Davy Jones is our guest writer and he is also my dad! He still calls Texas “home” but has been living in an RV traveling for the last year. We share a love for the outdoors and he has been lucky enough to go to some places that I have not visited. So I asked him to get out of his comfort zone and write a few posts for the blog. Enjoy his tales from Big Bend National Park in Texas!
After exploring Big Bend National Park and Big Bend State Park for 4 days, on our last day in West Texas we decided to go as far east in the National Park as possible. This took us to Rio Grande Village and Boquillas Canyon for half the day. Then off-roading on Old Ore Road the other half of the day. It was a great easy day after having done one of the most difficult hikes in the park – Emory Peak.
Rio Grande and Boquillas Canyon Overlooks
Getting to Rio Grande Village and Boquillas Canyon was a fun drive through tunnel. Yes, Ruby was able to fit (barely). Coming out of the tunnel the desert views from the Rio Grande Overlook were impressive to say the least.
The next stop along the way was Boquillas Canyon Overlook. The area overlooks the village of Boquillas Del Carmen, Mexico and there is also a Port of Entry in this section of the park. For those with a passport and a heart for adventure, it can make for a fun lunch trip. Sadly, the boarder crossing is closed on Tuesdays. Luckily we packed our lunches for the day. There were also vendor stands set up with honesty boxes at Boquillas Canyon Overlook.
Boquillas Canyon Trail
We back tracked from Boquillas Canyon Overlook to Boquillas Canyon Trail for a short and sweet hike! The trail is a short 1.4 miles r/t with 102 feet of elevation gain. There a still a few small challenging sections as the runs along the side of the Rio Grande, requiring some sure-footed steps across some boulders and edges. If you know me I prefer the more challenging path over, around, and through the water. Once in Boquillas Canyon the trail is more like walking on the beach dunes along the Rio Grande as the path curves back into the canyon. The canyon shadow cools things off, and welcome relief during the peak of the day. If you really needed to cool off, and quick dip the Rio Grande would suffice.
The limestone walls of the canyon and the years of erosion left numerous caves in the canyon walls. The hike through Boquillas Canyon very pristine and the water flow and quite was really calming. This was the perfect time of year for this hike, and I could see it being incredibly busy during the summer season. Overall this easy out and back hike was worth the run to the east side of the park.
Off-Roading in Big Bend National Park
With the hike through Boquillas Canyon complete and half the day still left we really didn’t want to leave the park. Soooooo on the way back to our RV in Turlingua, we decided to take a little detour…
The amazing thing about Big bend National Park is the abundance of off-road 4WD trails. If you’re into it, this is a great place. The “superbowl” of roads in the park is the River Road West. It that follows along the Rio Grande for 50 to 70 miles. Since Ruby isn’t exactly a 4-wheeling jeep, we opted for a different road in the east section of the park. Old Ore Road is a 26 mile primitive road and was just what we were looking for. High enough traffic if we got stuck we would have help, but still getting out into the backcountry. There were certainly a few good bumps in the road but Ruby handled them with grace.
Old Ore Road is home to several campgrounds, and we pulled into La Noria campground for a quick visit to Tornilla Creek. The road made dead ended at the camp sites where there was one other group set setting up a camp. We trekked down to the dry creek bed and observed the wonders of the desert and the Chisos Mountains off in the distance. After chatting with the group setting up camp we elected to head back the way we came. They noted there were a few spots farther up the road Ruby would not be able to get through. But for those with the right vehicle, Old Ore Road goes all the way north connecting to Telephone Canyon Trail and comes out Dragger Flats Auto Trail.
Big Bend National Park, like so many of our national parks, is certainly worth visiting again. We are never able to do it all in one trip. There are kayaking trips and 4-wheeling trips, plus all the hiking and camping we didn’t get to. Till next time ya’ll!
~ Davy Jones
Wishing you following winds and smooth seas.
Before you go
Before you start planning your trip to Big Bend National Park, make sure to do your research! The park is BUSY during the summer even though it is so remotely located. Campsites inside the park will book 6 months in advance. Unlike the national parks in Utah, there are no BLM lands in Texas to utilize around the park for primitive camping. I also always recommend getting a National Parks Pass if you plan to visit more than one National Park in a year, which you can get from any National Park entry station or at the visitors centers as well as online.
Another consideration, the park is HUGE. There are so many sections of the park and they are fairly spread out and offer such different experiences. Whether you want to tackle the big hikes, backcountry backpacking, 4-wheeling, or the easy river strolls, there are TONS of options within Big Bend National Park. Check out all the trails on the NPS website.
Check out some more tales from Davy Jones on his dedicated page. Also see all the placed Emily has been traveling on the archives page.