Top Things to do in Big Bend National Park
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The 10 Best Nature & Parks in Big Bend National Park, Big Bend National Park
Huge national park in Texas that spans 801,153-acres filled with limestone canyons, rivers, sand and forests.
1. Chisos Mountains
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 334 reviews
A great spot for the outdoors-lover in Big Bend National Park.
Reviewed By 994linday - Frisco, United States
Born from volcanic activity more than 35 million years ago, the Chisos Mountains provide a dramatic backdrop to the Chihuahuan desert. The Chisos hold two honors: not only are they the southernmost mountain range in the continental US, but they are also the only mountain range to be contained entirely within a National Park. Some of the best hiking trails that get you up close and personal to the Chisos have trailheads that begin in the Chisos Basin near the Chisos Mountains Lodge. Favorites here include the South Rim, Lost Mine, and Window Trails. You can also hike to Emory Peak, the highest point in the Chisos Mountains at 7,825 ft (2,385 m) above sea level. Hiking in the mountains provides a totally different experience than desert or river hikes. Take into consideration the altitude, heat and sun. Always hike with adequate water, at least 2-3 liters. And at sunrise/sunset – look for the alpenglow!
2. Mariscal Canyon
3. Santa Elena Canyon
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 661 reviews
Borders the western edge of Big Bend National Park.
Reviewed By travelerfromsj - San Jose, United States
This is an easy hike with probably the most bang for the buck of any trail in Big Bend National Park. It’s 1.5 miles out and back with 80 feet of elevation, and it takes you into the canyon along the banks of the Rio Grande river, with 1500 vertical feet of limestone cliffs towering above the trail. The only problem is that to even start this trail you have to first cross Terlingua creek, which connects with the Rio Grande River right after the trail head. You have three options here: 1. Visit Big Bend when there has been little to no rain and the creek is dry. 2. Take off your shoes (or put on water sandals), hike up your pants, and wade across the creek. This is a great option if the creek is low, but when we visited in early November, Terlingua “creek” was about 50 feet wide and maybe 2 ½ feet high. At that point I would call it a river! I only saw one person wade across when we were there. 3. When you reach the creek, turn right and walk down a little ways until the creek turns into a thin stream. Then walk across and look for a steep, narrow little path that goes up the banks of the creek. Climb up this path (it’s about 20 feet up) and then scramble through the rocks and plants at the top until you reach the start of the trail. When I was there, that’s pretty much what every hiker did, including one man who managed it while holding a baby. I’ve posted pictures with this review that show what this unofficial path looks like. Hopefully they’ll build a bridge over the creek at some point, but for now I think the unofficial path is the best bet during the rainy season. This is a great trail with stunning views, and it’s well worth the rather difficult start.
4. Lost Mine Trail
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 322 reviews
Five-miles round-trip, this trail is fairly easy compared with many other hikes in the park.
Reviewed By RhondaA646 - South Portland, United States
We enjoyed every trail we did in Big Bend but this almost 5 mile hike up and back was our favorite. The views are simply spectacular. If I can recommend anything is to get there early. Parking is limited at the trailhead. Also in October, though chilly at 8:00am, you warm up quickly so you will be happy to hike up in the shade. The hike up is primarily switchbacks (which makes it an easier downhill as well) so doable for me at 60. There was not a moment in this hike without great views. Make sure you keep walking across the rocks to get to the very top with amazing vistas. This is a must do in the Park.
5. Emory Peak
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 96 reviews
The highest peak in the park at 7,835 feet.
Reviewed By DutchTX - The Woodlands, United States
Difficult, day long hike, be ready to climb; nave good shoes etc. with you. Pretty rough the last mile; especially last 50 yards, if you want to reach the real top, you really need to climb, and not afraid of heights. BEST HIKE of the park; personally not recommended for (small) kids.
6. Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande
7. The South Rim Loop
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 99 reviews
This trail gives a great hike with amazing views.
Reviewed By darwinmoore - Spring, United States
You simply can't do better than this. We took Pinnacles up, then Boot Canyon to the South Rim Trail, then Laguna Meadows home. I had read somewhere that you could do the South Rim in just under 9 miles, but I don't see how -- even if you just go out to the edge, look out and return. Our trip was around 14.5 miles, with a fair amount of meandering around the rim when we got there, and about 2500 feet of elevation gain. The bulk of elevation gain is up front on the way up the Pinnacles Trail, although you gain some more on the final approach to the South Rim from Boot Canyon (which itself is also unexpectedly lush and gorgeous). The views at the rim are fabulous, Grand-Canyon-esque type vista views. You earn this one, and you'll be proud you did.
8. Mesa de Anguila
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 6 reviews
Reviewed By jozseft413 - San Antonio, United States
To give you a teaser, we ended up taking a route that I have not read anyone taken before and we were rewarded with an absolute thrilling 360 view from the top of the Mesa. Here is how it went down... There are many valuable posts about this hike on TripAdvisor and AllTrails, plenty of info about the different options, but none described what we were about to see. We stayed at the El Dorado Hotel in Terlingua Ghost Town, so it was an easy drive in the morning to the trailhead on the outskirts of Lajitas. However, none of the descriptions pointed out the exact location of the parking lot, so of course we missed on our first attempt. We had a local resident help us find it, but we didn't expect an empty lot capable of holding 500+ cars. You can see on these pictures where exactly the parking area is. Or you can use the long/lat figures: 29.258740, -103.767108 There were two posted signs under the little hut in the middle of the parking lot, but the trailhead sign was to the far side of the lot, it was not easy to notice. Once we found it we had no more problems. The cairns were well placed, we dropped into the dry creek bed and it was easy to find the official trail had 5 min into our walk on our left. The first 20 min was through a flat area to reach the uphill part of the track. From the bottom, the climb was as difficult as rewarding and scenic all the way to the top. Beware, there is absolutely no shade here, the vegetation is low, there are no trees to hide under. The most thrilling part came when the track reached the top of the mesa, there were at least 3-4 different ways to continue. We chose to cut 90 degree to the right and begin our U turn on top of the mesa. The views into Santa Elena Canyon were breathtaking. Although, there were a few cairns initially, they only led the way maybe 2-300 yard, from there the navigation was simply following the edge of the mesa. The terrain was mainly flat on top of the mesa, we were stepping from one big rock to another, but not much elevation gain. Vegetation was not a problem at all, it was easy to navigate through it and proceed to the far edge, facing Lajitas. Here are couple of pointers to help with logistics: - the trip was about 3 miles round trip (1.4+ miles one way) - it took us 3 hours and 20 minutes to complete it, including about 40 minutes of stopping for food, water and picture taking - we took 2L/person of water in the 100 F heat and it was perfect amount for the trip. The temp measured 103F when I got back to the car at after 2 PM - on top of the mesa the breeze was non stop and it made it much more pleasant - on the mountain top, to our surprise, we had 4 out of 5 bar cell reception, so we were able to live video conference with relatives on the other side of the globe to share our experience. I have taken several 360 shots I uploaded to google map, I would recommend checking them out, they give a great understanding of what awaits you. We have hiked several different Big Bend trails before, but this has become our absolute favorite. The zig-zagging Rio Grande, the view of the golf course and the surrounding mountains were an absolute treat, nothing we have expected. I highly recommend this 3-4 hour excursion.
9. Boquillas Canyon
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 214 reviews
Borders the eastern edge of Big Bend National Park.
Reviewed By Toyota1994 - Chicago, United States
One of the two accessible canyons in the National Park, this is located in the east side of the park. The other being Santa Elena canyon which is in the west side of the park. The initial climb is a little arduous, but then the trail descends gradually to river level and becomes cooler with some sections of shade from trees and the canyon walls at the end of the trail. The trail ends in a sandy beach. Along the trail we came across a couple of places where handicraft works were set out for sale (I understand illegally since the merchandise crossed the river which is the international border). The merchandise included some glassware and decorated hiking sticks. Money was to be deposited in the plastic bottle nearby. We saw one person from Mexico coming across the river to check the status of the sale; again illegal. The higher points of the trail provides nice views of the Rio Grande river, and there were some also beautiful cactus flowers in bloom. We saw a group of Mexican school children doing the same kind of hiking and picnicking on the Mexican side of the river while we were hiking the canyon. If you do enter the water in the river, do not cross over to the Mexican side; it would be considered as illegal crossing.
