Big Bend National Park

Large and diverse are the two words that best describe Big Bend National Park. With over 1,200 square miles, Big Bend is the fourteenth largest park in the national park system. The diversity of activities make it a fascinating park, yet it is one of the least visited. Our visit to the park included hiking to some beautiful sites, soaking in a hot spring and riding a burro into Mexico. Here’s some of the highlights of our trip.

Balanced Rock

Our first hike in Big bend National Park was to Balanced Rock via the Grapevine Hills Trail. It’s an easy 2.2 mile round trip hike with a bit of rock scrambling at the end to reach the rock monolith. From the north entrance of the park at Persimmon Gap it’s a 50-60 minute drive to reach the Grapevine Hills area. Given the great distance and the fact that we started our day in Wichita Falls, TX we did not reach the trailhead until late afternoon. This meant that the sun was already behind the surrounding hills making for a comfortable, shady hike. The boys loved this hike because there were plenty of adjacent rocks to climb and explore including a swirly rock they named, cinnamon roll rock.

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Window Trail

On our second day in the park we hiked the window trail 5.6 miles round trip to see the slot in the Chisos Mountains known as, the window. We started our hike early. This allowed us to avoid the heat of the day. Even in March, temperatures while we were in Big Bend were in the low 80s. The hike to the window follows a dry creek bed (it had not rained recently when we were there). Once at the window, we were careful to slither along the very slippery rock to the lookout. The hike was worth the beautiful views of the valley below. After the window hike, we had a picnic lunch and then made our way to Santa Elena Canyon.

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Santa Elena Canyon

After driving along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive from the Chisos Basin area of the park, we arrived at the small parking lot and trailhead for the Santa Elena Canyon trail. To get to the narrowest point in the canyon, we hiked 1.7 miles round trip up several sets of paved ramps and steps and then down to the river’s edge. It was a hard and hot hike. Once in the canyon and near the water, there was a much needed breeze and shade. The end point gave wonderful views into the canyon as the walls loomed 1,500 feet overhead. The Santa Elena Canyon hike was my favorite hike of the trip and is a Big Bend classic.

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Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico

In our last day in Big Bend National Park we decided to drive to the eastern side of the park and cross the Rio Grande river into Mexico to see Boquillas del Carmen. Before venturing to Mexico, a Big Bend park ranger briefed us on the process of entering Mexico, what to expect while in Boquillas del Carmen and how we would re-enter the United States. After the 2 minute briefing, we walked a short distance to the the water and were rowed across the river. Once on the other side, we paid $5 per person for the boat ride. Bienvenidos a Mexico!

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Once in Mexico, we opted to pay $10 per person for the round trip ride on a burro into the town of Boquillas del Carmen. There is no need to be familiar with donkeys, as the mules were guided and have made the trip so many times, they didn’t really need direction. Our boys loved this experience.

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When we arrived in Boquillas del Carmen, we walked the one main street, bought each of the boys a trinket and had lunch at one of the two restaurants available in the town. To get back to the row boat, we opted to skip the donkey (even though the service provided round trip travel) and instead walked the half-mile back the river. Once across the river and in the United States, we used a virtual kiosk to video chat with a customs agent in El Paso, TX. The Port of Entry at Boquillas is the only station on the southern border that uses a video entry process.

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Hot Springs

Our final adventure in Big Bend was a visit to the historic hot springs. Though the road to the springs parking lot is windy and rough, it was worth the trek. From the parking lot, hike an easy dirt path just over a half-mile one-way to the springs. Along the way you’ll pass ruins of the former hotel that used to be at the site with some interpretive signs explaining the history of the area and the springs. I was worried that since the parking lot was full, the springs would be crowded. They really weren’t. People don’t spend a ton of time in the 105 degree water and the parking lot also serves the Hot Springs Canyon trail. We enjoyed plunging into the much cooler Rio Grande River and then hopping into the warmth of the springs.

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Where we stayed and other tips

We opted to reserve primitive camping sites for two of our three nights in the park. We stayed one night each at Grapevine Hills #3 and Paint Gap #3. If I had to do it over again, I keep the Paint Gap #3 site but try to reserve Grapevine Hills #1 because it had excellent desert views. Our final night, was stayed in Rio Grande Village (a standard campground). We loved the seclusion of the primitive sites. However, by the third day we were ready for the flush toilets offered at Rio Grande Village.

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Big Bend is a very rugged park, that’s part of its appeal. Bring lots of water and be prepared for rough road conditions. Many roads are accessible only with a high clearance vehicle. The park service does not recommend driving them with a minivan, RV or passenger car. We managed with the vamper but it was a bumpy ride.

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Our adventures in the large and diverse, Big Bend National Park were many. It’s a beautiful and wonderful park to spend time in. For more national park adventures, see our posts on Glacier, Yellowstone/Teton, Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks as well as a backpacking experience in Isle Royale.

Happy Adventuring, Rochelle