[Travel] Big Bend National Park

ive been about 7-8 times and know it pretty well - what kind of camping are you planning on doing? there are 3 main areas for "car camping", but you can also do "primitive camping" where you park your car and hike in w/ your gear. if you dont have the gear for that kind of camping dont even bother - go car-camp style.

let me know how you are camping and how long you are staying and i can better suggest some stuff.

your post is #666 - cool.

 

I can't say I've been there, but thought I would post these fee-free entrance days :

January 15-17
(Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday weekend)

April 16-24
(National Park Week)

June 21
(First day of summer)

September 24
(Public Lands Day)

November 11-13
(Veterans Day weekend)


I know some parks are free year round, and this may be one of them, but I was too lazy to check.

Pugs

 

I went once, but I was 13 or so at the time. I remember it being pretty damn cool, but couldn't help with recommendations.

 

If you go through the Marathon entrance, make sure to stop by the Gage Hotel for a meal (breakfast is very good).

It is also kind of a cool place to spend a night.

 

cool - camping novices can do big bend - you probably dont want to primitive camp though. what you will need is a good mummy bag and a nice pad/roll-up. it will be very cold out there this time of year - ive camped in 15 degrees at big bend. you should be able to get both for about $100. if the weather is good you wont even need a tent, but if you already have one go ahead and use it. id also invest in a little propane stove. you can get a coleman one at academy for like $15 - there are more portable ones out there for $50, but ive had my coleman for 15 years and it still works great.

you should definitely try to camp in the basin - its in the middle of the park up in the mountains - beautiful area and the best part of the park for day hikes. its also the most crowded so try to go mid-week. the window is a must see (2 hour trip) and there is also a great trail called the lost mine trail which is maybe 3-4 hours. you could hike all the way to the top of emory peak, but that would be a full day.

the west side is santa elena canyon - massive rock walls that the rio grande cuts through - cool to look at, but not as much hiking. the car camping area is good though as its usually not too crowded.

the rio grande village has some great hiking. hot springs there too. just have to watch out for javellinas around there...nasty little f***ers.

 

If you want to get some information about the "nature stuff" you can go to your local REI. They offer free tutorials/classes on pretty much everything you can think of. If you're in Houston, there's a group called "Bayou City Outdoors" that you can join. They do a lot of "nature stuff." You can really learn a lot, and in a very short time.

Pugs

 

this!

After a couple days of hiking, the Gage is a great place to relax afterwards.


I love big bend. Casa Grande is a good little hike and gets pretty difficult in a few parts (there is a lot of slate rock at one point so you pretty much have to bear crawl up it so you don't slip...tip...take gloves). There is also a good hike up to a cliff (i'm forgetting thename).

There are also some great dessert hikes. Some are pretty short put take you to see some of the history of early settles there.

And don't forget to hit up Terlingua (starlight theatre for a meal is nice) and Lajitas. I'm not sure if they still have the beer drinking goat or not.

You used to be able to drive across the rio grande and there was a little mexican food shack that was cool

Tips; plenty of water (of course). If you go in the summer it will be very hot. If you have a gun it's a good idea to pack it just to be safe... they do have mountain lions

 

I've never been there, per se... but my parents told me I was concieved there. I know... gross.

 

Be sure and hook up with Victor, the singing Mexican in Boquillas Canyon. Bring him a loaf of bread, some bologna, some cheese, and a coca cola.

 

Been there a few times. I would be careful where you pitch a tent. There was one campground where updawg, myself, and our friends set up our tents and we were flooded out when the storms came as we didn't even think about it happening. Obviously, this wasn't the campsite near the main headquarters up high. This was one closer to the river. It was hilarious when we got flooded out, too. Four of us ended up trying to sleep in the car with very little room to get comfortable. We just laid down to go to sleep after eating and...BAM...here comes the wall of water. It was funny as hell, though, and made for quite the memory. Another time...the tent blew apart in the campground near the headquarters while we were out and ended up sleeping in the van.

One of our friends got up really close to the ledge at The Window after we hiked there. I swear I thought he was going to fall out the window. Just one slip. I still think about that as it scared the bejeezus out of me. We also hiked to the highest peak and did whip-its at the top. lol

 

that's always sound advice