The big (pun intended) highlight of our Labor Day roadtrip was Big Bend National Park. The park preserves over 800,000 acres of the Chihuahuan Desert and some of Texas’s mountains along the big bend in the Rio Grande. It’s hard to describe just how stunning Big Bend really is. The park highway spans almost 70 miles of road, and you see incredible views of the Rio Grande valley and the mountains of southern Texas. It’s an amazing way to get off the grid and immerse yourself in the southwestern wilderness. I truly recommend Big Bend to every traveler.
Address and Location
You can access Big Bend National Park from the towns of Terlingua on Texas Highway 118 and Marathon on US 385. Both roads end in the park. Keep in mind that Big Bend sits in a very remote section of southern Texas. You are almost an hour away from basic services and several hours away from anything beyond that. Plan ahead!
Cost
Private vehicles cost $30 each, motorcycles cost $25, and individuals cost $15. Each pass is good for seven days. You can purchase an annual pass for $55. As always, America the Beautiful pass holders get in free. You must pay the admission fees at any Visitor’s Center, and you will receive a receipt that you will tape on your dashboard. Large groups can also purchase admission based on the size of their party. You will also need to pay for campsites. These can be reserved up to six months in advance.
What to Do
You can do a little bit of everything at Big Bend National Park. It will really depend on the amount of time you have and how far you feel like going. We decided to drive the length of the park and check out some sites and hikes along the way. As we drove into the park, we pulled off at the Fossil Discovery Center. This is a covered pavilion with fossils and exhibits of animals found around the park.
If we had an extra day, we would have opted for a canoeing or kayaking trip. You will need at least 5 hours for most of these trips as they are coordinated through private companies. The Rio Grande was nice and high (relatively speaking) during our trip, so it would have been great to get on the water.
Hiking
On the morning of our first day, we drove down to Santa Elena Canyon. You can hike up the American side of the canyon to take in the Rio Grande. You will have to cross Terlingua Creek to access the canyon trailhead. This is very much weather dependent; it was about waist-deep with a decent current and a sticky, muddy bottom when we visited. Most of the year, it looks about ankle deep. The trailhead is not accessible, and you will hike up a paved, winding trail with a handrail.
From there, we headed over to Grapevine Hills Road to hike to Balanced Rock. Grapevine Hills Road is not paved and is not maintained beyond the first few miles. It’s about a lane and a half wide, very uneven, and washed out along most of the road sides. You will definitely need a good vehicle to drive off the paved roads in the park. The hike to Balanced Rock is about a mile and a half, and the last quarter mile or so is straight up the face of the rock. You can follow the few signs to stay on track to Balanced Rock, but it is steep.
Our final stop was the Rio Grande Village near the Boquillas del Carmen border crossing. In normal times, you can wade across the Rio Grande or hire small boats provided by the local villagers. They also make and sell little trinkets to commemorate visiting the park (and Mexico). These were for sale at the Boquillas Canyon Overlook on the honor system. Each shop had a jug where you could leave exact change for your items. We bought a beer mug painted with a prickly pear and a little beaded roadrunner figurine.
Chisos Mountain Lodge
Since we don’t camp, we opted to stay at Chisos Mountain Lodge. It’s a rustic motel located in the heart of the park and is a great (and the only) option for you fellow non-campers. We stayed for two nights. I would recommend making reservations as far out as you can. I made reservations in April for a September stay. You pay a 50% deposit to hold the room, and the balance is paid during your stay.
My honest opinion: Chisos Mountain Lodge is a convenient and totally unique accommodation in Big Bend. The rooms are outdated (think a motel from the 1950s), the beds are rock hard, and the rooms are impossible to keep clean (the doors face outside in a desert). The rooms are bare bones and don’t have TVs or other electronic entertainment. Internet is, at best, spotty. It is not a good value for the money (rooms run between $150 and $200 a night). But it has truly stunning views of the park, and you can see the Milky Way from your room.
Guests at Chisos Mountain Lodge have a few options for food. First, you are able to pack in food. Keep in mind that the closest proper grocery store or Wal-mart is literally hours away, so a cooler is a good idea. You can buy both ingredients (like bread, eggs, and peanut butter) and prepared food at the several park general stores. Or you can eat at the Chisos Mountain Lodge Restaurant. We did a mix. Before we arrived, we grabbed snacks and some packable lunch items at the Wal-mart in Fort Stockton. Because of Covid restrictions, the restaurant was only serving dinner as room service / take-out during our stay. We ordered dinner both nights, and it was fast and convenient American bar food. I would check with the park to see what food service is available before you visit.
Texas National Park Service Sites: Guadalupe Mountains National Park | Amistad National Recreation Area | Big Bend National Park | Fort Davis National Historic Site
