Classic Trails in Big Bend National Park, Texas

The Trip

Big Bend National Park in Texas is the perfect place to wander and wonder. In a week of day hikes, experience stunning desert and mountain scenery, study unique creatures and plants, and absorb the solitude of this remote, isolated corner of the United States.

This hiking vacation is based at two national park campgrounds and covers more than 40 miles of trails in the park’s three ecological zones: the rugged Chisos Mountains, rising 5,000 feet above the surrounding desert; the Chihuahuan Desert with its arroyos, cliffs, and hoodoos forged from volcanic and erosive activity; and the lush floodplain of Rio Grande River. The park boasts more types of birds, bats, and cacti than any other national park in the United States.

The itinerary includes classic Texan trails, including South Rim Loop, which was included in Backpacker magazine’s “The National Parks 100 Best Miles of Hiking.” In the article, the park’s chief naturalist, David Elkowitz, described our lunch spot on the South Rim as “one of the great views of the national park system.” 

Other trails include Devil’s Den, Lost Mine, The Window, and Apache Canyon. Although damaged by floods in 2022, we hope to enjoy 105-degree, historically significant hot springs on the edge of the Rio Grande River. We’ll visit Santa Elena and Boquillas canyons with vertical canyon walls looming 1,500-feet above the trail.

Participants in this popular Sierra Club trip are almost always enthusiastic about their week in Big Bend.

“I had a fantastic trip! Food, people, hiking, organization, education far exceeded my expectations.”

“Excellent hiking and beautiful views.” 

“We had a wonderful time on the trails and I loved the pace as well as the distances that we covered.” 

“This was the best Sierra Club trip I’ve been on.”

“I would go again in a heartbeat.”

Day 1: Beginning at the Persimmon Gap Visitor Center, the northern portal of the park, our introduction to the famed Chihuahuan Desert unfolds in six miles of hiking on Devil’s Den Trail, a limestone slot canyon ripped through the mountains. After the hike, we’ll stop at the Fossil Discovery Exhibit for an introduction to the dinosaurs that roamed the area, then drive to our car-accessible campsite in the Chisos Mountains to set up the first of two base camps for the week.

Day 2: Hike the 4.8-mile Lost Mine Trail to soaring views of the distant Rio Grande River and the Sierra Del Carmen range in Mexico. After lunch at the campground, we will linger on the 4.5-mile hike to The Window, a slot canyon atop a 200-foot pour-off that drains all of the Chisos Basin.

Day 3: Today we take a step back in time and listen to the whispers from the ancient Clovis Culture, Native Americans, and ranchers. The eight-mile Apache Canyon Trail winds across the grassy top of Burro Mesa to a well-preserved early 20th-century stone corral and the remains of a stone cabin, both near an area where a prehistoric culture lived 12,000 years ago.

Day 4: The classic hike of Texas, the 12.6-mile South Rim Loop, will captivate hikers today. An 1,800-foot ascent over six miles through Laguna Meadows takes us to our lunch spot on 2,500-foot cliffs with breathtaking views of hundreds of square miles of desert and mountains. The Rio Grande River, almost a vertical mile below and 30-miles away, is visible to the south. We’ll reward ourselves for the effort with dinner at the Mountain View Restaurant, the only restaurant in the park. A shorter alternate to the South Rim Loop may be offered.

Day 5: The iconic Santa Elena Canyon, with 1,500-foot cliffs hugging the Rio Grande River, is the highlight of the day, which also includes a visit to the Castolon Historic District. There may be time to explore another short hike before traveling to our new campground at Rio Grande Village.

Day 6: With the Sierra del Carmens as our backdrop, we journey through the Dead Horse Mountains on about an eight-mile trail over beautiful, mostly rolling terrain. Our hike covers some of the most remote parts of the park and, if lucky, we may see wild burros and horses.

Day 7: In the middle of the six-mile Hot Springs Canyon Trail, soak in 105-degree hot springs on the banks of the Rio Grande River, assuming repairs have been made to damage caused by flooding in 2022. The springs are enclosed within the foundation of an 80-year old bathhouse that was part of an historic resort.

Day 8: The trip officially ends at midmorning after a short hike along the Rio Grande River in Boquillas Canyon, one of the largest in the park. Once the trip is over, you have an opportunity — if the border is open— to enter Central America in Boquillas, Mexico, at the nation’s most unusual border crossing using rowboats to bridge the Rio Grande and burros to get to town where we’ll have lunch at the famous Jose Falcon’s Restaurant and Bar.

Getting There

Big Bend National Park is one of the most isolated national parks in the United States, resulting in relatively few visitors. The closest airports in Texas are Midland-Odessa, 225 miles from the park; El Paso, 325 miles away; or San Antonio, 420 miles away. Amtrak stops in Alpine a few times each week, about 70 miles away.

The trip begins at 9:30 a.m. (CST) on Saturday at Persimmon Gap, the northern entrance to Big Bend National Park, which is about 40 miles south of Marathon, Texas. The trip will require an overnight in Marathon, Alpine, Lajitas, Terlingua, Big Bend National Park, or some other “nearby” location on Friday night in order to gather on time Saturday morning.

Carpooling is strongly encouraged to help reduce participant costs and our environmental footprint, and because there is limited parking in campgrounds and at the trailheads. Each vehicle will need a national park pass.

The trip ends before noon on day eight (Saturday).

Accommodations and Food

This is a car-camping trip with day hikes, based at two developed campgrounds in Big Bend National Park. The campsites are large, private areas for tents, with picnic tables, flush toilets and, in the Chisos, shade ramadas. Pay showers are available in Rio Grande Village, and both campgrounds have a small store nearby.

The trip price includes highly rated meals, beginning with lunch on day one through breakfast on day eight. We provide all cooking equipment, except for personal plates, cups, and utensils. One of the benefits of car-camping is that the kitchen can be more elaborate, starting with percolated Starbucks coffee, in addition to other morning drinks, and including coolers filled with fresh food and cold drinks. We use as many organic ingredients as practical. The menu is vegetarian friendly; however, if you avoid dairy, wheat, or nuts, this trip is not for you. We follow the Sierra Club tradition that everyone helps cook and clean.

Trip Difficulty

To fully appreciate this outing, you should be in good physical condition and enjoy challenging day hikes. Our hikes will vary from half-mile nature walks on flat terrain to a rugged 12.6-mile hike with 1,800 feet of elevation. Our highest expected elevation is 7,250 feet.

Typical late fall weather in Big Bend ranges from daytime highs in the 70s and 80s to nighttime lows in the 50s, but we are the Sierra Club so we come prepared with appropriate clothing and camping equipment in case conditions are hotter, colder, or wetter than desired.

Equipment and Clothing

A detailed equipment list will be shared with the group. Participants will use their own personal camping gear, including a tent; sleeping bag rated to at least 32 degrees; reliable raingear; daypack; and well-broken-in boots. Birders will want good binoculars and everyone will want cameras to photograph the terrific scenery. 

References

Maps:

• National Geographic/Trails Illustrated Map of Big Bend National Park.

Books:

• Parent, Laurence, Hiking Big Bend National Park.
• Wauer, Roland and Carl Fleming, Naturalist's Big Bend.
• Big Bend Natural History Association, Hiker's Guide to Trails of Big Bend National Park and Road Guide to Paved and Improved Dirt Roads of Big Bend National Park.
• Koch, Etta, Lizards on the Mantel, Burros at the Door.

Websites:

• Big Bend National Park: http://www.nps.gov/bibe/
• Big Bend weather: https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&product=REC&issuedby=MAF
• Big Bend area newspaper: http://www.bigbendsentinel.com/

Conservation

Big Bend has been preserved as a national park since 1944. Influences past and present, inside and outside the park affect the integrity of its various ecosystems, including the impact of global warming. We will see and discuss destructive activities such as overgrazing, introduction of exotic and invasive species, degradation of air quaility, and disappearance of the area's historical and archaeological record by thoughtless removal and destruction of artifacts. Other threats to this area also include the proposed wall on the border with Mexico and the Trans-Peco Pipeline. We hope to schedule one of the park's interpretive rangers to help us better understand the special role the park plays in the ecosystem of the Southwest and in the National Park System. We also hope to visit with U.S. Border Patrol agents to better understand the tension inherent in a park on our country’s southern border. We will talk about and practice Leave No Trace principles.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.