What’s your favorite national park?
My husband, John, and I are often asked this question because for five years we lived in a motor home and toured the US. One of the driving forces behind our decision was to see America’s national parks. And today, after many miles on the road, we still can’t name one favorite park. There are too many scenic sights and vistas etched in our hearts and memories.
The #1 park on our must-see list was Big Bend National Park, one of the largest and least visited of America’s national parks and the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States.
Big Bend is sometimes considered three parks in one because it includes mountain, desert, and river environments. An hour’s drive can take you from the banks of the Rio Grande to a mountain basin nearly a mile high. In Big Bend you can explore one of the last remaining wild corners of the US and experience unmatched sights, sounds, and solitude.
So, where is it? Big Bend National Park is located in southwest Texas, hundreds of miles from the nearest cities and transportation hubs. The southern boundary of the park is 118 river miles of the Rio Grande and is the international boundary between the US and Mexico. You have to GO to Big Bend. It’s not on the way to anywhere; it’s not a stop on a trip to some other place.
The park is a study of contrasts; its climate may be characterized as one of extremes. Dry, hot late spring and early summer days often exceed 100 degrees in the lower elevations. Winters are normally mild throughout the park, but sub-freezing temperatures occasionally occur. The altitude ranges from approximately 1,800 feet along the river to 7,800 feet in the Chisos Mountains so there is a wide variation in moisture and temperature throughout the park. These variations contribute to an exceptional diversity in plant and animal habitats.
The 118 river miles include the spectacular canyons of Santa Elena, Mariscal, and Boquillas. The Rio Grande, meandering through this portion of the Chihuahuan Desert, has cut deep canyons with nearly vertical walls through three uplifts comprised primarily of limestone.
Few areas exceed Big Bend for the protection and study of geologic and paleontologic resources. Cretaceous and Tertiary fossil organisms exist in variety and abundance. Archeologists have discovered artifacts estimated to be 9,000 years old, and historic buildings and landscapes offer a glimpse of life along the international border at the turn of the century.
Cultural resources in the park range from the Paleo-Indian period 10,500 years ago through the historic period represented by Native American groups, such as the Chisos, Mescalero Apache, and Comanche. More recently, Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers farmed, ranched, and mined in the area.
There are 112 miles of paved roads in the park. But for those with a sense of adventure (and a high clearance/4-wheel drive vehicle) there are over 150 miles of unpaved road. These roads offer beautiful scenery, access to natural and historic sites, primitive roadside campsites, and some of the park’s most primitive and remote hiking trails.
And with more than 150 miles of trails, Big Bend is a hiker’s paradise with many options for day hikes or backpacking trips.
Casa Grande peak looms over the Chisos Mountain Lodge, the only hotel or motel in the park. The lodge has a variety of rooms and cottages, a gift shop, and a dining room. There are a few motels outside the park in Terlingua/Study Butte.
A hotel room’s not your style? Big Bend offers three developed campgrounds—Rio Grande Village, Chisos Basin, and Cottonwood.
If green trees are your thing, Big Bend’s stark environments may not be to your liking. For us the scenic vistas of the river canyons, Chisos Mountains, and the Chihuahuan Desert rate right up there with Zion and Yellowstone.
For more information about visiting Big Bend, please call or send me an email. If you’d like to see more pictures, here’s a link to our travel photos.
