The Milky Way shines bright over Big Bend National Park!
Big Bend National Park, a remote and scenic gem, located in far West Texas. Where the skies are as dark as coal and the rivers carve towering canyons in the ancient limestone. Here, you will find hundreds of bird and mammal species that take refuge in a solitary mountain range surrounded by weather-beaten desert.
Many visitors often arrive without a detailed itinerary in mind, and are surprised by the vast size of the park and the many opportunities it offers. The closest major airport is over 300 miles away in El Paso, this drastic isolation keeps the annual visitor traffic low compared to Zion or Yellowstone.
Watch you step! Big Bend is home to some wild cacti!
It really is too big to see in one day, but a great one-day trip might include the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive and a visit to Chisos Basin.
The Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive will give you fantastic views of the Chihuahuan Desert landscape and will lead you to the Rio Grande. There are a handful of points of interest and stops along the way, be sure to set aside half a day for the drive.
Some of the viewpoints I found to be interesting and/or good photo opportunities.
– Sotol Vista
– Mule Ears
– Santa Elena
At the end of the road you will come to Santa Elena Canyon. Here, you will be able to walk to the rivers edge and look right into Mexico.
Texas on the right, Mexico on the left!
Many people will stop at the Castolon Visitor Center, just before reaching the canyon. It has been said this area of the park could take you back in time, to a simpler day. Unfortunately, many of the historic buildings were destroyed from a fire that occurred May 2019.
On your way out of the canyon you will have the option of back tracking the same route you came; or venture off the pavement and take the Old Maverick Road. I am certain nearly all vehicles could make the drive, albeit your are careful. However, it is always best to check with park officials for the road conditions.
I opted to go back the same way. After putting my truck through a beating on the off road trails at the neighboring and even more remote, Big Bend Ranch State Park I decided to play it safe.
Panoramic view from Sotol Vista, one of the many stops along the Scenic Drive.
As I mentioned the park doesn’t see a high amount of traffic. In 2017, the park had 440,000 visitors, ranking 41 out of 60. Compared to The Great Smoky Mountains, which in the same year saw over 11,000,000 visitors!
With that being said, Big Bend does see a spike in visitors during the holiday weekends, especially during cooler months. I can attest to this, when I visited Dec 27-30 every campsite inside the park was booked. So be sure to plan ahead.
If camping isn’t your thing the park also offers hotel style lodging at the Chisos Mountains Lodge. Located at 5,400 feet you will be rewarded with stunning views of the highest peaks in every direction.
Purple Prickly Pear cactus.
I kept spotting these purple prickly pear cactus on the way to the Chisos Basin Visitor center. I had never seen a prickly pear that wasn’t green so it seemed strange. Thanks to the remoteness I didn’t have cell phone service till much later but I learned they turn purple from lack of water or cold weather. Which made since, 2019 was proving to be slightly cooler than average for the area.
Big Bend, despite the isolation still provides the same level of service as any other National Park. As always, hiking is one of the most popular activities. But horse back riding, bird watch and ranger lead programs are also quite popular.
Overall,
I had visited Big Bend as a kid but don’t have the slightest memory of it so I couldn’t wait to get back out there. The rugged terrain really caught me off guard especially after feeling a bit jaded from visiting so many of the other more popular parks.
The scenery reminded me a lot of Death Valley, one of my favorites. The layered rocky crags and void desert terrain seemed almost interchangeable in some areas.
Big Bend, as you might expect has some of the darkest skies in the country. This was my main draw to the park and why I decided to go when I did, during the new moon. Despite that weekend being the busiest of the year, I still had an absolute blast.
As soon as the sunset and the stars lit up the park suddenly seemed empty, like I was the only one there.
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