Texas

Terrain // Campground + Dessert + River | Cost // $18/night | Our Rating // 9

Overview

We only planned on staying in Big Bend National Park for a weekend, but as soon as we showed up at our campsite and saw the mountains, we decided we needed to stay for at least a week! Big Bend is 1,252 mi² with lodging at Chisos Mountain Lodge, and camping at Chisos Basin, Rio Grande Village, and Cottonwood Campgrounds. There are also backcountry permits available at visitor centers. It’s located right on the border of southern Texas and Mexico. There are 245 miles of Rio Grande river access for recreational use. It was heartening that this was the only thing separating the U.S. and Mexico. No border walls. No armed guards. Just nature. It felt welcoming.

Places Stayed

Rio Grande Village Campground // This is where we spent most of our stay. It’s a very nice and large campground with some tree coverage. There's a little store nearby for any groceries or provisions you may need, along with a couple of shower stations and laundry. There are so many trails nearby! It's a great location to get to many places.

Chisos Basin Campground // 10/10 highly recommend it! This campground is located in the center of several huge mountains. The drive into the campgrounds is mind-boggling. We would have stayed here the entire time, but it’s not accommodating for trailers over 20ft and RVs over 24 ft due to sharp curves and steep grades. We only did one trail, but we watched a gorgeous sunset between the mountains. Let me tell you, stargazing here was absolutely breathtaking. Big Bend is a gold-tier Dark Sky Park, so the stars were unimaginable. We slept in the back of our truck for the night. If you’re not into camping, the Chisos Mountains Lodge is close by.

Where we booked // Recreation.gov + we purchased a National Park Pass from a visitor center.

Excursions

Boquillas del Carmen // This small Mexican town is very close to Rio Grande Village Campground. One afternoon, we crossed over at the Port of Entry to visit the city. Some workers row you across in a paddle boat, or you can wade across if the river’s low enough. From there we rode over on donkeys! We had a tour guide named, Martín. We listened to the details and history of the town and bought a little shot glass from his daughter. Here we had a couple cervezas y margaritas. It was a good place to practice my Spanish.

Hiking

According to, All Trails, there are 90 hikes in Big Bend National Park! We made it to four… Needless to say, we’ll be back again to keep exploring this park!

The Window Trail

We started this trail a bit late, so we turned back early to make sure we got back before dark. There were a ton of great views of the mountains at Chisos Basin. We’d love to return to this one and finish it the next time we’re here.

Big Bend Hot Springs Trail

This was pretty awesome. We didn’t see anyone else on the little one miler until we got to the springs. Here we got to sit in it for a while, and it was just like a hot tub! It’s literally right inside the Rio Grande River. Amazing.

Rio Grande Village Nature Trail

This trail is located right outside the campgrounds. It winds through a small wetland with benches to watch birds at sunrise or sunset. There’s a decent-sized hill that’s a perfect spot to watch the sunset over the river.

Boquillas Canyon Trail

This is a very short, in-and-out hike, but totally worth the views! We even got to see some free range/ wild horses.

Tips:

No cell service. We had pretty much zero cell service during our stay. We do have Starlink, so we were able to have access to the internet with no issues.

Check the weather. Even though this is a desert, it got incredibly cold at night. If you plan on staying a few days, make sure you pack the appropriate gear to brave the high and the low temperatures!

Try to avoid a full moon. The highlight of our trip was stargazing. We’re lucky we didn’t show up during a full moon or else the stars would have been washed out by the moonlight.