Big Bend National Park on a Budget
I had been thinking about making the trek out to The Big Bend National Park for a while now. Coming from the Houston area the idea didn’t seem too far out of reach. With the kids on summer vacation and rumors of the park possibly closing for renovations; it was now or never.
After doing some research, I felt I had a pretty good grasp of what the park had to offer. From what I gathered, Big Bend National Park has a lot of scenic hiking trails and is one of the darkest places in the United States. Making it an awesome destination for star gazing.
Ideally any other season besides summer would have been preferable. I was gambling, it was still early enough in the season, when the heat wasn’t going to become too much of a factor. So, I put in for some time off from work and started planning.
There are certain factors that need to be taken into consideration if you’re planning to make a trip out there. It seems, the closer you get to the park, the farther away from civilization you’ll be. That means spotty cell phone signal at best, and you certainly do not want to run out of fuel or water.
Renting an RV had appeal. But given the fact that there are parts of the park a large RV can’t access; it didn’t seem practical. The price of gas certainly helped with the decision too. Instead, I decided renting a mid-size vehicle was the way to go.
Giving several days to explore the park; I estimated the entire trip could be done in about 5 to 7 days. The route I had planned to take was 90 west out to Terlingua. The trip one way would take about 11 hours. The plan was to drive halfway then stop for the night.
After securing the rental, the next order of priority would be accommodation. Judging from the route I had planned to take it seemed like the town of Del Rio, Texas was the perfect stopping point. Situated about halfway between Houston and Big Bend National Park. I didn’t want to stop too early and still have a lot of driving to do the next day. Yet, I didn’t want to push too far, only to run out of options.
For our trip, we stayed at The Hampton Inn, In Del Rio. The shopping center and the Walmart are within walking distance of the hotel which was a big plus. They also served a complimentary breakfast which we took advantage of.
Terlingua, Texas is an old mining town just outside the park. If you’re not planning to stay within the park itself it is arguably; the best alternative as far as food, gas, and sleeping accommodations.
Ideally, I wanted the trip to go like this: Spend 1 night in Terlingua. Spend 1 night camping in the park. Then spend the next night back in Terlingua, before heading back.
There are a few viable options when it comes to places to stay out in Terlingua. For us the Big Bend Station Hotel was the logical choice. So, I made reservations for the nights we weren’t planning to stay in the park.
The staff at the Big Bend Station were very friendly. The only downside of our stay there was a power outage that we experienced. It turned out to be a regionwide issue. They did offer to refund us if we decided to leave, which I thought was a nice gesture. Thankfully that lasted for only a few hours.
I really wanted to spend at least 1 night outdoors under the stars. Even if we had to brave the elements. To stay within the park itself, there really are only 2 option. The Chisos Basin Campground and The Rio Grande Village Campground.
After doing some research I decided the Chisos Basin Campground was the clearest winner. Mainly because some of the best hiking trails the park has to offer are in and around, The Chisos Mountains.
With school being out and the plan being made so close to the trip; I worried securing a spot would be an issue. I was pleasantly surprised to find out there were still some spots available.
Reserving a campsite is straightforward. You just go to the website (Recreation.gov). They have a system in place where some of the campsites are available to reserve now and some are reserved and will open later. To accommodate last minute travelers.
The rates are a bargain. The campground is split into 2 sections. Generator and non-generator. It is important to note that there was a “No open fire policy”. At least when we were there. Propane fire for cooking only. Which was fine because we weren’t planning on cooking our food anyway.
Like any trip, nothing ever goes according to plan. The trick is being able to adapt. The Santa Elena Canyon Trail was a hike I was really looking forward to doing. When we got there, we found out, that it was closed indefinitely. Apparently, there was a really bad storm that had washed out the road to get there. That was a little disappointing, but it opened up other opportunities.
We decided to attempt the “Windows Trail” instead. It wasn’t on the list because of its questionable difficulty level. The trail is one that is all downhill one way and all uphill coming back.
The Rangers warned us to bring a lot of water as it is notorious for people running into trouble. Sure enough, as we were reaching the end of our hike; we did run into a couple that ended up needing assistance. We were able to complete the trail with no issues.
That night was spent in the campground. I was really looking forward to doing a little star gazing. Unfortunately, I had inadvertently planned our trip during a full moon. Which made for less-than-ideal conditions. Oh well, I guess that gives me a reason to come back to the park on day.
The night was hot but tolerable. I was also undecided if those strong late night desert winds were a blessing or a curse. Regardless, our tent held up and made it through the night.
The next morning, we packed up and spent the day, sightseeing. We headed east towards The Rio Grande Village and topped off our fuel at the little store there. Then we went off in search of the “Hot Springs”.
It wasn’t too difficult to locate and when we got there, we were lucky enough to have it all to ourselves. I’m sure the summer heat had a lot to do with it. We did enjoy sitting in the 100-degree water for a little bit before cooling off in the Rio Grande River.
Even though the “Santa Elena Canyon Trail” was closed; the drive down there on the “Ross Maxwell Highway” was still worth doing. If just to take in the beautiful scenery.
The highlight of our trip was hiking the Lost Mine Trail. We made sure to get there early because of the limited parking and avoided the mid-day heat. It took us about 90 minutes to reach the summit, but it was worth it. After hanging out for a bit and taking a lot of pictures, we headed back down the mountain.
From there we started our drive back home. We stopped back in Del Rio for another night before returning to Houston safely. Measuring cost to value I couldn’t have been more pleased with how this trip turned out. We had an amazing time! – Sean Cusp
