You want to go to Big Bend National Park, but you have no interest in roughing it? The Gage Hotel is the best destination if you’re coming in from the North side. That is, if you don’t mind shelling out a little money. Neither the rooms nor the food are cheap. It is, in our opinion […]
Big Bend National Park
Devil’s Den Trail – Big Bend National Park
The Trailhead for Devil’s Den Trail can either be the Trailhead for Dog Canyon Trail, or you can start it a little further South (as recommended in Hiking Big Bend National Park by Laurence Parent), which we won’t cover here as we started our hike at the Dog Canyon Trailhead (we did both areas in […]
Grapevine Hills Trail – Big Bend National Park
To get to Grapevine Hills Trail, take a left out of the parking lot of the park headquarters at Panther Junction. You’ll take a right onto Grapevine Hills Road (29.338323, -103.259339), which will be the first dirt road on the right, just after the turn-off to Chisos Basin. The trailhead is located about six and […]
Backcountry Camping: Grapevine Hills Road – Big Bend
If you’re looking for a good backcountry camping spot in Big Bend National Park, but still want to be near Chisos Basin and park headquarters at Panther Junction, Grapevine Hills Road is a good option. You can get to the turn-off to Grapevine Hills Road by taking a left out of Panther Junction and driving […]
Dog Canyon Trail – Big Bend National Park
To get to the Trailhead for Dog Canyon Trail, head South about 3.5 miles from the Persimmon Gap Visitor’s Center. Park in the pull-off on the left with the roadside exhibit (find it here on your GPS 29.622407, -103.142906). If you pass a bridge, you’ll know you’ve gone too far. Distance: 1.9 miles one way […]
Backcountry Camping: Glenn Spring Road – Big Bend
Glenn Spring Road is a 16 mile unimproved dirt road that runs from a point just a few miles Southeast of Panther Junction on Hwy 118 to River Road East near the Rio Grande. The backcountry campsites on this road are primarily on the North portion of the road. To get there, take a right […]
Croton Spring Trail – Big Bend National Park
While Croton Spring Trail isn’t the first trail that comes to mind when somebody asks for a trail recommendation in Big Bend, I still like it. If I’ve been driving around all day (that happens to me a lot in Big Bend) and want to get out and stretch my legs for a bit, it’s […]
Backcountry Camping: Croton Spring – Big Bend
Two campsites. Each site accommodates 2 vehicles and 6 people. Croton Spring is one of the easier backcountry campsites to get to in Big Bend National Park (you can almost say it’s not a backcountry campsite, but park management would probably differ with you on that). It’s the first left turn past the turn-off to […]
Backcountry Camping: Paint Gap Road – Big Bend
If you want to do some camping away from the main camp ground at Chisos Basin, but you don’t want to go too far, Paint Gap is a good spot. You can even get to the first three campsites in a car. You’ll need a four wheel drive with good off-road tires to go much further […]
Ernst Tinaja – Big Bend National Park
A tinaja is a depression left in bedrock that’s carved out by gravel and sand washing through from arroyos (seasonal streams). Be careful when you’re out there. Tinajas are a very important and fragile part of the desert ecosystem. Don’t leave anything but footprints behind. Ernst Tinaja is located just off of Old Ore Road […]