Big Bend Made Easy
The best sights, where to stay, what to eat, how to find a guide, and everything else you could possibly want to know about the most beautiful place in Texas.
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Individual sites at campgrounds in the park are $5 a night and are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Primitive and backcountry sites are free. Group campsites (ten-person minimum) can be reserved up to ninety days in advance (477-2251). Horseback riders may also reserve space for their steeds at the Government Springs coral, west of Panther Junction. During spring break, persistent types can hang around a particular campground in the morning to wait for a possible vacancy or go to Panther Junction when it opens at eight for updates on all campgrounds and primitive campsites.
The Big Bend Travel Park (371-2250), on Terlingua Creek, has the only shaded campground outside the park. Other private campgrounds include BJ’s RV Park (371-2259); the Big Bend Motor Inn’s RV Park (371-2218), which also rents bare bones eight- by ten-foot wooden sheds euphemistically called cabins; and the 77-space RV campground in Lajitas (424-3471), with full hookups, cable TV, and tent sites. There’s always room for campers at the Stillwell Store (376-2244), the sole camping option north of the park, six miles east of U.S. 385 on FM 2627. Next to the Hallie Stillwell Museum Hall of Fame, a worthwhile stop even if you aren’t camping, it has RV hookups and 25,000 acres for primitive camping. In general, private campsites range from $3.50 to $10 a person, and RV hookups go as high as $15.
Where to Eat: The restaurant in the Chisos Basin Lodge is adequate for a national park dining facility. The service is better than average, and the soda fountain is the equivalent of a spring in the desert—cherry milkshakes are a specialty. Chicken fajitas ($8.60), pork chops ($7.80), baked perch ($6.80), ribeye steak ($11.50), and a bottomless cup of coffee (60 cents) highlight the limited menu. No alcohol is served. Service begins at seven in the morning with the last evening seating at a quarter to eight.
The Study Butte-Terlingua Big Bendoplex has more options, including Gloria’s, the closest liquor store to the park. The old reliable is La Kiva (371-2250), a wildly imaginative rock and cement cavelike edifice built into the side of Terlingua Creek, with a subterranean entrance and a spacious patio, three miles east of the ghost town of Terlingua and one and one half miles west of Study Butte. The fare consists of decent barbecue plates ($4.50—$9.50), a sixteen-ounce T-bone ($13.75), and an eight-ounce filet ($9.50), all accompanied by the familiar sides of slaw and beans. Order at the counter upon arriving. The kitchen closes at ten.
The new Starlight Theatre Restaurant and Bar (371-2326) in Terlingua has stolen much of La Kiva’s thunder. An old movie theater remodeled into an airy adobe-walled eatery with a mesquite-topped bar as centerpiece, the Starlight boasts a menu with more choices and more real green stuff on the side. Most entrées—a sixteen-ounce T-bone ($15.95), lemon chicken breast ($7.50), beef picadillo ($7), and daily specials such as Shrimp Mexicana ($8.75)—come with a lettuce salad, parsley potatoes, beans, and tortillas. Live music is booked occasionally, beginning around eight. Food service ends at nine; the bar closes at midnight. My two young boys were charmed by Angie Dean’s gracious welcome and her unsolicited recitation of Roy Rogerses, Shirley Temples, and other kiddie drinks mixed by the bartender.
Also recommended: The Desert Deli Diner (a self-proclaimed “3-D Dining Experience”), a stone’s throw from the Starlight, serving light breakfasts and lunches and evening blue plate specials for under $7; the Desert Opry, across from La Kiva, which specializes in vegetarian fare; the Badlands restaurant and bar in Lajitas; two cafes, Garcia’s and Dos Amigos, that serve hearty Mexican meals for under $5 in Paso Lajitas across the Rio Grande, accessible by rowboat ferry; Boatman’s Bar and Grill in Study Butte for hamburgers ($3) and live music at night; and the Roadrunner Deli, next to the Study Butte Store, a bright, cheery eatery done in blond pine, with a selection of gourmet coffees, including a supercharged cup of Texpresso ($1.30), fresh baked muffins ($1.50), bagels with cream cheese ($1.25), or smoked salmon ($4.95), as well as picnic lunches (crab salad, even!) to go.
Scenic Drives (Paved): One of the unique features of Big Bend is the extensive network of roads. It is extremely rare for a national park to allow so much access to interior sections. There are more than 110 miles of pavement to explore, and another 150 miles of dirt roads. Of course, Big Bend from behind the dashboard of a car is a little like looking at the Grand Canyon from an airplane—you may have seen it, but you miss the whole point of being there. To really get a feel for the land, get off the pavement and, better still, out of your car.
The eastern road to Rio Grande Village has few turnoffs as it heads through low desert that drops off gradually to the river. The main west side road, known as the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, is far more interesting, passing by some remarkably weird landmarks—the prominent Mule Ears Peak (turn off the road at the sign for the overlook), Cerro Castellan (a multihued peak that was an Indian reference point), and the smooth-surfaced, free-form Tuff Canyon (a short descent below ground level). Other short side trips lead to the old Sam Nail ranch, the Sotol Vista overlook, Blue Creek Ranch, and the Burro Mesa pouroff. The store at Castolon, originally built as an army post above the Rio Grande floodplain, sells postcards, snacks, ice-cream bars, cool drinks, and little else. “People come here expecting a 7-Eleven,” explained the man behind the counter. “They don’t realize that our milk comes from Albuquerque and our food is trucked in from Abilene.” The speed limit is 45 miles per hour, and at least one ranger is said to enjoy writing tickets.
Scenic Drives (Unpaved): Passenger cars should be able to negotiate the dirt roads that lead to Hot Springs, Dugout Wells, and Grapevine Hills. The thirteen-mile Old Maverick Road, a short-cut to Santa Elena from the west, should also present no problem. The road passes the former jacal (a low-ceilinged dugout house) of a legendary Big Bend character named Gilberto Luna, who subsisted on crops cultivated in a dry wash, fathered more than fifty children, and lived to be 108. I found two other roads passable for a Ford Tempo—the Glenn Springs road as far as Pine Canyon, and the northern road to the Harte Ranch—although both roads are officially recommended for high-clearance vehicles only. All improved dirt roads should be attempted only in dry weather at speeds under 35 miles per hour.
Some 150 miles of unimproved backcountry roads promise even more adventure, but with a high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle. Check conditions at a ranger station. Otherwise, it can be a long walk back to civilization. The most popular are the 50-mile River Road, which parallels the Rio Grande, though river views are not as common as one might think; the Glenn Springs road to the site of a Mexican bandido raid in 1916; and the 2-mile Old Ore Road shadowing the Dead Horse Mountains, in the eastern part of the park. Conditions on these roads are unpredictable because the routes go through dry washes that change with every heavy rainfall. If you’re taking the River Road avoid the side roads leading to the Rio Grande. FYI: The Panther Junction gas station has a tow truck and a mechanic who does minor repairs. Major automotive work is done in Study Butte, Terlingua, and Marathon.
Easy Walks: I’ve already covered Dugout Wells and the Window Loop Trail in the Best Sights. The Rio Grande Village Nature Trail, a three-quarter-mile loop that tracks through thick, junglelike vegetation up to an overlook, is one of the better birding locales in the park in the spring and fall. Other short walks, both on the west side of the park, lead into Tuff Canyon and to the Burro Mesa pouroff.
Short Hikes: These are moderate hikes that require some exertion but can be enjoyed by anyone in decent physical shape. In addition to Santa Elena Canyon, Boquillas Canyon, and Grapevine Hills from the Best Sights list, try the Pine Canyon and Chimneys trails. The Pine Canyon trailhead is reached via the unimproved Glenn Springs road. The 4-mile round-trip hike begins in the sotol foothills on the eastern flank of the Chisos and climbs through the grasslands about a mile before entering the narrow, lushly vegetated canyon. Pines, oaks, maples, and junipers pad the path with layers of leaves from autumns past. The trail, which rises abruptly at times inside the canyon, terminates at the base of a two-hundred-foot pouroff that turns into a spectacular waterfall following summer rains. This is a wonderfully cool and uncrowded location for a picnic. Allow two and one half to three hours round trip. The Chimneys Trail, a slightly longer, 4.8-mile round trip from the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, is notable for weird rock formations and the most interesting Indian pictographs in the park. Allow three to four hours.
Serious Treks: These are all-day or overnight ventures for properly equipped backpackers who are in good shape. Check with a ranger before attempting.
Devil’s Den, just south of Dog Canyon, is an almost three-mile walk across open desert from a pullover on the road five miles south Persimmon Gap and leads to a deep, narrow slit in the side of a desiccated slope. Despite the heat and the absence of vegetation, Hell never looked so interesting. Allow four to five hours.
Mesa de Anguila, reached from Lajitas, contains several ill-defined trails with absolutely no shade; it is recommended only during winter. So why bother? For knockout panoramas of Santa Elena Canyon from the top looking down. Allow two to three days.
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