In the National Park
Santa Elena Canyon
Some visitors see Big Bend National Park from rafts, canoes or kayaks along 118 miles of the Rio Grande (literally, Great River). Others see it from car or jeep windows while driving 175 miles of roads or on foot on the 200-mile network of trails. Others try mountain and road biking. Rock climbing is also popular.
Informative lectures and activities about the geology, archeology, botany, zoology and history of the region are available.
Big Bend National Park
PO Box 129
Big Bend National Park, TX 79834
(432) 477-2251
Far Flung Outdoor Center.
PO Box 377
Terlingua, TX 79852
(800) 839-7238
www.farflungoutdoorcenter.com
The Park Next Door
Photo courtesy of Earl Nottingham, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
Big Bend Ranch State Park occupies 300,000 largely wilderness acres abutting the Rio Grande River just west of the national park. It was a working ranch from the 1870s until 1988, when the State of Texas bought the land and created the park. The hub of this park is the Saucedo Complex, where some services are available. In the main, though, it's the canyons, volcanoes, mountain ranges, desert and cultural remains from prehistoric and more recent cultures that interest visitors. Campgrounds--developed, primitive and dispersed--are situated throughout the park. Lodging is available at the Big House or Sauceda Lodge Bunkhouse.
Big Bend Ranch State Park
PO Box 2319
Presidio TX 79845
(432) 358-4444
Around the Area, Part 1
Photo courtesy of Eric Leonard, NPS
There's more to West Texas than two enormous parks. Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center sits at the west entrance to Big Bend Ranch State Park. Its interpretive center gives information about 570 million years and five biological landscapes of the Chihuahan Desert, the Big Bend area. Fort Leaton State Historic Site preserves and displays a trading post from western settler years.
Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center
HC 70, Box 375
Terlingua TX 79852
(432) 424-3327
Fort Leaton State Historic Site
PO Box 2319
Presidio TX 79845
(432) 229-3613
Around the Area, Part 2
Photo courtesy of ojinaga.com
Onetime mining town Terlingua now is a thriving artists' community. Study Butte, before its demise, mined mercury. Lajitas Spa and Resort offers a palette of luxurious services and vacation packages.
A ferry named "Enchilada" crosses between Boquillas, Texas, USA and Boquillas del Carmen, Coahuila, Mexico. A cantina, a hot springs and a winsome dog provide color.
Because the actual town of Paris, Texas is not in desert country, the 1984 movie was filmed in picturesque Marathon, Texas. Those bored in Big Bend, might try soaring in Marfa, which may have been named for a Dostoevsky character in The Brothers Karamazov.
Terlingua, Study Butte, Lajitas
Big Bend Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 607
Terlingua, Texas 79852
Marathon
www.marathontexas.net
Lajitas Spa
HC 70, Box 400
Lajitas, Texas 79852
(432) 424-5000
www.lajitas.com
