Top Things to do in Big Bend National Park
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What to do and see in Big Bend National Park, Big Bend National Park: The Best Hidden Gems Things to do
Huge national park in Texas that spans 801,153-acres filled with limestone canyons, rivers, sand and forests.
1. 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.
2. Lajitas Zip-Line Tour
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 66 reviews
This family friendly adventure is a must-do for everyone visiting Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa. Enjoy the breathtaking views of Big Bend while soaring 300 feet above scenic Quiet Canyon! Your experienced and friendly tour guides will lead you through the course, consisting of four lines ranging from 250 to 2000 feet in length.
3. Ernst Tinaja Trail
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 11 reviews
Reviewed By meganc738 - Broken Arrow, United States
We loved hiking this trail with our 3 small children. They enjoyed climbing on all the rocks along the trail. Very interesting and unique rock formations. You DO need a truck or other high clearance vehicle. It’s a 25 minute drive down a VERY rough dirt road to get to the trailhead. We thought the drive was worth it once we reached the tinaja!
4. Boquillas Crossing Port of Entry
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 49 reviews
Reviewed By los499 - Arlington, United States
My family and I journeyed across the border and into Mexico the week of Christmas. It was a wonderful, safe, and positive experience. We got up early, remembered to pack our passports and headed to the crossing. There was a park ranger there who gave brief instructions on what items we could and could not bring back with us upon our return. The river was quite high, and I must say, the rowmen did a fabulous job of keeping everyone safe and dry! To cross the river by boat is $5/person. We had a group of nine. Some preferred to walk to the town of Boquillas on foot (it's about half a mile, mostly sandy terrain); while a group of us journeyed by horse (which was $8/person). (Some advice on the horses- I would not choose this option if you have no experience with horseback riding and are in a large group. Some of the horses were a little wily and would start off to gait, which might be frightening if you don't know what you're doing. And there is one guide per group, so for example, one man to wrangle the five horses in our group wasn't really enough when one horse starts to gait with a child on it's back! Fortunately for us, my husband rode up and was able to help). A third option and slightly less expensive would be a burro for $5/person. The fee is round trip, so you only pay once. Each group was assigned a Mexican national who in essence became our tour guide. Each of the men were bright, spoken enough English to communicate well with the non-Spanish speakers in our group, friendly, and welcoming. The town itself is very small. It's lined with kiosks where local women and children sell works of art like embroidery, wire sculptures, and other tchotchkes. Note the importance of making purchases IN Boquillas as opposed to the illegal set ups placed along hiking trails (if you purchase something illegally, you are responsible for having illicit items which haven't gone through customs...purchasing on trails also encourages people to break the law, crossing over illegally). We had lunch at the restaurant which was lively with music and a beautiful overlook of the Rio Grande. One of the guides actually invited us into his home, which while probably unconventional, was really quite interesting to meet his family and see how they live (especially for the kids). It felt entirely safe the whole time we were there. I would go again and I would definitely recommend this journey for adventurous travelers! It's a great way to get a taste of Mexico! Plan to spend a few hours if you eat and look/walk around. On the return to the US, the kids really enjoyed the process of going through customs. A state park ranger will go through your bags and inspect everything you're bringing back. Then, each person or group uses a kiosk with a phone to ring a border patrol agent in El Paso. You have to scan in your passport, and answer a few questions, before being allowed to leave the building. There are only two kiosks available and one was closed for maintenance the day we passed through, so the wait time seemed long (about an hour).
5. Hot Springs Historic District
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 157 reviews
These hot springs were the first area of the National Park to be inhabited by homesteaders in 1909.
Reviewed By los499 - Arlington, United States
Wow. This was one of our favorite treks at Big Bend NP. The road to the hike is rocky and somewhat treacherous, but completely doable without 4x4 (for example, we drive a mini van and were fine!). If you drive a RV, you have to park and hike a little further in (I'd recommend getting a trail map because there is a shortcut which avoids the narrow road with traffic- probably safer). At the parking area are some ruins atop a set of stairs. There are some lovely views from up there. Then, to get to the hot springs, take a short hike through sandy terrain. (The hike was so easy most of us took our shoes off and walked barefoot). Sandals or even flipflops would be fine for this one. Careful along the rocky cliff sides...my daughter got quite the surprise when a roadrunner came out from between the rocks and landed right in front of her! The hot spring comes up at 105 degrees, however the outter edges of the "tub" are slightly cooler. We saw people doing the "polar bear plunge", jumping from the hot springs, into the river and back again. Be prepared to get all the way in if you go; there aren't a lot of dry clean places to sit along the edge. It gets quite muddy from people entering and exiting from all sides of the tub. The bottom surface is sandy, most people were barefoot, though you could wear water shoes (or flip flops). Parts of the hot spring were knee deep and others waist or even chest deep (depending on your height). There is nowhere nearby to change clothes so I would recommend coming in a swimsuit and wearing clothing over (or even a cover up). (Some people were comfortable going in their underwear). Bring a towel, sunglasses, and maybe a hat and enjoy! This was definitely my favorite of everything we did at the park. If you're brave enough to peak the Chisos mountains, get up early and do that THEN relax your whole body here at sunset or late afternoon! Your body will love you!
