LAST UPDATED: 2/1/24 – Big Bend National Park Guide

Everything in Texas tends to be big, and the national parks that reside within the state are no exception.  Big Bend National Park even has the word “big” in its name. 

With a total size of 801,163 acres, Big Bend is the fourteenth largest park in the United States. If you look at just the continental United States, it is the seventh largest. Not only is the size of the park big, but so is everything else. The vistas are large, the hikes are large, and the hearts of the people who live near here are large.

If you are looking for a combination of desert and mountains, you will find no match better than Big Bend National Park. Sitting right on the border with Mexico, it is a stunningly beautiful landscape. This is especially true near the Rio Grande River, which forms the natural border between America and Mexico. It is a breathtaking river that flows through a beautiful landscape.

An All-You-Need Big Bend National Park Guide

In this Big Bend National Park guide, I will lay out everything you need to know to make your visit to Big Bend National Park a success.  I will explain how to get to the park, discuss the best times to visit, list the top attractions to see within the park, and assist you in locating the best place to stay during your visit. 

To give you all the resources you need to do your planning, I have also linked to several other valuable resources that you can use to plan your trip.

Big Bend National Park Guide Navigation Menu

How to Get to Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park is located in Texas along the United States’ southern border with Mexico.  In fact, the Rio Grande River, which makes up part of the border between the United States and Mexico, is also the southern border of Big Bend National Park. 

If you are traveling to Big Bend National Park from out-of-state or from outside the United States, the easiest way to get to the park is to fly into El Paso, Texas, and then drive.

Getting to Big Bend from Large Cities in the Area

However, if you are visiting other cities in the region and would like to work on a trip to Big Bend National Park during your visit, I have included the driving distance to the park from several other large cities in the region in the table below.

City	Distance	Drive Time
El Paso, Texas	292 miles	4hrs 30min
San Antonio, Texas	411 miles	6hrs
Albuquerque, New Mexico	558 miles	8hrs
Tucson, Arizona	609 miles	9hrs
Phoenix, Arizona	722 miles	10hrs 30min

Big Bend National Park is also in relatively close proximity to several other national parks and monuments in the region.  These include Saguaro National Park in Arizona, Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas, and Carlsbad Caverns National Park and White Sands National Park in New Mexico. 

To better understand where these national parks and national monuments are in relation to Big Bend National Park, please refer to the map I have included below.

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Big Bend National Park is a large park with a lot to see so you will want to make sure you have a good idea of what you will want to see and do before you get to the park. 

I recommend that you plan to spend at least one full day at the park to see all of the main attractions, with an extra day or two planned if you are going to be doing an extensive amount of hiking.  To give you a better sense of how large the park is and where all of the key attractions are located, I have included a park map for you to reference below.

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Top Things to See in Big Bend

Big Bend National Park is a beautiful park with a lot of amazing things to see.  To give you some ideas as you put together the itinerary for your visit, I have highlighted some of the top attractions inside Big Bend National Park and in the surrounding area for you to review below.

See the Rio Grande River

Seeing the Rio Grande River is such a neat experience.  As you may know, this river makes up a portion of the Southern border of the United States on the border with Mexico.  It is also the Southern border of Big Bend National Park, which means that Big Bend is literally right on the border with Mexico. 

There are several viewpoints where you can get some really great views of the Rio Grande, but my favorite is undoubtedly the Rio Grande Overlook near the Rio Grande Village.

Santa Elena Canyon

Santa Elena Canyon is my favorite thing to see in Big Bend National Park, and for good reason.  It is an absolutely breathtaking slot canyon that was created by the Rio Grande River that you can hike into. 

The trail into Santa Elena Canyon isn’t very difficult, so it is a hike that hikers of all skill levels can enjoy.  This is definitely a site that you should have near the top of your list when you visit Big Bend National Park.

Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive

Considered by many to be the most beautiful drive in Big Bend National Park, the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive should be on the list of every visitor to Big Bend.  This paved road will take you by many of the scenic spots in Bend Bend National Park, which includes the Sotol Vista Overlook, Lower Burro Mesa Pouroff, Mule Ears Viewpoint, and Tuff Canyon, among others.

See the Fossil Remains

According to the US National Parks Service, Big Bend National Park is a “Paleontological Paradise“, with the fossil remains of many different reptiles and ancient sea creatures being found within the park. 

In addition to the many fossilized seashells that you can see while hiking the Santa Elana Canyon trail, there have also been numerous dinosaur fossil discoveries within the park as well.  If you are interested in learning more about the fossil discoveries during your visit, make sure you check out the Fossil Discovery Exhibit when you’re there.

Rio Grande Village

The Rio Grande Village is an area of Big Bend National Park on the border with Mexico where the old Boquillas mining settlement used to exist.  The Rio Grande Village has one of the best campgrounds to stay at within Big Bend National Park and is also near the Boquillas Warm Springs, which is a popular hot spring within the park. 

If you are interested, you can also cross into Mexico to visit the town of Boquillas del Carmen for the day at the crossing near the Rio Grande Village.

The Window

Located near the Chisos Basin Lodge, the Window is a gap in the mountains that allows you to see miles beyond it to the desert valley below.  It is an absolutely stunning view that you won’t want to miss when visiting Big Bend National Park. 

If you are up for it, you can also hike the Window Trail to get some better views of the mountains and the valley beyond them.  The trail is a moderately difficult 5.2-mile out-and-back with just shy of 1,000 feet of elevation gain.

Soak in the Hot Springs

If you are looking for a unique activity to do within the park, you might want to consider visiting the hot springs and taking a soak.  Thermal features heat the water in the spring to around 105 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it the ideal temperature for soaking to soothe sore muscles after a day of hiking or exploring. 

Before you visit, make sure you read the rules carefully so that you can help ensure this amazing feature can be enjoyed by other visitors for years to come.

Hike the Lost Mine Trail

When temperatures get too hot on the desert floor, you can escape the heat by taking a hike up into the Chisos Mountains.  One of the most popular mountain hikes in Big Bend National Park is the Lost Mine Trail. 

A moderately difficult 4.8-mile, round-trip hike, the Lost Mine Trail takes you through some of the most beautiful areas of Big Bend’s Chisos Mountains.  On this trail, you will get some great views of Casa Grande, Juniper Canyon, and other remarkable landmarks.

Terlingua Ghost Town

While you will likely want to spend the majority of your time inside Big Bend National Park exploring, you shouldn’t miss out on some of the other interesting sites that sit just outside of the park.  Arguably the most interesting of these is the Terlingua Ghost Town, which sits just North of the Western edge of the park. 

While I am not sure there are actually ghosts inhabiting the town, it is the remains of the old Chisos Mining Company’s settlement, so you never know.  If you like history, you will love exploring this abandoned old town and taking a walk back in time as you see how the settlers lived when this town was bustling with people.

Visit Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico

Boquillas del Carmen, more commonly referred to as just Boquillas, is a Mexican town that sits on the United States Border, adjacent to Big Bend National Park in Texas.  If you are looking for a fun side excursion when visiting Big Bend, visiting the town of Boquillas for lunch or doing some shopping is an excellent choice. 

To enter Boquillas, you will need to use the Boquillas Crossing Port of Entry.  The hours of operation for the border crossing are listed in my Big Bend National Park guide below for your reference.

Important Note:  Be sure to have your passport with you and ready when you get to the border crossing and make sure that you return to the border crossing during the hours of operation to cross back into the United States.  If you don’t, you will need to spend the night in Boquillas.

When to Visit Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park’s geography is a mixture of desert and mountains, as the park is both a part of the Chihuahuan desert and home to portions of the Chisos mountain range.  Because of this varied landscape, the weather can be quite different in different areas of the park.  While it may be scorching hot on the desert floor, the temperatures might be much milder in the high country of the Chisos mountains.

The best times to visit Big Bend National Park are between late fall and early spring when the temperatures are much cooler, and the weather is dry.  If you want to have the park all to yourself, then the very best months to visit are December and January.  Not only is it much cooler during these months, but there aren’t as many people in the park as there are during the spring and fall months.

Average Temperature (°F)

The temperatures at Big Bend National Park can get really stifling hot during the summer, with temperatures routinely topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit (or 38 degrees Celsius).  If you are going to visit Big Bend National Park from May through August, it is recommended that you carry a lot of water with you, especially if you are going to do an extensive amount of hiking.

The months of November through March typically have much more modest high temperatures, but it can get quite cool at night.  In fact, it isn’t unheard of for the temperature to fall below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (or 0 degrees Celsius) at night during the winter months. 

If you are going to visit Big Bend National Park during the winter and plan on doing some camping, you will want to make sure that you are prepared for these cold nighttime temperatures.

Average Precipitation (Inches)

Because Big Bend National Park has a high desert climate, the park typically doesn’t see a whole lot of rainfall during the year.  What rain the park does get typically falls during the Spring and Summer months of May through October.  Between late fall and late spring, the park sees very little rainfall at all.

If you are planning on visiting Big Bend National Park during the summer months, you should be prepared for the occasional rainstorm that may come through the park.  Although most storms do not last that long, you will want to be prepared for bad weather if you are going to be in the backcountry or in the high regions of the park.  Safety should always be your primary concern.

Average Visitors (1,000 visitors Per Day)

With roughly 440,000 visitors a year coming to Big Bend National Park, it ranks in the bottom third of the most visited national parks in the United States (41st of 59 parks in attendance).  This has far more to do with how out of the way the park is than it has to do with the quality of the park.

Big Bend sees a majority of its visitors between November and April when the temperatures are much cooler.  During the summer months when the temperatures can become repressive, there is a steep decline in the number of visitors. 

If you are going to visit during the cooler months, you will see more people on the trails and at the viewpoints, but the park is big enough that you will never feel overly crowded.

Other Things to See in the Area

Big Bend National Park is a bit off the beaten path, but it isn’t completely isolated to itself in the United States.  There are several other national parks and national monuments that are within driving distance of the park.  To give you an idea of what else is available to see in the region, I have included some suggestions in my Big Bend National Park guide below for you to review.

Where to Stay Near Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park is a bit off the beaten path, so there isn’t an abundance of places to stay right next to the park.  If you would like to stay within the park, there are plenty of places where you can camp if you are into camping or there is the Chisos Mountain Lodge, which is within Big Bend National Park itself. 

Otherwise, if you are looking for a hotel your best bets will be to stay in the nearby towns of Del Rio or Alpine, which are 3.5 hours and 1 hour away respectively.

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Big Bend National Park Resources

To make your trip to visit Big Bend National Park a success, I have included several additional resources in my Big Bend National Park guide below that you can use to plan your trip.

• Big Bend National Park – Maps
• Big Bend National Park – Plan Your Visit
• Big Bend National Park – Camping
• Big Bend National Park – Things to Do
• Big Bend National Park – Places to Go
• Big Bend National Park – Suggested Itineraries

Activities in the Big Bend Area

In addition to the park itself, there are a lot of really fun activities that are available to do in the Big Bend National Park and the surrounding area.  To give you some ideas on activities you can do, I have included a list of fun excursions and activities in my Big Bend National Park guide below for you to review.

Big Bend National Park Photo Gallery

Big Bend National Park is such a beautiful collection of conflicting landscapes for you to explore.  From the Chisos Mountains to the Chihuahuan desert, the landscape seems to change as you navigate from one part of the park to the next. I have included some of the pictures I took when I visited in my Big Bend National Park guide below.

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