town was nearly totally abandoned. In the 1970's as interest in Big Bend National park increased it has now become a destination for tourists visiting the nearby national park.
A key stop in the town is the cemetery with its history of mining mercury many locals fell victim to poisoning as well as the 1918 flu epidemic. With its stone piles and wood crosses it provides a look into the harsh realities of life in the desert in the early 1900's.
Within the town there are still remnants of the old stone houses build for the miners who first worked in the area.
Big Bend National park is a remote area of the southern US and definitely worth the trip. The dry landscape, the hot sun, and beautiful geological formation make it a unique experience. Happy Exploring!
