Big Bend National Park Hiking Tour

Nestled in the southwest corner of Texas, Big Bend is situated along a 107-mile stretch of the Rio Grande, including that point where the river turns sharply to the north (hence, its name, “Big Bend”). This section of the Rio Grande is protected as a Wild and Scenic River and the spectacular limestone gorges through which the river flows are among the astonishing, varied natural features contained within the park’s boundaries. The vast Chihuahan Desert, extending northward from Mexico, dominates a considerable expanse of the park, but standing in stark contrast to the desert lowlands are the rugged, forested Chisos Mountains, whose peaks reach an elevation of 8,000'. Without a doubt, Big Bend offers some of the wildest and unspoiled land remaining in the “lower 48”. This is the setting for our Big Bend National Park Hiking Tour.

We’ve planned our Big Bend program for early spring—the absolute best time to visit this park. With an estimated 1,100 plant species, 430 species of birds and a wide range of other wildlife, including gray fox, pronghorn antelope, mountain lion, and mule deer, spring is an exciting season in this desert environment.

We’ve structured this hiking trip in a manner that will provide the varied experiences that are the essence of Big Bend National Park. We’ll hike the high country of the Chisos, explore the erosional landscapes of the Window, the Chihuahan Desert environment and the breathtaking gorges carved by the Rio Grande. A full-day’s raft journey on the Rio Grande in spectacular Santa Elena Canyon is another dramatic feature of this program.

We’ll assemble mid-afternoon of Day 1 at the Chisos Mountain Lodge, our home for the next five nights (we’ll provide a van shuttle from Midland to the park earlier that day). We’ll arrive early enough to hike leisurely along the Windows Trail to the spectacular Window, a pour-off that offers a magnificent view of the desert lowlands (4 miles). Early the following morning, we’ll hike from the lodge into the Chisos as we head for the South Rim on what generally is recognized as the quintessential hike in Texas. The views along the trail of much of the Big Bend country extending into Mexico are unsurpassed (13 miles).

We’ll head south from the Chisos Basin to the Mule Ears Trailhead. Our hike to the base of Mule Ears Peaks will showcase the incredible beauty of the Chihuahan Desert at a time when the Chihuahan well may be in full spring bloom. The variety of cacti, yucca, ocotillo and other desert plants along the trail is truly amazing (7 miles). Following our Mule Ears hike, we’ll drive to the end of the Ross Maxwell Road and hike along the Rio Grande into the mouth of Santa Elena Canyon(2 miles).

We’ve planned a relatively moderate hike to Lost Mine for Day 4, our final trek in the Chisos highlands (7 miles). Later that afternoon, we’ll van shuttle to Terlingua with time to explore this old mining camp before an awesome dinner at the Starlight Theater.

On Day 5, we’ll join Big Bend River Tours for a full-day rafting (or canoeing, depending on river flow) adventure on the Rio Grande as it twists through the Santa Elena Gorge. The sheer limestone walls that line the gorge soar 1,500 feet above the river. We’ll spend a final evening at the Chisos Lodge and then hike leisurely through the narrowing canyon atop Burro Mesa the following morning to the spectacular pour-off at the mesa’s southern edge (4 miles). We’ll then shuttle back to Midland later in the day where our Big Bend National Park Hiking Tour concludes.

Big Bend Extender Hiking Tour: Carlsbad Caverns

The proximity to Guadalupe National Park and Carlsbad Caverns to Big Bend makes the opportunity to bag these two National Parks is irresistible. For those joining us for this two-day option, to our Big Bend Hiking Trip, we’ll head directly to Carlsbad following our final hike in Big Bend. We’ll spend our first of two overnights at the Stevens Inn in Carlsbad and head for the Caverns early the following morning. One of the largest cave systems in the world, Carlsbad Caverns National Park actually is comprised of a network of over 100 known caves within the porous limestone bowels of the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico. We’ll enter the caverns and follow the Natural Entrance route, which simulates the basic route utilized by early explorers, descending 750 feet on a switch backing trail illuminated, fortunately, by the park service. We’ll spend much of the morning exploring the spectacular Big Room, have lunch at the Visitors Center, and then join a ranger-guided tour through King’s Palace in the afternoon. Following a second evening in Carlsbad, we’re off to Guadalupe Park early the next morning. The Guadalupes certainly look like mountains looming on the western horizon, but technically are the components of the Capitan Reef, an exposed formation of ancient marine fossils. Our choice of hikes will be dictated by weather and trail conditions, but among those choices is the McKittrick Canyon Trail, from the Visitors’ Center beyond the historic Pratt Lodge to the Grotto. For much of its course, the trail follows a permanent desert stream that supports a lush abundance of vegetation (7 miles). We’ll ultimately return to Midland/Odessa late afternoon where the Big Bend Extender Hiking Tour concludes..

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