I grew up in Central Texas and you get to see and do quite a bit of things. Most activities include enjoying live music, eating some legendary BBQ, exploring the hill country, and an occasional trip to coast. However not everyone has the opportunity to take the journey to the western portion of this massive state. We all know the western portion is relatively flat, hot, and far from pretty much anything. That is why Big Bend National Park is one of the hidden gems that not all that many people will get to venture to, even if you are a native Texas. It is a big state, and a long journey after all.
Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park lies in the southwestern region of the state, directly across the border from Mexico and several hours from any major city. The remoteness of Big Bend has a few benefits though. Since it is far from major cities, it has very little light pollution, making it known for it’s dark night skies. It is less crowded than many other national parks too, so the hiking trails are less crowded than many other parks of it’s size.
This National Park is made up of vast stretches of rolling hills and extremely spikey cactus. The basin lies near the center of the park and rises steeply to mountain peaks. It has a completely different type scenery and setting from the desert below. The park sits next to Big Bend State Park and is bordered by a few small towns including Terlingua, which is literally a revived ghost town and Lajitas which has a beer drinking goat as it’s mayor. Yes you read that correctly.
I had only had the privilege of visiting Big Bend National Park once in 2007 when I was teaching art at a summer camp in Alpine. My friends and I camped for a night and attempted to hike, but the summers are sweltering and just a bit hot. Last weekend I finally had the chance to return 12 years later. This time we were meeting some Yellowstone friends. It is also winter, so we were not going to miss out on hiking. The nights were in the 30’s and the days were in the 60’s, you couldn’t ask for a better forecast (okay maybe a little warmer at night!).
The Journey
Tony and I packed up the dogs and our Subaru and headed west. We love to camp and hike and couldn’t resist the chance to take a stab at exploring another national park with our friends. The 8 hour journey from Georgetown starts through the hill country and then continues on to the flat vast stretches of west Texas, and finally to the desert mountains of Big Bend National Park. Luckily the speed limits are high and the traffic is sparse, so the drive was an easy one.
Our friends were able to secure one of the last campsites in the park at the Cottonwood campground, which is on the far west side. We arrived shortly after dark and just in time for a decent rain shower. At that point, it was best that we just slept in the car rather than try and pitch our 2 room giant tent in the dark rain. We had some breaks in the weather and managed to get the back of the Subaru cozy and ready to sleep in. Side note on the Outback! We love it for a camping and the seats fold flat so that you can sleep in comfort!
Day 1- Santa Elena Canyon
After we woke up and ate our oatmeal, we headed over to Santa Elena Canyon along the Rio Grande. This can be a popular spot for people to paddle the river and camp, but we were just going for the short 2 mile hike. The trail then rises over rocks and brings you back down level with the Rio Grande. The canyon walls rise to over 1500 feet with sheer drops off and offer amazing views and even better echos.
Tony looking up in Santa Elena Canyon at the cliffs in Mexico 
The Rio Grande dividing Mexico from the US in Santa Elena Canyon
Next stop was finding another camping spot. The west side of the park is lovely in it’s own way, but it is further from the Basin hiking we wanted to explore. There was a spot open at Chisos Basin, but it was 1 pm and 45 degrees and snowing, so we skipped on that one. Luckily our friends snagged a spot at the Rio Grande Village. We all made our way over there, which lies on the far east portion of the park.
Dogs are not allowed on hiking trails in Big Bend. This is challenging for us, because our dogs love to hike and explore just as much as we do. Luckily this national park offers over 150 miles of unpaved roads that leashed dogs are allowed to walk on. This at least gave us the option to get us all out and stretch our legs.
Day 2- The Window Trail
Since we had the dogs with us, Tony decided to explore some of the unpaved roads with the dogs, while I explored with our friends. We headed up to the basin in hopes of hiking the Lost Mine Trail. Unfortunately the trail head has very limited parking and there was no place to park. We opted instead to hike the Window Trail from the Chisos Basin. We started next to the camp store at the main parking lot. This makes it 2.8 miles 1 way with about an 800 foot incline on the way out.
The Window Trail leads down to the “window” which is a large rock canyon cutting through the mountains with Oak Creek flowing through the center. The weather had warmed up into the 60’s and it was a pleasant winter day for the a hike. The most impressive part of the hike is not only the creek dropping off in what seems thin air, but the amazing stone steps that were carved into the canyon. The back out was uphill of course, but pleasant none the less. That night we dined on chicken fajitas and huddled in our tents after dark to try and escape the cold desert air. Big Bend doesn’t allow any open fires, so we were quick to our tents each evening.
The Window Trail in Big Bend National Park. 
Steps carved into the canyon
Day 3- Boquillas Canyon
The third day started off with a great adventure for Tony. He opted to wake up at 3:15 am and drive to the Chisos Basin to hike Emory Peak. That is the highest point in Big Bend and he wanted to be there to see the sunrise. You can read more about that here: https://theroaminggardeners.com/2020/01/14/bigbendhikin/
My morning was relaxed and I spent my time walking the dogs and reading a magazine. Tony arrived back just after lunch and I took off to explore Boquillas Canyon. This is a very short 1.5 mile hike along the Rio Grande. It starts with a quick incline over a hill and back down to the river. It is much less scenic than Santa Elena Canyon, but still a nice little view. I met a very friendly Mexican man that was selling some goods and singing songs. He let me take his photo and we exchanged some smiles and I attempted to use my terrible Spanish skills, luckily he spoke English.
On my hike back I ran into my friend hiking the same trail, so I hiked it again with her. Despite the fact that it was only 65 degrees, it was HOT on the trail. I can’t imagine what it would be like in the summer, I guess that is why they have warnings. This is also the area of the park that you can cross into Boquillas and visit the town in Mexico. They have recently reopened entry after closing it after 9/11/01. The trip sounded fun, but my passport was expired. We ended the day back to the campsite. We ate pork chops and veggies before it got dark so we wouldn’t freeze while we ate.
Day 4- Lost Mine Trail
I couldn’t leave Big Bend with only Tony having a grand adventure. We packed up our giant tent the night before we left and slept again in the Subaru. It might be smaller than the tent, but it is much warmer when it is cold out! I woke up at 4 am and drove to the Rio Grande overlook to try and get some night sky photos. This was my first real attempt with this, but even though the half full moon was out of the sky, there was still more light pollution than I would have liked. The clouds made for some interesting effects, so I feel it was a good first try.
I continued the 45 min drive up the Basin where I definitely got a spot at the trail head for Lost Mines. Finally by 6 am I was on the trail armed with my bear spray and a headlamp. It was pitch black and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a tad bit scared of mountain lions. Needless to say, I was the only one on the trail and had all the open space to myself. The trail is 2.4 miles one way and has an 1,100 foot of elevation gain, taking me about 1.5 hours to get to the top.
The alpine glow started to hit Casa Grande Peak and I was torn to stop and take pics or get to the stop before the sun peaked out. Luckily I made it in time to do both. The clouds in the sky made for a breathtaking scene at the top. The sunrise was one of the most vibrant I have seen and made my early rise worth the view. I took pictures and reveled in the beauty that surrounded me before making my journey back down the trail.
Stars from the Basin 
Sunrise from the Lost MIne Trail 
Sunrise from the Lost Mine Trail 
Casa Grande Peak at Sunrise
Unplug
Overall the trip was successful and we even saw some wildlife. We saw horses, a cow, western scru-jay birds, javalinas, multiple roadrunners, a beaver, mule deer, white tail, and 3 donkey’s. (maybe they weren’t all wild, haha!)
One of the highlights of the trip was just being able to unplug. So often in my life I am busy with chores, errands, work, and the never ending lists of projects at our house. I needed to just stop. There is really nothing like getting away from it all and Big Bend National Park really is a great place for that. No cell service, no facebook, no emails, just you and the world before you to make you really feel alive.
