Catherine Cantu
- Jun 4, 2021
- 9 min read

Big Bend Ranch State Park & Big Bend National Park

Updated: Sep 6, 2022

I headed to Big Bend Ranch State Park and Big Bend National Park for Memorial Day Weekend with Alex and some of our other friends from our apartment complex! A few of the girls booked us an Airbnb for a few nights in March, and we ended up having to reschedule our trip for this past weekend. Originally, they didn't realize the Airbnb they booked was closer to the State Park than the National Park either. Both instances ended up being "happy accidents." Because of the weekend change, Alex was able to come along, and seeing some of the State Park was incredible because it's underrated but stunning, vast, peaceful, and less heavily trafficked compared to the National Park. The Airbnb we stayed at was called Los Alamos Ranch Guest House and was a short drive away from the State Park. Our host Stela was so nice, patient, accommodating, and helpful, and her place is perfect for a bigger group of people and is well kept. I would stay there again although you do have to drive down a long gravel road to get there.

Link to Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/39423455?source_impression_id=p3_1622686912_yKcbZuWFRUCfO8n6&guests=1&adults=1

TIP: Google Maps allows you to download offline maps, and I highly recommend downloading several for routes you know you're going to take. We had done so before heading out that way, and it saved us a few times. Service is so spotty, if not non-existent, in the State Park and in some areas of the National Park.

Friday, May 28, 2021

Friday was a travel day from San Antonio to the Airbnb. We had to drive through Marfa on the way there, so not only did we stop for lunch, but we drove to the iconic Prada art installation to snap a few pictures. We had lunch at Para Llevar, which was delicious. They had the coolest mural on the side of the building with a flying saucer beaming up tiny pizza slices, and their bathroom was basically an outhouse but was the nicest outhouse I've ever used with a funny blurb stating "no couples." We got a good laugh out of that, and you have to wonder if they were being tongue-in-cheek. They're known for their pizza, but Alex and I both got a sandwich that we loved. It was a rendition of a BLT but with fatty, thick, amazing bacon and a creamy sauce. Sarah Beth and I got their Frose, which I didn't like at first. It was $10 for a smuall cup, which I thought was a little potent and overpriced. After the first sip, the taste grew on me, and it was actually quite refreshing and worth the money. I'd have gotten a second one if we'd planned to stick around there for a bit longer. Para Llevar is located at 113 South Dean St., Marfa, TX 79843.

https://www.marfaparallevar.com

Next, we walked to Al Campo Wine Garden and Rustic Bistro to split a bottle of wine before heading onto the Prada art installation. The patio was so cute, and the wine was delicious. They had just opened for the day when we got there, so we had the patio nearly to ourselves. Al Campo is located at 200 S Russell Street, Marfa, TX 79843.

https://www.alcampomarfa.com

Prada Marfa is located at 14880 US-90, Valentine, TX 79854. There is plenty of room to temporarily park your vehicle on either side of the highway giving you the opportunity to get out and take your pictures. The installation is famous, so you may have to wait your turn. Alex and Austin didn't understand the appeal, but the girls were all excited to see the "storefront" and were happy the boys obliged.

After our detour to Prada Marfa, we headed to the Airbnb for the night to unpack and get situated for the rest of the weekend. We watched the sun set on the patio and stepped outside after the sun went down to experience why the parks are both considered International Dark Sky Parks. It's impossible to explain just how peaceful it is to look up at a cloudless sky and see an infinite number of stars so clearly. I played around with the new night feature iPhone cameras have and snapped what I think turned out to be be a pretty cool picture.

Photo Cred: Jay

Saturday, May 29, 2021

Because we stayed closer to the State Park, we decided to just do one day exploring the National Park. We knew from the beginning that Saturday would be an incredibly long day with a lot of driving involved. With the help of my Uncle Frank's recommendations, we mapped out which route to go and what sights to see in advance. On the agenda for Saturday was the Window View Trail, the Lost Mine Trail, and Santa Elena Canyon. The entrance station we drove through from Terlingua was closed because of the pandemic, so we drove straight to the Chisos Basin Visitor's Center. We had two national park passes with us, so we didn't have to pay the $30 entrance fee/vehicle, but currently, if you do need to pay it, you would do so at the Panther Junction Visitor's Center. As a group, we did the Window View Trail, which is just an easy, quick 0.3 mi loop if you want to see the famous view that quite literally looks like a window between two mountains. If you have more time, you can do the Window Trail (moderate difficulty), which is a very popular 5.2 mi out and back trail. Both the Window View and the Window Trailheads are accessible from the Chisos Basin Visitor's Center parking lot.

Above pictures taken off of FM 170.

Window View Trail

Lost Mine Trail

Lost Mine Trail is a short drive away from the Chisos Basin Visitor's Center, but parking at the trailhead can be a bit tricky. You may have to drive around for a minute looking for a suitable place to park and then backtrack some on foot to the trailhead. This one is a 4.8 mi out and back trail classified as moderate difficulty. The trail ended up being slightly more challenging than I'd anticipated because of all of the switchbacks and uphill climbing you do, but the views were oh so worth it. The downhill descent is much quicker and easier. I did learn on this hike that it's time for me to invest in some new hiking boots! I didn't realize mine were almost 5 years old until my feet started hurting earlier than they should have on this hike. Sarah Beth suggested I invest in some Merrel's as hers are holding up quite nicely, so I have plans to look into that.

May is when it really starts to heat up in West Texas. There was an extreme heat advisory sign posted outside of this trail advising you should be off the trail by 10 am. We got there a little before, if not at, noon. Most of us were from the South and knew we could handle it as we'd been dealing with it all our lives. We'd talked to park ranger who highly recommended the trail and didn't give us any warnings about the heat, so as a group, we decided to proceed with the hike. Mostly everyone faired okay except for one of our friends who ended up getting heat exhaustion. My warning is pay attention to the posted signs in the park. Only you know your body and what it can handle, so speak up if you're worried! If you're in good company, you'll be taken care of with no judgment. Staying extremely hydrated doesn't hurt either, and a lot of us had on UV protective clothing. I wore a Patagonia shirt that was so breathable and comfortable that even though it was 3/4 length sleeves, I didn't get overheated. I would do this trail again in a heartbeat.

Santa Elena Canyon Trail

A few of our friends headed back to the Airbnb, so only a few of us made it to this hike. We had to take the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive to get there, which I'd wanted to see anyway. Oh my goodness, I could not get over how beautiful the whole stretch of the drive was. When I researched Big Bend, I read there was a possibility of seeing wild horses or donkeys. I didn't think I'd actually get to see either, but three horses crossed our path when we were heading to the next trailhead. Talk about dreams come true.

Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive

Photo Cred: Sarah

Santa Elena Canyon Trail is a 1.5 mi out and back trail that is probably the coolest hike I've done to date. You have to cross a section of the Rio Grande (the water was about knee high for me) to even get to the trailhead. I worry about getting into any water where you can't see what's in it after my sister stepped on a sea urchin on a trip to Puerto Rico, but the water was a good temperature, not too hot or cold, and all I stepped on was a lot of mud and a few rocks. This was one of those hikes where you end up in one of the coolest spots without really knowing what you're about to find, a swimming hole in the Rio Grande in between two huge canyon walls. We met a very nice couple that we talked to for a minute, and they took a few group pictures for us. Thanks to them, we now have these incredible pictures of us thoroughly enjoying our time there. We thought we were in Mexico for a while until we got back to the parking area and looked at the map.

I cannot write about this trip without mentioning Old Maverick Road. We were trying to figure out the fastest way to get back to the Airbnb, and we had two options: a 4 hour journey back or a significantly shorter journey involving Old Maverick Road. We chose the shorter option, but as Alex was turning onto it, I said, "Hey, that sign says 4 wheel drive required." No one else saw it, and they didn't quite believe me until they looked at the sign when we came out on the other side. The road was 14 mi long, and about a quarter of a mile into it, Sarah and I suggested we turn around and deal with the 4 hour journey. Alex and Chaz were committed at this point, and so we kept going. For reference, we were in a Toyota Camry, and Alex's car is now named "Maverick." The only reason we made it through was because of how dry it was outside, and Alex took it slow and avoided sharp rocks as best he could. About halfway down the road, we ran into other folks and asked about the condition of the road from the way that they came. They said it wasn't bad and laughed and said, "But, this is a Subaru!" I was so grateful to get back at a decent time because I knew Sunday would be another long day. On our way back, we got to see an incredible thunderstorm contained to a specific set of clouds off in the distance. Chaz got way cooler footage of that than I could.

Sunday, May 30, 2021

On Sunday, we decided to explore some of Big Bend Ranch State Park (BBRSP) because it was much closer to where we were staying. For BBRSP, you simply leave $5 in an envelope at the first trailhead you visit that day unless you have a Texas State Park's pass. In that case, you just write your pass information on a slip. You don't need 4 wheel drive for a lot of the park although the majority of getting around within it involves gravel roads. If you don't have a vehicle with 4WD, look for the signs for the roads that say it's required and avoid them; we didn't have an issue getting around. I would love to go back to BBRSP and explore more of the center of it as we only did two trails towards the bottom of the park off of FM 170, Closed Canyon Trail and Hoodoos Trail.

Closed Canyon Trail

We got a little bit of a later start on Sunday, but first on the list of things to do was Closed Canyon Trail. Sarah had been saying she wanted to do this trail since we first started discussing heading to Big Bend, and we are so glad we did. It is a 1.4 mi out and back trail that is in between two canyon walls that are quite close together. This trail is also up there on my list of favorites I've done in my life. It involves careful footing and slippery rocks, so I would suggest wearing shoes with good grips. Even though it looked like you could go farther into the canyon, we reached a sign saying "End of Trail" because going any further was too treacherous. It was a little bit of a work out, but I would classify the trail as easy. We ran into one guy doing this one with his family, and he was carrying a toddler on his shoulders - color me impressed.

Hoodoos Trail

Hoodoos Trail is an easy 1.2 mi loop right next to the Rio Grande, and the view from the parking lot where the trail begins is stunning. We strayed off of this trail and spent most of our time exploring the Hoodoos, columns of weathered rocks, and the riverbank. We ate lunch at the picnic table by the trailhead before heading back to the Airbnb for the afternoon.

Sunday night was spent enjoying burgers, playing games, and watching the sunset and later the stars. Our weekend was so much fun, and I can't wait to head back to Big Bend one day in the future to do more exploring.