Big Bend River Tours has many local excursions to choose from. The following is a sample of some of the areas we can share with you. There are so many special places in the Big Bend that it would take a lifetime to see them all!!!

Big Bend National Park Tours

Visit the magnificent Santa Elena Canyon via the old Maverick Road (dirt) where we'll stop at Luca's Jacal, an old homestead.  Once at the canyon, we can stroll to the banks of the Rio Grande, with an option of hiking a quarter mile into the canyon for some spectacular scenery.  We'll leave Santa Elena Canyon and travel the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive passing through one of the most diverse regions in the park.  There are many opportunities for stopping at different locations to view and learn a little of the history of the area.  Lunch will be served at one of the scenic campgrounds in the park .

After lunch we will visit the Chisos Basin where we can take a leisurely stroll to the window overlook, explore the Basin, visit the ranger station or the gift shop for souvenirs and then it's down the mountains and a trip to the eastern edge of the park to Rio Grande Village and perhaps a short hike to the mouth of Boquillas Canyon.   On the way back to Terlingua, we can spend an hour or so at the Rio Grande Hot Springs.  (Bring your bathing suit and towel)

 

APPROXIMATE LENGTH OF TRIP:    9AM to 5PM

 

Hen Egg / Hermits Peak / Blue Ridge Road

A short tour of the Terlingua Ghosttown and we're off for a day of solitude on the eastern edge of the Solitario.  This is a trip for those wanting to experience the Chihuahuan Desert up close and personal.  The dirt road that we'll be traveling is very well maintained but untraveled by all but the extremely hardy.  There are few signposts to point the way and many arroyo's to cross, making it impassable at times to anyone without 4 wheel drive..  On the trip you'll learn the lay of the land by establishing visual contact with the various local landmarks and the surrounding mountains with names like Hen Egg, Hermits Peak, Red Rock, Yellow Hill and Top of the World.  Spectacular views of the far off Chisos Mountains, visits to homesteads and fossil creekbeds and even a swimming hole that is totally private can be included in this wonderful adventure.

 

APPROXIMATE LENGTH OF TRIP:    9:30AM to 5PM

 

Big Bend National Park / Stillwell Crossing / Terlingua Ranch

This trip combines the wonders of Big Bend National Park with a visit to Halley Stillwells Museum, a visit to the banks of the Rio Grande at La Linda and a backroads tour through Terlingua Ranch.  You will find that the Chisos Mountains are not the only scenic vistas to encounter in the Big Bend.  The morning of the trip will include a ride to the Santa Elena Canyon Overlook for a photographic view of the majestic canyon, a short visit to Castolon, a drive into the Chisos Mountain Basin where we will stop for a picnic lunch.  After lunch we'll drive to Stillwell's Hall of Fame Museum for a short visit.  Our return trip will take us via the old Marathon road, traveled by early settlers and the mule trains of the cinnabar miners.  As we leave the lodge via "Gate 9" we'll pass by Ament Lake Dam and be treated to a most spectacular sunset as we descend one of the Christmas Mountains.

 

APPROXIMATE LENGTH OF TRIP:    9AM to 6PM

 

Big Bend Ranch State Park

Big Bend Ranch State Park is located just west of Lajitas.  The highway going through the ranch ( FM 170)was designated in the top ten in the nation for scenic beauty by National Geographic in 1985.  After a visit to the Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center in Lajitas we'll travel this road that skirts the Rio Grande affording many photographic opportunities for river and mountain splendor to the historic site of Fort Leaton, the main office of the Big Bend Ranch State Park.  

On our return trip we'll stop for some short walks to the "Hoodoos", a very interesting collection of wind formed rocks, to the banks of the river.  As time allows we may also do a short hike through a tight canyon properly named, Closed Canyon.

 

APPROXIMATE LENGTH OF TRIP:    9:30AM to 5PM

For prices on this trip please look at the Price list.