This week I crossed something off my bucket list, and that thing was visiting Big Bend National Park. I am a workaholic, and this was my first vacation in 10 years where I truly allowed myself to disconnect entirely and enjoy the place that I was visiting. The park was absolutely stunning, and everyone present had nothing but kindness and great advice to give. While I didn’t have a completely black sky due to the near-full moon over the park, I still was able to cross off a second item from my list of goals, which was to capture images of the Milky Way. I hope you all enjoy these! Fingers crossed I can go back someday. 😁

Hello everyone, this is my 1st time going to big man national Park as well as any national parks and I’m a bit scared to go because I feel like I’m gonna be lost. I’m going for three days I guess. I’m from Houston so it’s 9 Hours Drive and I going to stay in Terlingua

So this is what I planned

Nov 23 (arrive)
Balanced Rock on the way in (Grapevine Hills, ~2.2 mi)
Check in Airbnb , Terlingua Ghost Town, dinner at local

Nov 24 (full day)
~5:45am: leave for Lost Mine Trail at sunrise (4.8 mi) I really want to watch sunrise but I’m bit scared because it’s gonna be dark and I don’t wanna be lost. Hopefully, I can see people so that will make me feel little bit secure.

Late morning: Window Trail (5.6 mi)
Lunch
Early afternoon: Cattail Falls (~3.6 mi round trip)
I heard this is really rare unless the fall is really flowing if it’s dry then I’m just gonna ignore it

Late afternoon: Santa Elena Canyon at golden hour,
I wanted to do stargazing but I’m going in November so it’s a full moon time not happening this time. May be better luck next time.

Nov 25: drive home
So this is my plan and I’m not just going by myself. I’m going with family so I want to be confident and if you guys can give me any tips suggestions or things that I need to watch out for please let me know. I would really appreciate it.

Hey everyone! I'm planning a 3-night trip to Big Bend National Park from Sunday through Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and I'd appreciate any advice or suggestions on my itinerary.

I'll be driving from San Antonio on Sunday morning and plan to spend my first night in Terlingua.

------------------------------------------

Day 1 — Sunday: San Antonio to Terlingua.

Leave San Antonio in the morning and drive to Terlingua.

Spend the night in Terlingua and get everything ready for my backpacking trip the following day.

------------------------------------------

Day 2 — Monday: Backpacking and South Rim

Drive into the park and hike up to one of the Pinnacles campsites in the Chisos Mountains.

Set up camp and leave most of my backpacking gear at the campsite so I can hike with a lighter daypack in order to hike to the South Rim and back before sunset. Since daylight hours are shorter in late November, I'll be paying close attention to sunset time and making sure I have enough daylight to get back to camp safely.

Spend the night at the Pinnacles campsite.

------------------------------------------

Day 3 — Tuesday: Lost Mine Trail and Rio Grande Village

Pack up camp and hike back down to the Chisos Basin, where I'll have my car parked near the amphitheater.

If I have enough time, hike the Lost Mine Trail to get some pictures of the views at the top.

Afterward, drive to Rio Grande Village and spend the night at the campground. If time permits, maybe visit the hot spring.

------------------------------------------

Day 4 — Wednesday: Boquillas del Carmen and drive home

Visit Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico, through the park's border crossing. I believe the crossing operates from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but I'll verify the current hours before going. Plan to get a drink and eat lunch in Mexico.

Head back to San Antonio later that day.

------------------------------------------

I'll be traveling solo, but I'm comfortable with navigation, coordinates, reading maps, and finding my way around outdoors.

For food on my overnight backpacking trip, I'm thinking of bringing dehydrated beans with Fritos for dinner and oatmeal with peanut butter for breakfast. Since I'm only backpacking for one night and spending the other two nights car camping, I'm hoping to keep the backpacking setup relatively simple.

A few questions for those familiar with Big Bend:

Is this itinerary realistic, especially hiking to the South Rim and back on the same day I arrive at the Pinnacles campsite?

Is it reasonable to hike Lost Mine Trail the following morning after spending the night in the mountains, or would you recommend skipping it to avoid rushing?

Are there any important trail conditions or other things I should know about this time of year?

Is there anything else you'd change about this itinerary, particularly for a solo traveler?

I'd appreciate any feedback, especially from people who've done the South Rim hike in late November or have backpacked to the Pinnacles campsites. Thanks!

Here are some pictures from the great snow of 2021. I think they got like 24 inches of snow down the middle of the park. But nothing on the east or west the Chisos basin was closed and people were stuck there until It thawed.

Question for the group. Looking to hike South Rim and other trails late next week. The weather does not look ideal, but know it can and probably will change some.

For those who have hiked the South Rim in the rain, how was it? I figured if there are thunderstorms or lightning, the hike’s not going to happen. But general rain, how doable is it?

For some context, I am the guy who was asking for help that one evening at the Chisos Basin Shop a couple of weeks ago. It's was my first time in Big Bend and first time hiking. I'm a amateur photographer that was trying to chase the stars in the dark skies of Big Bend.

I decided to challenge the Emory Peak Trail because I imagined the peak would make an awesome backdrop for a milky way photo. However about 2/3 of the way up, I decided to turn back because my legs were giving out and cramping up like no other and was running out of water. I didn't go alone, I had my friends but I told them to go on ahead without me and that I'd catch up. Unfortunately, they were the ones that had the car keys to get back to the campsite and I never saw them coming back down the mountain. However there was a couple at the Chisos Basis Shop who were kind enough to give me a ride back to my camp when I was asking for help. It was an embarrassing and humbling experience. I really felt like I was gonna die out there. I will never forget the kindness that I was blessed with. And if you're one of the ones that helped me that stumbled upon this reddit post, my heartfelt thanks to you.

Attached are some of the photos I've taken during my 2 nights there.

Planning to visit Nov 6–9 for camping and stargazing, but I’m second-guessing the 8-hour drive (I’m near Austin). There’s a few campsites open for reservations tomorrow morning, but there’s no guarantee I’ll get one.

Is it worth it when 2 of the 4 days are mostly spent driving, or should I look for somewhere closer with dark skies?

I'm considering which of these trails and drives I want to do. Which ones have the best mountain vista views? By that I mean views from up high where you see a good vista.

Chisos Basin Loop Trail

Window View Trail

Lone Mountain Trail

Lost Mine Trail

Dagger Flat Auto Trail

I have never been to Big Ben (Shame. Shame. Shame.) I am doing the 7 hour drive up to Terlingua tomorrow and driving home Monday.

I kinda know what I want to do Satuday, with going to Lost Mine/Window Trail, but I have no real plans for Sunday, since it looks like access to Santa Elena is closed unless you have a 4x4… which I do not.

Any suggestions on what you would do if you had 1 day in the region? I can’t find my passport so crossing at Boquillas sadly can’t happen this trip, but open to all ideas. I am comfortable on day hikes up to 14 miles and willing to chain together drives to sites or hikes.

Bonus points for food options that aren’t Starlight Theater (looks fun, but also doesn’t look like my thing).

Thanks in advance.

Anybody driven to John’s Marina (lowers canyons takeout) in the last week. Landowner doesn’t know the status of the road

A group of 4 planning on backpacking the South Rim. I want to ask if this plan works with beginners.

- Fri: drive in, car camp at Chisos Basin Campground
- Sat: grab permit at 8:30, up Laguna Meadow to camp at LM-2 (~3.5 mi), drop packs, then do the rim loop with day packs (South Rim > Boot Canyon > Colima > camp, ~5.5 mi)
- Sun: back down Laguna Meadow, drive home

- Carrying 8 L water each from the Basin

Also, can we walk in Sat morning for a same-day permit? Anyone done that recently?

Been to Big Bend three times, but this is the first time I’ve seen the desert so lush and green! Entered the park last Friday, and it rained the entire drive from Alpine. What an amazing experience, as always! Big Bend never disappoints. Can't wait to go back again soon, I hope!

What a special place. Planning to go annually moving forward

Alumni weekend at Sul Ross, brought a friend down for their first time in Big Bend. I think she will be back. Only so much you can do in a day and a half

Been sitting on this video but finally decided to share. Woke up in the pinnacles primitive site and saw around 5 deer. Walked adjacent to them when my buddy saw the black bear. Kept our distance best we could while she walked in and around the pinnacles campsite. We later heard rustling in the trees, which led to the video. I have more videos if anyone is interested, but this is probably the best one. Enjoy!

I’ll go ahead and add we are dangerously and embarrassingly close to this black bear family. Please be careful in the back country. Bring a buddy and bear spray, I consider us very lucky we did not have issues with this mama bear.

My wife and I decided to celebrate our ten year anniversary at Big Ben’s national park. Here is my favorite photo I took!

Hi! I'm planning a trip to big bend around dec 16-21 and wanted to see what the weather would be like. I was considering camping but if its too cold to camp (under 10 degree Celsius), we can consider staying in terlingua too. for context, I have been to big bend in novmeber for thanksgiving and in march. what would you recommend? also, what places do you recommend we visit while passing through big bend ranch state park? we will be driving in an Elantra.

We have a reservation for 2 that we can’t make. If you want it, it’s yours! Just reach out