Big Bend National Park is the crown jewel of Texas, and many state residents name it as their favorite outdoor place even though it’s a very long drive for almost everyone. That’s actually part of the appeal; it truly feels far away from it all. If you make a visit, you’ll enjoy adding some of the following items to your itinerary.
Dagger Flat
A scenic well-maintained dirt road leaves the main park road and leads to Dagger Flat. There, you’ll find a grove of huge dagger yuccas. Try to catch them blooming in the spring.
Fossil Bone Exhibit
Kids love this stop right off the main road, but adults can enjoy it, too. The centerpiece feature here is a multi-room building with life-size murals depicting various stages of life on Earth and the animals that inhabited the Big Bend area at the time.
Panther Junction Visitor Center
Stop here to learn more about the park, its history, and what to do there. It’s also one of only two places in the park where you can get gas (the other is at Rio Grande Village).
Dugout Wells
In the early 1900s, ranchers and farmers built a community here. Remnants exist today, and it’s a good place to learn about how settlers made a living here.
Ernst Tinaja
A dirt road rough in some places leads several miles to the trailhead for this feature. It’s a natural basin that usually has water in it, making it a critical oasis for wildlife.
Boquillas Canyon
Down at the far end of the road to Rio Grande Village is where you’ll find the short, easy trail to the start of this canyon. It’s a beautiful canyon and a popular spot on hot days. Be aware that if you cross the main channel here and anywhere else on the Rio Grande, you’ve illegally entered Mexico. Enforcement is unlikely, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Indian Head
The road to this spot leaves from the tiny community of Study Butte just outside the park’s southwestern entrance. An easy trail leads to sandstone formations that have petroglyphs carved by ancient Native Americans.
Terlingua
Terlingua is actually outside the park, but it’s a popular stop for visitors. Once a mining town, it’s now a ghost town and, since 1967, the site of a famous annual chili cookoff.
Chimneys Trail
This mostly flat trail takes off from the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. It’s not a very exciting hike unless wildflowers are in bloom, but it leads to sandstone outcrops with ancient petroglyphs that are worth seeing.
Tuff Canyon
Tuff is hardened volcanic ash that gets cemented together. It’s usually quite brittle, so don’t try climbing on it, but it’s pretty and you can wander along dry washes through the formations.
Santa Elena Canyon
Maybe the most popular attraction in the park, don’t come here for solitude unless it’s at sunrise, which is actually the best time to be here because the Rio Grande reflects the glowing cliffs surrounding the area. A trail leads a short distance into the canyon, but you can also go to Lajitas outside the park and sign up for a float trip through it.
Lost Mine Trail
The parking is sparse here, so get here early or plan to walk a long way to the trailhead. This scenic hike is moderately difficult and leads to a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains and a gap revealing vistas of miles and miles of empty desert.
The Window
The Window is a notch between two peaks in the Basin area of the Chisos Mountains. A moderately strenuous trail gets you there, where there are excellent views across the desert. Many others enjoy viewing the Window at sunset from roadside overlooks, especially during times of year when the sun sets directly behind it.
Emory Peak and the South Rim
Emory Peak is the highest peak in the park, and the South Rim has the best views in the park. A network of trails in the Chisos Mountains connects them.
Mariscal Canyon
You’ll need high clearance and four-wheel drive to reach the trail to this canyon, the most remote of the park’s three along the Rio Grande and the narrowest and steepest as well. The experience is different from the other two because the trail leads to the rim of the canyon, not into the canyon itself.
15 Must-Dos on Your Next Trip to Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border makes a lot of lists of the most beautiful places in America. There’s also a lot to do there, with a wide range of outdoor recreation, great dining, resorts, nightlife, and more. If it’s your first time going or if you’re going back, consider adding some of the following places to your itinerary.
15 Must-Dos on Your Next Trip to Lake Tahoe
The World’s 5 Friendliest and 5 Unfriendliest Cities
Some cities welcome visitors and want them to be there. Other cities are rude to visitors and would just as soon see you leave. It can be jarring to be in an unfriendly city, though some of the world’s most enticing cities rank high on the rudeness scale.
When you visit a friendly city, it’s much easier to soak in the culture and meet the locals. Rough Guides readers voted on the cities for their level of friendliness. According to Rough Guides, these are the world’s friendliest and unfriendliest cities.
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