Big Bend National Park east desert · East desert in Big Bend National Park
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East desert in Big Bend National Park
East desert in Big Bend National Park
Chihuahuan Desert Nature Trail. Easy (0.5 mi / 0.8 km round-trip). A pleasant jaunt through a particularly lush section of desert; a windmill is nearby. Located at the end of the Dugout Wells turn-off, about 5 mi east of Panther Junction.
Rio Grande Village Natural Trail. Easy (0.75 mi / 1.2 km round-trip). Short and easy; an excellent showcase of one of Big Bend's 3 major ecosystems ? the river. Another good place for sunset views. The trail-head is located past the Rio Grande Village visitor center; make your way to the southeast corner and find campsite #18 (there should be signs). May be temporarily closed if there has been recent heavy flooding.
Boquillas Canyon Trail. Easy (1.4 mi / 2.2 km round-trip). A great, relatively short and easy hike that goes into the mouth of Boquillas Canyon. There is a short hike up a hill and then a descent towards the river and the canyon, through sand and lots of rocks (trail may be washed out after flooding; no problem, just find your own trail towards the canyon). Although impressive, it is perhaps less wow-inducing than the more popular Santa Elena Canyon (but also less crowded) so you may want to consider hiking this trail first if you plan on doing both. On the road towards Rio Grande Village, there will be a well-marked side-road that leads to the trail-head.
Ernst Tinaja. Easy (1.4 mi / 2.2 km round-trip). Another relatively short and easy hike that takes you on a scenic journey to a large tinaja; a large natural hole in the rocks that holds water. This is definitely a great hike to take if you can make it to the trail-head; a high-clearance vehicle is required. On the way to the Rio Grande Village there will be a well-marked turn-off for Old Ore Road (unpaved), take it and drive until you see the Ernst Tinaja turn-off (there is also a primitive campsite there) ? this is the fastest route.
Hot Springs Canyon Trail. Easy to Moderate depending on trail-head (1.0 mi / 1.6 km round-trip from Hot Springs Road or 3.0 mi / 4.8 km round-trip from Rio Grande Village). A pretty trail that shadows the Rio Grande to the historic village of Hot Springs, where you'll find several abandoned ruins along with the springs themselves. There are also Indian pictographs and side-trails to other springs nearby. There are two trail-heads; one at either end of the trail with the Springs in between. The shorter is at the end of Hot Springs Road and is preferred if you are more interested in the springs than the hike. The trail-head for the longer hike is in the Rio Grande Village area (look for the Daniels Ranch); it can get particularly hot in the warmer months.
Pine Canyon Trail. Moderate (4.0 mi / 6.4 km round-trip). A scenic, moderately difficult hike that leads from the desert to Pine Canyon where, if there's been any rain, you'll find the crowd-pleasing Pine Canyon Falls. A high-clearance vehicle is required to reach trail-head; on the main road towards Rio Grande Village there will be a well-marked turn-off for Glenn Spring Road. Follow it until you reach the junction with Pine Canyon Road, then follow it to the end to get to the trail-head.
Ore Terminal Trail. Strenuous (8.0 mi / 12.9 km round-trip). A tough trail through isolated desert scenery that showcases many impressive old mining ruins along the way. The marked trail-head can be found along the Boquillas Canyon road, near the Boquillas Canyon Overlook turn-off (the Marufo Vega trail-head is also found here). Path-finding required.
Marufo Vega Trail. Strenuous (14.0 mi / 22.5 km round-trip). An even tougher trail through truly breathtaking desert scenery. The marked trail-head can be found along the Boquillas Canyon road, near the Boquillas Canyon Overlook turn-off (the Ore Terminal trail-head is also found here). As with any long desert trail, it's a bad ? and potentially deadly ? idea to hike it in the summer. Lots of path-finding is required ? see here and inquire at the park before undertaking.
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Big Bend National Park Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
