Big Bend National Park

[Kilo]

Heading out to Big Bend soon. If you’ve been, what are some of your favorite trails/hikes you’ve done out there?

Also, have you visited Big Bend State Park??

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[BudgetBronco]

I'm heading there tomorrow!! I made a video of my first visit if you want to check it out. This will be my second visit, it is amazing and you will love it. All of the trails are great but here are my most favorite things:
- Crossing the Rio Grande over to Boquillas is super fun, but you have to have a passport and I think currently the border station is only open Fri-Sat-Sun but check the website to confirm
- The hike to the top of Emory Peak is tough but the view at the end makes it worth it
- Definitely hike the Santa Elena Canyon trail, that is unlike anything I have ever seen before

The other hike that is supposed to be great is Lost Mine trail, I will be doing that one this week.

I have not made it over to the State Park yet but will be doing so my next trip. There is another user here @Draughon that has more experience there and at Terlingua, he put together a guide that he might share with you if you DM him.

My tip would be: if possible try to plan the timing of your visit when there is a new moon or close to it. When we went there was a full moon and that definitely limited the ability to experience the fully dark skies the area is famous for.

HAVE FUN!!

 

[Draughon]

Been there dozens of times - wrote a bit of a guide that can help first timers. I'll DM ya!

Heading out to Big Bend soon. If you’ve been, what are some of your favorite trails/hikes you’ve done out there?

Also, have you visited Big Bend State Park??

 

[Draughon]

We were there again last December / New Years.... finally got to use all my lights!

I'm heading there tomorrow!! I made a video of my first visit if you want to check it out. This will be my second visit, it is amazing and you will love it. All of the trails are great but here are my most favorite things:
- Crossing the Rio Grande over to Boquillas is super fun, but you have to have a passport and I think currently the border station is only open Fri-Sat-Sun but check the website to confirm
- The hike to the top of Emory Peak is tough but the view at the end makes it worth it
- Definitely hike the Santa Elena Canyon trail, that is unlike anything I have ever seen before

The other hike that is supposed to be great is Lost Mine trail, I will be doing that one this week.

I have not made it over to the State Park yet but will be doing so my next trip. There is another user here @Draughon that has more experience there and at Terlingua, he put together a guide that he might share with you if you DM him.

My tip would be: if possible try to plan the timing of your visit when there is a new moon or close to it. When we went there was a full moon and that definitely limited the ability to experience the fully dark skies the area is famous for.

HAVE FUN!!

 

[Kilo]

I'm heading there tomorrow!! I made a video of my first visit if you want to check it out. This will be my second visit, it is amazing and you will love it. All of the trails are great but here are my most favorite things:
- Crossing the Rio Grande over to Boquillas is super fun, but you have to have a passport and I think currently the border station is only open Fri-Sat-Sun but check the website to confirm
- The hike to the top of Emory Peak is tough but the view at the end makes it worth it
- Definitely hike the Santa Elena Canyon trail, that is unlike anything I have ever seen before

The other hike that is supposed to be great is Lost Mine trail, I will be doing that one this week.

I have not made it over to the State Park yet but will be doing so my next trip. There is another user here @Draughon that has more experience there and at Terlingua, he put together a guide that he might share with you if you DM him.

My tip would be: if possible try to plan the timing of your visit when there is a new moon or close to it. When we went there was a full moon and that definitely limited the ability to experience the fully dark skies the area is famous for.

HAVE FUN!!

That’s amazing. He did message me. Thank you!

 

[Draughon]

More resources for ya in addition to my guide -

https://www.nps.gov/bibe/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

The national park www page will give you the latest information on what trails are open, any road closures, what’s happening etc..

Another great resource is Big Bend Guide https://bigbendguide.com/ they have the national park and the state park covered along with a ton of photos of the hikes themselves and helpful tips.

 

[TX-Dennis]

Lost Mine is great and fairly easy. sometimes difficult to find parking at the trailhead during busy times. Santa Elena is an easy trail but it requires crossing Terlingua Creek which depending on weather could be dry, a muddy mess, a small stream, or a raging torrent.

I really like Cattail Falls. It's no longer on park maps and visitation is subtly discouraged. Trailhead is a road directly across from Sam Nail Ranch. In older times you could drive a mile or so up the road to a small parking area and hike from there. Now the road is permanently gated, and your hike is longer. Still not a difficult hike, and there's a rare (for the desert) waterfall and small wetlands at the end. Often just a trickle, but after rains it can be quite a sight.

South Rim, of course, is the premier hike of the Park if you are in shape for 12 miles or so in a day with a pretty good elevation change. Absolutely beautiful, but it may be too much for me at my current age (and fatness).

Upper and Lower Burro Mesa trails are nice, too. They are two separate trails leading to the top and bottom of a normally dry waterfall. The Window is a nice hike as well.

There are tons of others . . . .Ernst Tinaja, Mule Ears Spring, Chimneys, Dog Canyon, Pine Canyon, and many many more.

Sometimes I like to just wander up dry stream beds as far as I can. There are some surprising sights to be found that way.

I have only driven through the state park on FM 170, so no experience with hiking there. One of these days I have to fix that.

 

[jofer]

Old Ore Road is a great trail in addition to the better know Black Gap and River Road trails. I highly recommend getting backcountry permits and camping. You can do a multi-day loop with river road, black gap, and old ore road.

Pine Canyon is a really great hike that gets almost no traffic. If you're already in the area due to doing the loop above, I highly recommend it.

If it's useful, here's our writeup of a Big Bend trip from a few years back on the sport forum: https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/long-trip-report-big-bend-national-park.4405/

 

[mk7tristan]

Not a hike, but kayak/canoe the Rio Grande! Did that on our honeymoon and it was a ton of fun. Also, hit Black Gap in the Bronco, easy trail but still fun. Took our Raptor (profile pic was on Black Gap)

 

[TX-Dennis]

Not a hike, but kayak/canoe the Rio Grande! Did that on our honeymoon and it was a ton of fun. Also, hit Black Gap in the Bronco, easy trail but still fun. Took our Raptor (profile pic was on Black Gap)

Unfortunately, Black Gap Road is currently closed. There is no eta for reopening at this time. Some people claim they have gone around the cones, but I imagine getting caught would result in a hefty fine or get you ejected from the Park.

 

[Los]

Love that picture!

We were there again last December / New Years.... finally got to use all my lights!

hat

 

[Kicking Horse]

Hi, Is this your first time visiting the Big Bend region?

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