I was so unexpectedly surprised by the beauty and vastness of Big Bend and I 10/10 recommend this park that easily climbed into my list of faves. 2-3 days here is not enough to even scratch the surface of what this park offers and it’s definitely on my list of must-return-to parks.
Upon entering the park on the north side, it took over an hour to drive to the southeast side to the Rio Grande Village which had a few RV stragglers this time of year as it’s still considered the off-season til about November. The other developed campsites in the park didn’t offer electric hookups which was kind of a necessity this time of year so it was worth driving the extra distance even though it wasn’t the central hub. As it was evening, several buzzards made the surrounding trees their basking spots.
That evening I took a short stroll with Rocky to the nearby Daniel’s Ranch and Rio Grande Overlook in the humid evening heat (I miss Arizona). The sun made the mountain ridge shine bright pinks and reds.
A nearby 3-mile trail led to the Hot Springs which used to be owned by a guy name Langford in the early 1900s who had malaria and heard of the water’s healing properties so moved his family to the area. I didn’t take the trail that night but we ended up sneaking out there via a 2-mile unkept gravel road the evening before we left for a starlit soak.
The following day, we packed up the RV and drove it north to the visitor center at Panther Junction to chat with a ranger and get some maps since internet connection was sparse in the park. We took the Chisos Basin Road to the Chisos Basin which features The Window which is a narrow opening in a rim of rock of the Chisos Mountains that creates the Chisos Basin. The opening gives way to a gorgeous overlook.
I took the short Window View Trail and then the Chisos Basin Loop Trail and loved all the variety of gorgeous wildflowers that were blooming in September which were rare to see for this midwestern girl. It was a little hot as it was midday but I brought my camelback and faired pretty well taking brief rests in the rare shade I found.
Back on the Chisos Basin Road, we stopped at the trailhead for the Lost Mine Trail which was a 1000-ft elevation gain over 3 miles so it wasn’t too rigorous but definitely a gorgeous trail with incredible views as we took the switchbacks up the ridge. It was easily a favorite hike over the summer and the fragrance of the wildflowers about 1/2 way up was unmatched! The cloud cover and higher elevation actually turned out to make for excellent hiking weather. There were several spots that were shaded as well.
In addition to the amazing flowers, there were also tons of interesting bugs and beautiful birds. A roadrunner even joined us on the trail on the way back for part of the way.
We finally made it to the top of the trail and the rock platform gave us 360-degree views of just spectacular vistas looking out over Mexico. The lost mine is a legend that has never been recovered/rediscovered.
On the hike back down, the sunlight played differently on the rocks and made the same mountains look different and maybe even more beautiful.
We got back to a comfortable pup and decided to take the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive all the way down to the Santa Elena Canyon on the west side of the park. We stopped first at the Sam Nail Ranch that was a beautiful oasis of fig and pecan trees. It sadly had to be abandoned as they were pretty much forced to sell out during the Great Depression when there were talks of a national park being made in the Chisos Mountains. There was a windmill that was still a working pump that kept the trees and local vegetation thriving.
The rest of the drive to the canyon was very scenic in the waning sunlight.
We eventually made it to the Santa Elena Canyon and stopped first at the overlook.
When we got to the end of the road we were bummed to learn that the beginning of the trail was flooded out by the Terlingua Creek so we could only walk to the base of the canyon since we didn’t want to swim across the muddy waters. It was still very gorgeous to stand at the base and look up at it in awe.
It took a long 2 hours to return back to the Rio Grande Village but it was a very full day. This little guy was trying to cross on the way back. We figured he must have come from a ranch over near Study Butte.
The following day was SO HOT! I attempted to leave our RV once in the afternoon to take a short walk on the nature trail near the visitor center (which was closed) but only got a 1/2 mile or so in before I realized Rocky was probably going to die of heat stroke if we went any farther since he was breathing so hard and not drinking a lot of water. So we went back to take it easy and read a book in the RV for the rest of the afternoon until the evening temperatures came and it cooled down a bit.
We unhitched the scooters and road them past the Boquillas Crossing to Mexico. Unfortunately the boarder crossing wasn’t open the days we were there. I would have liked to take a little boat ride across the river to a Mexican cantina to enjoy a Coke – maybe on our next visit.
We took the road further to the canyon overlook and then eventually to the end which lead to the Boquillas Canyon Trail which was a great little trail that gave us views of the village of Boquillas, the Rio Grande and the mouth of the Boquillas Canyon.
This plant feels as I do about the weather:
Mountain lion tracks leading down to the river:
It was getting fairly dark by the time we reached the scooters and we thought it would be great to head to the Langford Hot Springs to soak in the 105 degree water and watch the Texan night sky. The hot springs were reached via a sketchy 2 mile gravel road and then a 1/2-mile hike. We donned our headlamps and walked the spooky limestone-lined trail as spider eyes sparkled back at us. My husband even stuck his head into an abandoned post office building and yelled as a bat rushed his head.
The hot springs were muddy so we slipped in the clay-like consistency as we tried to settle in a spot but we were the only ones there so it was nice and private. It was fantastic to soak beside the rushing Rio Grande and gaze up into the incredible star-filled sky – a favorite memory for sure from this trip.
The next morning the buzzards were still roosting and we thought as we left the park we could try to take the RV down the Grape Vine Hills Road near Panther Junction to go see Balanced Rock. Unfortunately a couple miles in and we realized it wasn’t such a great idea with all the washouts so we turned around. We will have to come back and try again with a high clearance vehicle.
On our way out, I still got my Mexican Coke at a tasty place in Fort Stockton, Mingo’s Burritos, so I was still happy even though we didn’t get to go to Mexico.
What a fantastic park! I love it and thought our 3 nights much too short especially with that really hot day not allowing us to do much. I will just have to come back during cooler temps for more gorgeous hiking. I know I just left, but take me baaaaaack!!!
Class C M.D. 