11 Amazing Things to do in Big Bend National Park

About Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park is located in southwest Texas and encompasses the entire Chisos mountain range and most of the Chihuahuan desert that’s within the US.

Within the park, you’ll find deep canyons, endless desert landscape, forested mountains, and of course, the winding river. In case you didn’t know, Big Bend’s name refers to bend on the Rio Grande, the river that separates the US from Mexico.

The park is huge, just like the rest of Texas, and can take a lot of time to get from one end of the park to the other. That’s why we’ve put together the 11 best things to do in Big Bend National Park to help you plan your trip.

What You Need to know Before You Go

• Seasons: Big Bend National Park is open year-round, but your experience can be different depending on when you go.
• Best Time to Visit: Generally, fall and spring have the best weather, winters are mostly mild, and May and June are the hottest. The peak season is between November and April.
• Bring In Your Own Water: If possible, bring your own water because there is a severe drought in the area. Visitors can only have up to 5 gallons of water a day. It’s the desert, so you’ll want to make sure you bring enough water especially on hikes.
• Bring Layers: The temps vary significantly from the mountains and desert floor.
• Fill Up on Gas Before: There are gas stations, but they are far and few between.
• Things Close Early: Have a backup plan for food if you plan on staying in the park all day. In the small surrounding communities, sometimes they close with no mention. There was one night that we had to go on an adventure to find food.
• Entrance Fees: $30 for private, non-commercial vehicles valid for 7 days. Get an annual pass ($80) for the best value if you plan on visiting multiple parks a year. Plus, it saves you time at the gate.
• Stop by the Visitor Center: This is the best place to get the most updated info from rangers. There’s one in Panther Junction, Chisos Basin, Castolon, Persimmon Gap, and Rio Grande. Each has its separate hours of operations.
• If You Need Supplies: You can find convenience stores are at Rio Grande Village, Chisos Basin, and Castolon.
• Cell Service is Spotty. Download the area on your google maps ahead of time and pick up a map. You can get one at a pay station or visitor center.

Map of Big Bend National Park

More Things to Do in Big Bend National Park

• More Scenic Drives
  • Paved Roads (Chisos Basin Road – 6 mi, Panther Junction to Rio Grande Village – 21 mi, Persimmon Gap to Panther Junction – 28 mi, Maverick Entrance Station to Panther Junction – 23 mi)
  • Improved Dirt Roads (Dagger Flat Auto Trail – 14 mi RT, Grapevine Hills Road – 6.4 mi, Hot Springs Road – 2 mi, Old Maverick Road)
  • Primitive Roads (Old Ore Road – 26 mi, The River Road – 51 mi, Glenn Springs Road – 16 mi, Black Gap Road – 8.5 mi)
• Sam Nail Ranch, Ross Maxwell Drive (RMD) – an old homestead where you’ll find historic remnants. It’s a great spot for birding.
• Homer Wilson Ranch, RMD – Aka Blue Creek Ranch, this was one of the largest ranches in the early 20th century. You can see the overlook or if you’re into history, walk down to learn more about the area.
• Castolon Historic District, RMD  – Learn more about the human history of the area.
• Mariscal Mine – This was once the center of quicksilver mining in Big Bend. You’ll find the abandoned buildings and it’s the best-preserved mercury mining site in the state of Texas.
• Boquillas Overlook, Rio Grande Village – Boquillas Canyon is the longest and deepest canyon in the park. It’s hard to see it from the overlook but look for signs to help you spot it.
• Camino del Rio or River Road – Texas Highway 170 made NatGeo’s list of the most scenic drives in the US. The 30-mile drive follows the Rio Grande with amazing views of mountains and canyons.
• Boquillas, Mexico – You can take the opportunity to cross the border to the town of Boquillas. Don’t forget your passport and check the guidelines. The Port of Entry has limited hours.

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Big Bend national Park Hikes

There are 201 miles of hiking trails, and these are the Big Bend hikes in the order of easy to difficult. See our Big Bend hiking map to search by area. Also, don’t forget to get Alltrails+ so you have access to the maps when you’re offline.

• Panther Path (0.1 mi loop, 3 ft, easy, map)
• Window View Trail (0.3 mi RT, 13 ft, easy, map)
• Sam Nail Ranch Trail (0.3 mi loop, 29 ft, map)
• Chihuahuan Desert Nature Trail (0.5 mi loop, 36 ft, easy, map)
• Rio Grande Nature Trail (1.0 mi loop, 121 ft, easy, map)
• Tuff Canyon Trail (1.0 mi RT, 98 ft, easy, map)
• Hot Springs Historic Trail (1.4 mi loop, 154 ft, easy, map)
• Santa Elena Canyon Trail (1.5 mi RT, 610 ft, map)
• Grapevine Hills Trail (2.2 mi RT, 232 ft, easy, map)
• Chisos Basin Loop Trail (2.4 mi loop, 465 ft, easy, map)
• Boquilas Canyon Trail (1.3 mi RT, 230 ft, moderate, map)
• Closed Canyon Trail (1.8 mi RT, 396 ft, moderate, map)
• Upper Burro Mesa Pour-off Trail (3.8 mi RT, 501 ft, moderate, map)
• Mule Ear Spring Trail (3.9 mi RT, 410 ft, moderate, map)
• Dog Canyon Trail (4.3 mi RT, 272 ft, easy, map)
• Chimneys Trail (4.6 mi RT, 364 ft, moderate, map)
• Lost Mine Trail, Chisos Basin Area (4.8 mi RT, 1099 ft, moderate, map)
• Hot Springs Canyon Trail (5.5 mi loop, 921 ft, moderate, map)
• Window Trail (5.6 mi RT, 948 ft, moderate, map)
• Cattail Falls, Rio Grande (5.7 mi RT, 685 ft, moderate, map)
• Mariscal Canyon Rim Trail (12 mi RT, 2417 ft, moderate, map)
• Pinnacles Trail (8.0 mi RT, 1965 ft, hard, map)
• Emory Peak Trail (10.4 mi RT, 2529 ft, hard, map)
• Marufo Vega Trail (13.4 mi loop, 2660 ft, hard, map)

More Tips for Big Bend

• Watch for rattlesnakes (there are four rattlesnake species and one copperhead), mountain lions, and bears. Read this crazy encounter story.
• Get Alltrails+ so you have access to trail maps when you’re offline.
• Birding is great in the park with over 450 species spotted. The Colima warbler can be seen here and nowhere else in the world between April and September.
• Follow the Leave no Trace principles.
• The Rio Grande marks the international border, and more specifically, the middle of the deepest channel. Landing on the Mexican bank is considered an illegal crossing. There are exceptions made when safety is concerned (to scout rapids, to repack a boat, to seek shade when overheating, etc).
• Arroyos and washes can become rivers while you sleep. Never sleep in them or in lower spots.
• Do not swim or wade in the Rio Grande. It has strong currents and extreme drop-offs.
• Store food and toiletries in approved bear-proof containers.
• Fishing in the park requires a free permit available at ranger stations.
• Pets are allowed only on roads, developed campgrounds, and primitive roadside campsites. They must be on a leash at all times. Do not take them on trails, public buildings, or in the backcountry.
• Wood and ground fires are prohibited in the park.
• All boats require a float permit that you can get at ranger stations.

Where is Big Bend National park

Big Bend National Park is located in Southwest Texas. Because of its remote location, you must purposefully plan your trip. We visited the park while checking out other parts of West Texas, including El Paso, Fort Davis, and Marfa. 

Directions to Big Bend National park

There is no public transportation near or in the park. The easiest way to get to Big Bend is to fly into one of the major airports, rent a car, and then drive to the park. Although Midland/Odessa is closer to the park, we recommend flying into El Paso because there is more to see along the drive. The other locations are good if you want to visit those spots, but there won’t be many stops along the way.

Fly Into:

• El Paso, TX (ELP) – 288 miles away (what we did)
• Odessa Midland, TX (MAF) – 195 miles away
• San Antonio, TX (SAT) – 374 miles away
• Austin, TX (AUS) – 441 miles away

Train or Bus:

• Alpine, TX – 72 miles away.
  • There is an Amtrak station in Alpine where you can rent a car.
  • You can also take a Greyhound to Alpine and rent a car there.

Car and RV Rentals

No matter how you get to the Big Bend, you’ll need to rent a car since there is no public transportation in the park. Click here to search for the best prices.

If you want to explore Big Bend in an RV but don’t have one, check out Outdoorsy. They are the largest and most trusted RV rental marketplace, and we rented one for our road trip to Bishop, CA.

We spent a ton of time looking through their site since they have so many different options! Plus, they include liability insurance with each rental. Here are links to search in specific cities:

• El Paso, TX
• Odessa Midland, TX 
• San Antonio, TX
• Austin, TX

Where to Eat – Big Bend Restaurants

The only dining available inside the park is at Chisos Mountain Lodge. You can also pick up packaged food at Castolon, the Chisos Basin, Panther Junction, and Rio Grande Village. Otherwise, you can find food in nearby communities of Terlingua, Marathon, and Study Butte. Can go grocery shopping at the French Grocer in Marathon

• Taqueria El Milagro, Terlingua (Mexican, $) – So glad we randomly stumbled across this gem.  Nothing else was open and we pulled up right as they were closing up shop. They graciously decided to stay open and feed us seeing how desperate we were, and it turned out to be the best food we had in the area.
• Starlight Theatre, Terlingua (Mexican, $) – Local favorite with live music. Met some characters here.
• 12 Gage Restaurant, Marathon (American, $)
• Expresso Y Poco Mas (Breakfast & Brunch, $$) – Another local favorite that’s packed for breakfast.
• White Buffalo Bar, Marathon (Bar, $)

Best Places to Stay

• Chisos Mountain Lodge is only hotel inside park and each room has great views. You can make reservations from Nov 15 to April 15.
• Perry Mansion is where we stayed. It was newly renovated, and each room was unique. The home is supposedly haunted.
• Lajita Golf Resort is where we met our SUP guides and had lunch. The resort looked nice and there’s an 18-hole championship course.
• Camping in one of the 3 campgrounds. You can stay up to 14 consecutive nights (with the exception of the busy season from Jan 1 to Apr 15) with a total of 27 nights per year.
  • Chisos Basin Campground (60 sites, 40 reservable)
  • Cottonwood Campground (24 sites, no reservations) – quieter campground since there are fewer sites.
  • Rio Grande Village Campground (100 sites, 60 reservable)
• Backpacking to primitive campsites. Get permits here. 
• RV at the Rio Grand Village RV Campground. There are 25 sites will full hook ups. Based on reviews we’ve read, the RV sites are very close together.

Facts about Big Bend

• Established as National Park in June 12, 1944
• Highest Point Emory Peak 7,832 ft
• Lowest Point Rio Grande Village 1,850 ft
• Park covers 801,163 Acres (15th largest in the national park system)
• 3 Canyons in Big Bend
  • Santa Elena – 20 mi
  • Mariscal – 10 mi
  • Boquillas – 33 mi
• 118 miles of shared International Border
• Flora and Fauna
  • 1,295 species of plants
  • 75 species of mammals
  • 450+ species of birds
  • 3,600 species of insects
  • 56 species of reptiles
  • 11 species of amphibians
  • 38 species of fish

What’s Nearby

• Smallest Target (57 mi north, 55 min, map)
• Marathon Post Park Pool (72 mi north, 1 hr 20 min, map)
• Museum of the Big Bend, Sul Ross University (98 mi north, 1 hr 40 min, map)
• Bolmorhea State Park (155 mi north, 2 h 40 min, map) – world’s largest spring-fed swimming pool
• Fort Davis (122 mi north, 2 hr, map)
• Boquillas Crossing Port of Entry / Boquillas del Carmen (21 mi southeast, 30 min, map) – small Mexican village nearby across the Rio Grande from Big Bend
• El Paso (330 mi NW, 5 hr 50 min, map)

More Resources

• See More Texas Travel Itineraries at Travel Texas
• Lonely Planet Texas
• Big Bend National Park Trails Map
• Hiking Big Bend National Park: A Guide to the Big Bend Area’s Greatest Hiking Adventures
• Moon USA National Parks: The Complete Guide to All 59 Parks