Approaching Big Bend
Big Bend National Park sweeps so far south that, since there is no road through it to Mexico, the park isn’t on the way to anywhere. That makes an automobile the best transportation bet. Trains and transcontinental buses approach only as close as Alpine and Marathon (see [map]). There is no public transportation to or through the park. You can fly into the Midland-Odessa airport to the north. Cars may be rented in Alpine and in the Midland and Odessa areas. The distances encountered are vast, so plan departures and arrivals conveniently for available facilities.
From San Antonio, Texas, it is 660 kilometers (410 miles) to the park headquarters at Panther Junction via U.S. 90 to Marathon and south on U.S. 385. Driving from the Persimmon Gap park entrance to park headquarters will consume 46 of these kilometers (29 miles). The gap is a low mountain pass once traversed by the Comanche War Trail, a thoroughfare northward for thousands of horses stolen in Mexico. Had you crossed this pass in 1859 you might have witnessed the U.S. military experimenting with camels as beasts of burden for this dry country. The cantankerous camels bettered the standard military mule on several points. However, the Civil War ended the camel tryouts. The camel’s aptness illustrates that you are traveling desert country. This calls for unique precautions, so please read the “Tips for Desert Travelers” on [page 124].
From El Paso it is 520 kilometers (323 miles) to Panther Junction via Interstate 10 to Van Horn, U.S. 90 to Alpine, and south via Texas 118. You enter the park at the Maverick entrance. Just west of the park here on Texas Ranch Road 170 is the ghost town of Terlingua, a worthwhile side trip. In the park’s western section you find the Painted Desert, eroded badlands formations showing distinct bands of colorful deposits from up to 70 million years ago.
From El Paso and points west you can take U.S. 67 south from Marfa to Presidio, approaching the park on Texas Ranch Road 170, the Camino del Rio, at the Maverick entrance. From this entrance to the headquarters at Panther Junction is about 43 kilometers (27 miles).
Water and gasoline are available in and around the park only at a few, and often widely separated, points. Check your water supply and gas gauge before you leave U.S. 90.
Driving the Park.
At Panther Junction you can purchase the Road Guide to Paved and Improved Dirt Roads of Big Bend National Park. It describes five tours and the points of interest en route. The Santa Elena and Basin drives begin at junctions along the park road from Maverick to Panther Junction. The Boquillas drive begins at Panther Junction. The Persimmon Gap and Maverick drives extend from their respective entrances to Panther Junction. A park map and information folder includes a large map showing major natural and historical features, roads, and facilities and services. It is available at Panther Junction in the administration building, and in dispensers at Persimmon Gap and Maverick. (Supplies at Maverick are sometimes exhausted.) Obtain a copy of this folder before your trip by calling or writing the Superintendent, Big Bend National Park, Texas 79834, (915) 477-2251.
Primitive Roads.
After you have toured the main points on the major park roads, you may want to see more by vehicle. You can do so on the primitive roads, which introduce further varieties of scenery and interesting plants, animals, and historic features. Plan your trip in advance, don’t just turn off a main road on the spur of the moment. And register at park headquarters, getting current information about road conditions from a ranger. On these primitive roads you are on your own, so play it safe. Primitive roads are patrolled only infrequently. Some are suited only for 4-wheel drive. A Road Guide to Backcountry Dirt Roads of Big Bend National Park may be purchased at Panther Junction.
Persimmon Gap Drive.
This drive offers short side trips: on a motor nature trail up to Dagger Flat, or just off the highway north of the Tornillo Creek bridge to the fossil bones exhibit. Signs along the Dagger Flat road identify Chihuahuan Desert species, including the giant-dagger yuccas, found in the United States only in Big Bend country. The Fossil Bone Exhibit shows an extinct mammal, Coryphodon, whose remains were found in sandstone deposits about 50 million years old. Tornillo Creek is one of the park’s largest drainages. The Chisos Mountains, seen as you approach Panther Junction, are the park’s highest. Panther Junction is such a focal point that you may overhear park employees call it PJ.
Maverick Drive.
Terlingua and Study Butte are ghost towns—or nearly so—which were once prosperous cinnabar (mercury) mining communities. The large, rounded Maverick Mountain north of the road near the Maverick entrance is the eroded exposure of an intruded mass of molten rock pushed up through softer, older rock beds. You will also see the Painted Desert and many plants of the desert shrub community. Outside the park to the north the Christmas Mountains are prominent. To the east the Chisos define the skyline. Along the Maverick drive you come to the Santa Elena Junction, where the Santa Elena drive begins (see [below]). Further on you will see dry washes that can carry flash floods and gravel slopes formed by the erosion of the mountains. Then you come to the Basin Junction, where the Basin drive begins (see [below]). Near this area you may also see mule deer, the peccary (or javelina), coyote, or other desert animals. The next stop—except for pictures—is Panther Junction.
Boquillas Drive.
From Panther Junction you can head southeast toward the Rio Grande’s Boquillas Canyon. Along the way are the Dugout Wells picnic area and self-guiding nature trail, Hot Springs, and Rio Grande Village (see [Facilities and Services]). Boquillas Canyon is one of the Rio Grande’s three grandest canyons here in the park. It was cut through the Sierra del Carmen (sierra is Spanish for mountains) and is the longest of Big Bend’s famous gorges. Across the river is the Mexican village of Boquillas.
[Santa Elena Drive].
Spectacular historic and geologic features are found along the Santa Elena drive. You observe wall-like dikes, massive gravel deposits, an ancient buried valley, and a narrow canyon cut through volcanic tuff. Across the river near Castolon is the Mexican village of Santa Elena. On the U.S. side are adobe and stone ruins of dwellings for farms on the river flats. Near the end of this drive a viewpoint gives an excellent view of Santa Elena Canyon. Summer sunlight only strikes the canyon mouth for several hours after sunrise. To take pictures, make this trip in early morning. The canyon is usually hot in midday during summer.
[Basin Drive].
From Basin Junction southward the Basin drive climbs out of desert lowlands into the woodlands of the Chisos Mountains and their Basin, the park’s “island” of green. The grade of the approach road is deceptive: watch that your vehicle does not overheat. The Big Bend agave plant reaches heights of 4 meters (15 feet). Even if you miss its bright yellow blossoms in summer, the old stalk remains standing for a year or two. As you drive up Green Gulch the vegetation changes from desert shrub to woodland species. The road’s highest point is Panther Pass, more than 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) in elevation. At the parking lot here the Lost Mine Trail begins its ascent of Lost Mine Ridge, where legends of a rich Spanish mine have touched off many a vain (no pun intended) search. From the top you get superb views into Mexico. As you leave the parking lot the road begins to descend into the Chisos Basin via a series of sharp curves. (Read about the Chisos Basin under Facilities and Services.)
Driving Safety.
There are desert-related driving hazards not mentioned above. Please see [Tips for Desert Travelers].