Big Bend National Park is one of the few place left in the United States where you can completely get away from man-made influences.

Big Bend National Park is one of the most remote national parks in the United States. It is located in the middle of the Chihuahuan Desert with its southern border being defined by the Rio Grande River which is also the border between the United States and Mexico.

The park is named for the huge curve or “Big Bend” of the Rio Grande River which also gives the state of Texas its distinctive shape. Big Bend National Park is the largest protected area of the Chihuahuan Desert in the United States and contains three basic habitats – river, desert and mountains.

Getting to Big Bend

There is no easy way to get to Big Bend National Park because it is located in a very remote part of Southwest Texas. The closest major city is El Paso which is a 4.5 hour drive away meaning that the people who are visiting the park really make an effort to get there and they are not making a quick stopover on their way to somewhere else. Anyone who visits Big Bend has made an effort to do it.

Scenic Drive

Big Bend National Park is a large park with approximately 800,000 acres (1250 sq. miles) which limits how much of the park can be experienced in a single trip. One of the easiest ways to see a large portion of the park relatively quickly is to take a scenic drive on the paved sightseeing routes. Driving a scenic route lets you see the greatest variety of habitats, geology and there are interpretive pull overs that allows for short walks.

Chisos Mountains

The Chisos Mountains are located within the Big Bend National Park making them the only mountain range totally contained within a single national park.

Chisos Basin

The Chisos Mountains are arranged in a circular formation with a bowl in the middle which is known as the Chisos Basin.

Go Hiking

Seeing nature from the comfort of your car is nice but the only way to truly experience Big Bend National Park is to “Go Hiking”. The park has a variety of hiking options that ranges from short interpretive walks to rugged multi day excursions. The park has over 150 miles of improved hiking trails and hikers are allowed to travel off trail if they want. Some of the popular trails are:

• The Window View Trail – a 0.3 mile roundtrip paved walkway.
• The Rio Grande Village Nature Trail – a 0.4 mile easy walking loop trail with interpretive signs along the trail.
• The Chihuahuan Desert Nature Trail – a 0.5 mile easy walking loop trail with interpretive signs along the trail.
• The Santa Elena Canyon Trail – a 1.7 mile easy walking round trip trail with interpretive signs along the trail.
• The Balanced Rock Trail – a 1.9 mile roundtrip moderately challenging trail that features a large bolder that is balanced on two rocks creating an arch or stone gateway.
• The Hot Springs Historic Walk – a 2.0 mile easy walking round trip trail with a self-guided pamphlet available at the trailhead.
• The Lost Mine Trail – a 4.8 mile medium difficulty round trip trail with an 1100 foot elevation rise over 2.4 miles. There is a self-guided booklet available at the trailhead.
• The South Rim Trail – a 12 to 14.5 mile strenuous roundtrip trail that is one of the most difficult hikes in the park but the views are considered worth the effort.

Most of the hiking trail are less than 5 miles long and can be taken as relatively easy day hikes. Whether you take a short hike or a long hike, “going hiking” is the only way to appreciate Big Bend in all of its rugged beauty.

Views from Lost Mine Trail

The Lost Mine Trail begins at 5600 feet elevation and is a steady uphill hike to the end of the trail at 6850 feet of elevation where there are nice views of Pine Canyon to the east, Juniper Canyon to the southwest and the East Rim forms a nice backdrop behind Juniper Canyon.

The highlights of this trail are definitely the views. The views on the way up are nice but the views at the top are truly spectacular and unforgettable. The trail is an out and back trail meaning that the hike back is predominately all downhill however seeing things in reverse is almost always like it is a different trail because you see the views from different angles and perspectives.

There’s not much shade on the trail but there are some small trees along the way to stop and cool off under the shade and out of the sunshine. I’m always happy for small blessings!

One last look

Many of the places that I travel to I only get one chance to see them and because Big Bend National Park is so remote there is a good chance that you will only have one chance to experience it so as you drive away make sure to stop and take “one last look”. I’m glad that I did!

The Dust on My Shoes

I spend a lot of time in the outdoors enjoying nature and observing wildlife. Even though I try to get away from the sights and sounds of our modern world, it is almost impossible to find places where there is no road noise or the sight of jets flying across the sky. Big Bend National Park is truly a place where the influences of our modern world is virtually non-existent.

Big Bend National Park is really big! Bigger than the state of Rhode Island, so it is really important to plan ahead and have a good idea what you are going to see and do before you get there. While there are some trials that are paved, most of the trails are primitive and minimally invasive to the natural state of the land. Of course, experiencing nature in its natural state is one of the factors that made going to Big Bend National Park so appealing to me and probably to most people that make the effort to get to such a remote place.

Not only is the park big but the view are also big. Hiking the Lost Mine Trail will always rank as one of my favorite hike because the view from the trail a so expansive.

Sometimes good things can come in small packages but when it comes to nature bigger is usually better!

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