I've never been. My best friend is going out of state for grad school in the fall so we want to take a camping trip out there before he leaves. Tell me about it.
Your question is as "open" as Big Bend is big. Do you intend on setting up a "base camp" and doing day hikes, or, do you intend on setting out into the backcountry via backpack. Or a combination of both. Do you intend on spending most of your time in the Chisos Mountains, the Rio Grande, or do you want to try and work in some of both? How many days/nights do you plan on spending there? Where will you be driving in from? The "Falcon Guide Series" book on Big Bend is very good. And the official website is chock full of excellent information that you can literally spend days going through. Here is a Link to the "Plan Your Visit" section of the website. If you post a follow-up to the questions I asked, I'll be glad to share my opinions / experiences.
We'll be driving in from Austin. Knowing my buddy, he'll want to go as far into the backcountry as possble. Can you set up a base camp even if you set out into the backcountry? I guess we'd want to work in both the mountains and Rio Grande. We would probably leave on a Thursday night and head back midday Sunday.
My suggestion would be to plan on driving in to the Chisos Mountains campground, and setting up a camp there to spend your first night. Typically, you don't need reservations for any time other than Spring Break, Thanksgiving or Christmas. If you go during those time, make a reservation. Campground 42 is a great spot. All of the sites are "drive-in". The Lodge is about a half-mile away, and has a well-stocked store for gear and groceries. From there, you could gear up for a 2 or 3 night hike around the South Rim Trail. You reach the trailhead by foot. There are numerous campsites along the route. No reliable water sources, so you'll have to pack it in yourselves. Then, after returning to the Chisos Campground, you would need to drive down to the River. I would suggest a day trip into the Santa Elena Canyon. The trailhead is about an hour drive over park roads from the Chisos. This is just a thumbnail sketch. Play around on the website and download some of the brochures and read up on it. I'll keep checking the thread and add some more comments when I have more time.
You definitely want to research the park before you head out. It is so far away from anywhere you don't want to get there and realize you didn't prepare adequately or found out the campground was full. Here's a good website to check out. Big Bend Chat I just got back from a 3 day backpack.
MirrOlure has laid out a sort of "essential Big Bend," if you will. One issue that can't be stressed enough is that you will not come across any water outside of faucets in developed areas; keep this in mind when planning any excursions into the backcountry (1 gallon/person/day is the suggested amount). Other tidbits: -- Outside Chisos Basin, Rio Grande Village, and Castolon, there are plenty of campsites, but they're primitive campsites. Access is usually by dirt roads that are best traveled with high-clearance vehicles. --You can also camp in the backcountry, i.e. not at a primitive camp site. All this requires is a free backcountry permit from the ranger station. This does not apply to the Chisos trail; those are divvied out by specific camp sites. --The South Rim on the Chisos is a classic Texas hike, and Santa Elena is breathtaking, but one of the aspects of the park I've always found fascinating are the relics of human activity. Points of interest include the old Mariscal Mine (don't touch the old mining implements, else you'll get mercury poisoning) and the hot springs. The latter is a great place to go after a few days in the wilderness. Along the Old Ore Road, there is the remnants of a ranch, including the grave of a Mexican national. --You used to be able to go over to the Mexican towns on the other side of the river for some tacos and a beer. But you can't do that anymore. Sorry. There's plenty more to do in the park. Its size, coupled with its isolation and the lower visitor numbers that come with that, make it a great place to visit.
Mrs B-Taco and I would like to travel out there from Austin this Spring and we are looking for suggestions. We will not be camping, but we may take some modest length hikes. We'll spend 4-5 days out there (not including the drive there and back). Would probably like to go to the McDonald Observatory. When is it a good time to go (early March, late March, early April, etc)? What is a good itinerary? Good motels? Thanks.
taco --- The Hotel Limpia in Fort Davis would be my first suggestion. It is a renovated old hotel, and although I haven't stayed there, I've eaten at their restaurant. It is really "nice" relative to other options in the area. McDonald Observatory (about 30 minute drive from Ft. Davis) is an excellent place to spend an afternoon and evening. You should pick a day that they have a "Star Party" -- they have them on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. No reservations required. Depending on whether you are there before or after Daylight Savings Time, I'd plan on getting out there around 3 or 4 PM, and you'll stay as late as you want --- at least till about 10PM. They have a better than decent cafe on-site. Heres the McDonald Observatory Website. It gets VERY crowded during Spring Break. Davis Mountain State Park is just up the road from Ft. Davis -- about 15 minutes -- and offers some very good moderately strenuous hiking options. The State Park websites a good, and have lots of information. Another lodging option is Indian Lodge at Davis Mountain State Park, if you want something a little more "remote". Finally -- if you have picked a time when the Spring Break crowds are still such that you can't get reservations in either Hotel Limpia or Indian Lodge, the town of Alpine (about 30 minutes South of Ft. Davis --- i.e. farther away from McDonald) has some good options. I have stayed at the Holland Hotel in Alpine, and it was nice enough. The train rolls right through town, and is very loud, but it only happens once a night. The on-site restaurant is decent enough (actually pretty good for breakfast), and is also a fun place to have their house-brewed German style beers. Alpine also has some excellent eating options, and is worth the drive down for at least one evening. I highly recommend Reata for a nice, quiet and very good dinner with the Mrs. -- , believe it or not, could hold its own in Houston or Dallas. Hope that helps.
you should either try to leave early thurs or wed night - imo, you need 3 full days at least to do the essentials. given your schedule i suggest.... thurs - stay at chisos basin friday - lost mine trail, santa elena canyon, drive/hike around... stay at chiso basin again saturday - sunday: overnight hike on south rim trail, get a site on southeast rim potion of the trail. if you have time after the south rim, hit up the hot springs on your way out.
Hiked the Outer Mountain Loop about 2 weeks ago. Very pretty; also, very hard hiking. The Lodge in the Basin is like an okay motel, but the restaurant is good, especially after what you eat on the trail.
Subliminal Horn - another great "short" hike is the one to The Window - and you get a great view down to the desert when you reach the wall. breakfast_taco - another option (other than staying in a motel) is to rent a motor home/camper, and put that in a campsite. That way you get the conveniences of hot water and a heater, but you are still just a couple of steps from "nature." You can also still eat at the lodge if you don't want to cook every meal in your camper. And for all of you, the best advice I can give is to get in decent shape before you go - do lots of hikes/power walks wherever you live, including doing some hills. Those switchbacks and steps on the trails at Big Bend are not for unprepared hikers! And break in your hiking boots before you go - a blister on the trail is no laughing matter. Last piece of advice - a cheap digital camera cannot do justice to the scope of the vistas from the rim, looking down at the desert or the river. You need something that can do wide angle, a video camera, or you need to be good enough at PhotoShop that you can put several pictures together. You will be disappointed with your pictures if you don't plan on how to capture the entire "bigness" of Big Bend. Have fun!
you should drive down to the river crossing at some point. I can't remember the name of the mexican village but we paid a guy 2 bucks to row us across the Rio Grande. There was a tiny village where we ate and drank beer all afternoon. Some of my buddies even rented horses to ride around from little kids. It's an unguarded border crossing so guys will try to sell you pot and peyote right when you get across. I think it was Santa Elena. You drive down and park on the US side. The village is so small, there are no cars or anything and just one dirt road. And yes i know this sounds exactly like the robert earl keen song but it's what we did. edit: just saw the post above saying yo can't do this anymore. That's a shame. It was a blast. We went in 2002.
So is that where MirrOlure was talking about not being able to go anymore? Because that sounds like it would be a lot of fun
I think the crossing the above poster is referring to is Boquillas, which was shut down in the wake of 9/11 --- a ridiculously knee-jerk action, IMO, but that's for the West Mall. There used to be a small village, with a cantina, etc. But it is a ghost town now, and there is no crossing. Santa Elena is a canyon hike entirely on the Texas side, and while you can throw rocks into Mexico, there isn't a crossing. Technically, there are some shallow spots downriver from the Terlingua Creek/Rio Grand convergence, just down from Santa Elena Canyon, where you could walk across, and be in Mexico, but, such action is illegal, and there isn't anything over there anyway.
The last time I went to Boquillas was in 2002; later, the media found out about the crossing and breathlessly announced to the world there was an "unguarded" crossing of the Rio Grande in Big Bend NP. So much for that. You can cross if you want; getting back into the US is the violation.
It's a shame about Boquillas. In 1998, my daughter and her 8th grade class rafted down the Santa Elena canyon and crossed over to Boquillas. They brought school supplies to the local children and practiced their Spanish. It's a visit she has never forgotten and it will never happen again for anyone. What a loss.
We crossed at Santa Elena several years ago and it was one of the highlights of our trip - had some of the best chicken enchiladas I've ever eaten. We were there this past December with some friends and tried to cross again since we told them all about it and were so disappointed to find out that it is no longer possible. I didn't really believe it and even asked 2 border patrol guys who were in a restaurant with us. They said that it had to do with 9/11 and were adamant that we not try to do it - that it was extremely dangerous and we would be breaking the law.
Just to be clear, its at Boquillos Canyon, near the Rio Grande Campground, not Santa Elena. At Santa Elena its a sheer cliff, aint no town on the other side.
There were two crossings in Big Bend -- one to Boquillas and Santa Elena. Boquillas was the town on which REK based his "Gringo Holiday" song. Santa Elena was presumably the more prosperous of the two, because the owner of the local restaurant had a Ford Festiva.
Can anyone recommend a kayak outfitter for a half-day (maybe full-day) trip on the rio grande? i would pref to just kayak the tame wather and find someone to shuttle us (me and gf).
I'm thinking of heading to the Ft Davis area and then down to Big Bend during the summer with the family. Is it any better in early summer than late summer? We probably won't be doing much hiking as my son is in a wheelchair so heat won't be a huge factor.
That is a shame about boquillas. Went there for an afternoon over spring break in '98. Had so much fun sipping cold beers at the cantina. The people were so nice, the kids were polite and cute as hell. It was the tiniest town i'd ever seen. we rode a donkeys down to the shore and then they drove us across the river on back of a huge lifted pickup.
It's not a real kayak friendly river. Most guided trips use the big expedition rubber rafts. They bounce, instead of wrapping around a rock and leaving you stranded on a sandbar till the next group comes along.
MirrOlure, Thanks for your post re the MacDonald Observatory. Since we plan to be at the observatory on Thursday and Thursday evening (and in El Paso on Friday night for some partying with friends that night), I contacted the observatory management about scheduling a Star Party on the Thursday night before the Saturday UTEP game. They said they are willing to do so and just want to know how to staff appropriately for the crowd that would likely show up. More details here: The Link
We are planning to go at the end of March and want to camp. Does anybody have suggestions about the best places to camp in the park? I think we'll probably pick one spot and sleep there every night we're there, then drive and/or hike everywhere else.
