Big Bend National Park is a hidden gem in the southwest part of Texas. Its a mix of desert, mountains, and river. Its so beautiful and has a ton of variety its almost like your in an entirely new place! We spent two days here and we had a great time! We started our day off driving the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.
This drive is breathtaking while it takes you through the geological wonders of Big Bend! There are several scenic overlooks that are worth stopping for the views. The Sotol Vista and Mule Ears Overlook are just a few of the overlooks that you should stop at!
The end of this drive will lead you to the Santa Elena Canyon
Santa Elena Canyon
We got there about 8 am and the parking lot was already 1/2 full. It gets very busy so if you can get in the morning its worth it! Also golden hour with the sunsrise is beautiful!
This amazing canyon has limestone cliffs that rises 1500 feet, split by the Rio Grande river and is the natural border for Mexico and the United States
Its a beautiful hike thats 1.7 miles and is a trail that goes along the United States side of the cliffs and river
The trail starts out flat and you brings to the river and close up view of the cliffs. From there the trail goes across the Terilunga Creek and goes up the hill and along side the river. Highly recommend this hike its worth it!
When we went the creek was pretty low so we were able to go up a little ways and cross the creek where we didn't have to get our feet wet. There are some switchback steps you have to hike up but the rest of the trail is pretty flat.
Dorgan-Sublett Trail is an easy to moderate 1 mile out and back trail that is unique as it takes you through the old remenats of early 1900's homesteads. The history behind them is pretty fascianting as the whole valley used to be farm land. Stop if you have time!
Lost Mine Trail is a moderate 4.8 mile hike in the Chisos Basin part of Big Bend! You'll gain 1,100 ft in elevation gain over 2.4 miles to the top! It took us about 3 hours from start to finish! We did this hike on our second day and started about 7:30 am and got done around 10:30am with spending some time up at the top.
The trailhead gets very busy so get there early, youll also beat the heat to! If the parking lot is full there are a few pull offs farther down the road you can park at but you'll add about 1/4 to 1/2 mile on hike so keep that in mind. We ended up hiking 5.5 miles total because we parked in the pull off down the road.
It starts off with a mild incline and starts getting a little steeper and you'll get to switchbacks for the rest hike. There are plenty of amazing views along the whole hike!
The upper part of the hike is steeper, and has some rock scrambling but take breaks as needed and the views are very rewarding!
There are no bathrooms at the trailhead or on the trail so keep that in mind!
Bring plenty of water as it is a steeper, longer hike as it can get hot even in November. You'll definitely want water!
Even though this trail can get really busy keep an eye out for bears and mountain lions in the area so just be aware!
This is an awesome trail if you have time to hike it!
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