Big Bend National Park Southwest Texas

[Steven@147]

It's been awhile since anyone posted about their visit to this National Park, we are here now staying at the Maverick Ranch RV Park. Pics are the view out of our RV windows and are actually a part of Big Bend Ranch State Park and the Bofecillos Mountains. There is also the Roadrunner RV Park in Terlingua that some have stayed at and a couple of others in Study Butte. Expect no shade at these RV parks, you are in the Chihuahuan Desert, lots of cactus ! It's May 12th and already it has hit 106* in the late afternoon.

First getting here - We filled with diesel at Fort Stockton Flying J, From I10 just west of Fort Stockton we took TX 67 south to Alpine then TX 118 South to Study (stoody) Butte then TX 170 West through Terlingua to Lajitas TX and the RV Park. You will swear that your getting lost out in the middle of nowhere, the area is remote. The roads are fine but they can be humpy and dippy.

Be Advised - Alpine Tx is the largest town with stores that you may be used to, BUT its 80 miles from Big Bend. The best stocked small general store/groceries/ gas station we found is in Lajitas right at the Maverick RV park. Expect prices to be higher than you are used to, you are in a remote area. Right now diesel is $6 / gallon.
At the Alon gas station/general store in Study Butte, 17 miles from Lajitas, diesel is $3.69 / gallon but they do not have much for grocery items.

Be Advised - TX 170 from Lajitas to Presidio is not recommended for big rigs, lots of sharp turns, narrow road, switchbacks, steep grades, this route is on the National Geographic most scenic roads.

Food/ Restaurants -
Lajitas - The Maverick Ranch Boardwalk restaurant and bakery is very good and not too pricey for a resort. The general store/gas station has fresh deli sandwiches. Don't be deceived by the Resort title, it's not what you expect when you hear "Resort". This place is not really touristy at all.
Terlingua - Rustic Iron has great Texas BBQ.
Study Butte - Chili Pepper Café, hole in the wall, has great Tex-Mex food and breakfast. Great place to get breakfast before driving into the National Park.

Getting to the National Park West Entrance - TX 118 turns into the park entrance road. From Study (stoody) Butte, Big Bend National Park sign is @ 3 miles, the Park entrance gate is @ 4 miles and to Maverick Junction. This park is wide open spaces / desert wilderness in some areas. From visitor center to visitor center can be 20 - 30 miles. The visitor centers at Castolon and Persimmon Gap are closed for the summer months. Chisos Basin and Panther Junction are the closest to each other at 10 miles apart.

Panther Junction is the park main visitor center and the park headquarters, it is @ 20 miles from the West side Maverick Junction. Get all the maps and information you need! You will use the heck out of the park map you get here! There is a gas station right before Panther Junction, it has diesel. The only other gas station inside the park is at Rio Grande Village 20 miles from Panther Junction.

Be Advised - you are in a remote area, susceptible to power failures so says the info from the NPS. Rio Grande Village is the only place they have an emergency generator for the gas station and has propane. There are general stores at the Chisos Basin and Rio Grande Village. The general store at Castolon is very tiny very basic.

Be Advised - It is very hot even in May, 100+ temps. Away from visitor centers you can be in a very remote area. There is limited to no cell service in a lot of areas. Recently two people have died from heat exhaustion, one in Feb, one in March. The surrounding small towns have NO medical facilities to speak of. The town of Terlingua has an Emergency Response Station, for fires, flooding and lost search. NPS Officers and Boarder Patrol Officers patrol the park.

Be aware and be smart as they say, and we have really enjoyed our visit so far. We uploaded you tube videos of our trips into the park so far, Chisos Basin and the "Window", Castolon, Santa Elena Canyon, Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, Mule Ears, Sotol Vista, Dorgan/ Sublett trail. For the last few days Boquillas Canyon has been closed for a prescribed burn, we hope to get there soon.

[Grandesigner]

Good info, thanks. We were there a few years ago along with the south TX coast. Great trip.

[txarsoncop]

One of our favorite parks and a good overview of the area steven@147!

Everybody always wants to go to the Starlight Theater to eat, do yourself a favor and GO LATE! The waits for dinner when they open and for an hour or two after are ABOMINABLE and there aren't a lot of places to sit down. It does give you the opportunity to explore Terlingua though..

The general store near Maverick IS the best shopping in Lagitas but it IS pretty limited. The Alon in Study Butte is best for fuel and garbage snacks, go to the Dollar Store for groceries.

While you're there Big Bend State park has a GREAT short hike, Closed Canyon. It's neat and most of it's shaded because the canyon is very narrow. The drive along 170 has some really great views too.

Boquillas is an interesting trip. You'll need passports to cross although only the US side is staffed. Lots of families selling tchotkes along with some goods worth buying (or at least looking at). You can choose to walk, ride horses or donkeys once you get there. It's about a mile if you're hiking. The boat ride over was $10/ea IIRC, not the $5 the NPS website quotes. Donkeys were $20/each but worth it, horses were more expensive. If you ride you get a "tour guide" who will tell you about Boquillas, take you through the town & show you their interpretive center, which had more information about the town then I expected. You'll get a good feel for how isolated they are, WAY more isolated than Big Bend is! There's two small restaurants, they both serve pretty much the same food and a bar if you're so inclined.

Everybody hears about and wants to hike "The Window" and it is really cool when you get to the Window with l-o-n-g views but don't get too close and the hike out can be challenging.

The hikes Steven posted are all great hikes, Tuff Canyon is pretty cool too. Only place I've ever seen/held Tuff. The Grapevine Hills drive is marked 4x4 but we always see passenger cars on it and the Balance Rock hike is really nice!

Enjoy!

[Steven@147]

One of our favorite parks and a good overview of the area steven@147!

Everybody always wants to go to the Starlight Theater to eat, do yourself a favor and GO LATE! The waits for dinner when they open and for an hour or two after are ABOMINABLE and there aren't a lot of places to sit down. It does give you the opportunity to explore Terlingua though..

The general store near Maverick IS the best shopping in Lagitas but it IS pretty limited. The Alon in Study Butte is best for fuel and garbage snacks, go to the Dollar Store for groceries.

While you're there Big Bend State park has a GREAT short hike, Closed Canyon. It's neat and most of it's shaded because the canyon is very narrow. The drive along 170 has some really great views too.

Boquillas is an interesting trip. You'll need passports to cross although only the US side is staffed. Lots of families selling tchotkes along with some goods worth buying (or at least looking at). You can choose to walk, ride horses or donkeys once you get there. It's about a mile if you're hiking. The boat ride over was $10/ea IIRC, not the $5 the NPS website quotes. Donkeys were $20/each but worth it, horses were more expensive. If you ride you get a "tour guide" who will tell you about Boquillas, take you through the town & show you their interpretive center, which had more information about the town then I expected. You'll get a good feel for how isolated they are, WAY more isolated than Big Bend is! There's two small restaurants, they both serve pretty much the same food and a bar if you're so inclined.

Everybody hears about and wants to hike "The Window" and it is really cool when you get to the Window with l-o-n-g views but don't get too close and the hike out can be challenging.

The hikes Steven posted are all great hikes, Tuff Canyon is pretty cool too. Only place I've ever seen/held Tuff. The Grapevine Hills drive is marked 4x4 but we always see passenger cars on it and the Balance Rock hike is really nice!

Enjoy!

This is a really great place! Tuff Canyon Trail is also closed right now because of rock slides. We'll try to get get to Boquillas Canyon since they have opened it back up. I really hope they can make some progress on the rebuilding of Castolon after the 2019 fire. They have plans to rebuild it in period correct buildings and bring back the trading post and parts of the old Army Fort.

We are looking at some things in the State Park as well. Next few days call for rain storms, we'll see what we can fit in. We are going to look up Fort Leaton on the way to Presidio to see what that's all about.

[Ahschneid]

Thanks for the great details and information of your visit. We are new full timers also since 11/2022 and spent our winter at Corpus and Brownsville Nov 22-March 23. We are planning to spend at least a month at Big Bend during the winter either this year or next. We have heard it is beautiful but as you described. Thank you again.

[coastn]

Was there in April, also the previous Feb. April was heating up to high 80s low 90s. Feb. was better temp but too early for Ocatillo or cactus bloom. Colors were amazing. Stayed at both Maverick Ranch in Lajitas and Paisano Village in Study Butte. Paisano is closer to the Park entrance and has concrete patios to help keep the sand out of the rig. Cottonwood store half mile down the road towards the park entrance has the largest selection of grocery items in the area plus hardware and camping stuff. Shocked to find that some food items were actually priced lower than what we stocked up on in Marfa. Not all, however. Enjoyed some of the hikes already mentioned plus the one of a kind visit to Boquillas. Went to the Starlight Theater early to have a beer on the porch and wait for the 5:00 opening bell. Sat on a bench next to the 93 year old matriarch of the area and her partner. She regaled my wife and me with stories of Terlingua. She's a regular and the Starlight management treats her very well. Just prior to 5:00 they came to get her and we sneaked in on her coattails. They showed her to her special seat at the bar while we took a table. Timing is everything! Starlight was much less crowded in April than in Feb. All in all, just flat love Big Bend.