South Texas, Big Bend Area

[paulcarson]

In April we are heading to the Big Bend area of south Texas.

First couple of nights will be spent in San Antonio to visit our son and his family. Any suggestions about what to do, what not to do, etc about Big Bend.

[wolfe10]

First question is how long your rig is. That will determine whether you can access the Basin.

Brett

[paulcarson]

First question is how long your rig is. That will determine whether you can access the Basin.

Brett

29' Class C. On this trip I will not be towing Saturn...traveling with friends with 5 wheeler.

[wolfe10]

You might start by looking at this thread: http://community.fmca.com/index.php?showto...;Big+Bend\

And with those two rigs, the only CG that would be ruled out would be the Basin because of the switchbacks.

Brett

[paulcarson]

You might start by looking at this thread: http://community.fmca.com/index.php?showto...;Big+Bend\

Brett

Thanks! That was very informative. I do appreciate the info.....

[Xplorer]

Big Bend National Park Campgrounds.

The above link will give you some info on the BB NPS Campgrounds.

There are 2 road entrances into the Park. If you come in from the North through Marathon, which most folks do coming from the north or east, after entering the entrance station is a Visitors Center, they will have detailed information on the campgrounds, and availability at the RG Village and Castolon.

About 25 miles from the entrance station is BB Headquarters and another visitors center which will also have campground availability posted.

RV Village has a full hookup, parking lot style RV Sites, operated by a concession. Also, RGV has an NPS Campground without hookups with an areas set aside for generator and non-generator sites. Potable water and dump station is available. Restrooms are also available, but no shower facilities or hot water. RG V has about 100 sites, with large rig parking available.

RGV is about 20 miles from Park Headquarters.

Castolon is even more rustic, no generator use is allowed at Cottonwood Campground in Castolon. Pit Toilets, and potable water is available. No Shower facilities. Cottonwood has 24 camp sites, with sites that allow large rig parking. Castolon is about 40+ miles from Park Headquaters.

There is a small convenience store at both locations. RGV has free wifi at the store, propane and gas station.

There is a small grocery in Study Butte outside the west entrance of the park, and at least a 2 hour drive to Alpine/Presidio both have a thrifway grocery store.

Plan on attending Ranger Programs, they will greatly enhance the quality of your visit. General Public Scheduled Ranger led programs are Free. You will discover that you will become interested in topis in which you had no interest. They do a great job.

Chisos Basin, has a lodge and resturant with free wifi, visitors center and convenient store.

Have fun.

[dqcarol@verizon.net]

We generally come in from Marathon. When visiting Big Bend, we found it helpful to stay first at the Stillwell Ranch RV Park. They are a fascinating family with a very long ranching history in the Big Bend area. They have a large area with water and electric hookups and a dump station. We were happy to park there with our motor homes and drive the short distance to the park in our tow vehicles, choose a site that would accommodate our rig and THEN make the final trip to the park campground. There is no diesel in the park, and fuel is pricey. We didn't want to get all the way down there only to find that there were no spaces available! Once in the park and settled, I can tell you that it is just a magical place. Can't wait to return.

[Roodriver]

Check out http://www.recreation.gov for campground maps and availability.

The best wildlife times are early in the AM and late in the PM.

I would also advise hiking boots.

This is the most fascinating area we have been to (retired science teachers), but you must be willing to walk a bit.

Ward

[skyking8]

Just a minor note from a Texan. Big Bend is in west Texas as opposed to south Texas.

Get a Texas Travel Guide from the Department of Tourism website. It's free for the asking and extremely helpful for touring the state. If you have time, I would recommend a stop in Fredericksburg and do some walking of the downtown area. You won't be disappointed. Then there is LBJ ranch which is more or less along the way from SA.

McDonald's Observatory is a nice addition to a visit to Big Bend. There are other attractions in the Big Bend area that you might find worthwhile. I say "in the Big Bend area" but know that it's a 100 mile radius. Again, the Travel Guide will be helpful in determining what you might want to put on your list.

Early April will be the wild flower season. Lots of Kodak moments!!! Make time to pull off the road and take pictures.

Don't forget the beef (not pork) BBQ and Mexican food.

[gmoreno]

A 1/2 +/- hours drive east from Big Bend is a sleepy ghost town that has resurrected itself....called "Terlingua." Great eats and sights. Think of this town as a hybrid between Sedona, AZ and Santa Fe, N.M. but smaller. ...here's link to the town website to help you decided if it is worth exploring. Oh yea, huge gala for Chili Cook-off once a year. Type in Terlingua Texas on your Google search bar and review some of the hits that you get. You might get a better flavor of Terlingua.

http://www.historic-terlingua.com/historic...hostown_001.htm

You can also go tubing down the large basin of the Rio Grande, and launch off at Terlingua. There are guides and such that you can find at Terlingua that take and pick you up. Water flows very slow, so it's not like shooting a Cat 4 rapid down the Colorado River.

Good luck!

gmoreno (Robert)

[elkhartjim]

Terlingua is on the west side of the National Park and east of the state park. I would highly recommend the drive from Terlingua to Presido that follows the Rio Grande River. As I recall the hwy is FM 170...great scenery. If you should travel north from this area a night or two at the Davis Mountains state park is recommended also. Don't forget about the mysterious Marfa lights either. The star gazing program at the McDonald Observatory is great also.

Enjoy the great wide open spaces and you may never see stars as bright and as close as you will will in west Texas.

[tbutler]

The first time we traveled this area I was amazed at how little traffic there is on the roads in West Texas. There are so few vehicles on some of these roads that the professional truckers wave at you! Now that's a rare experience!

I would just second all of the above. We've been to Big Bend several times and would enjoy returning any time. If you have a 4WD vehicle there are remote areas to be explored. We spent a whole day driving the "road" that parallels the Rio Grande. There is spectacular scenery and an old mining site along that road. This area is virtually inaccessible any other way. Like RooDriver we enjoyed the hiking. There are many spectacular areas to be explored.