[DFW Rusty]

Making a trip to Big Bend in March and I am starting to plan now! I have a 7 day window to work with (2 road days, and 5 days there). It is my family (wife, and 2 girls) in the JK, my parents in a TJ on 37's, and one of my good friends in his TJ on 33's. We aren't wanting to spend the entire time offroading, but if there is a path less traveled I would prefer it! My dad thinks we will get bored after about 2-3 days, but surely this is a place we can spend the entire week.

So far we are planning to do Black Gap Road. Hike a few of the more popular hiking trails. Also visit Tirlingua.

Question for someone who has been, what advice do you have for me. What is some fun scenic places to drive the jeeps to. We have a 4 month old who will be 8 months in March, but I wouldn't be scared to hike a trail or two that is a couple miles long or so on.

 

[StubEXrube]

I spent 3 weeks out there and was not even close to bored... even down to the last day. Easily could have done over a month. Having an infant on board would have surely killed all that though. Just something to keep in mind. A lot of what you're able/ willing to do is going to be dictated by that infant.

Black Gap- sure but nothing out of the ordinary... just a cool drive.
Mariscal Mine- Do that for sure. Really cool place/ lots of history.
Castolon- On the west end of the park- pretty cool area and on the way down to Santa Elena Canyon which is a great overlook area on the Rio Grande- cool hike to the top as well.
Boquillos Canyon Overlook- East side of the park- Really great views and scenery.
The Hot Springs at Rio Grande Village- Very neat... warm water coming up into the river. You can sit in the old ruins and relax- kinda cool.
Ore Terminal Trail- Kinda cool but long hike with lots of the same old mining ruins/ structures.
Balancing Rock at Grapevine Hills- Definitely recommend this one- Just a really cool hike and Balancing Rock is a neat photo op.
The Window- located at Chisos Basin Campground- I highly recommend this one as there is a lot of diversity there... Awesome landscape ( Just the drive up to the campground is pretty awe-inspiring). Everything you need for a couple nights stay- primitive/ cabins/ showers/ gift shop/ etc. The hike to the window is a really nice one.
South Rim- Long hike... REALLY long but spectacular mountain views into Mexico.

Anyway- I could go on and on and on.

Keep in mind that this park is BIG... over 800,000 acres. Preventative maintenance and safety and self-sufficient survival skills can be a very valuable resource out there... no hospitals, insanely limited/ unreliable cell-phone coverage, long drives to get to gas/ groceries/ ice/ showers ( unless you camp in a campground). Hell... the drive from any point A to point B location out there is a very long one. Be prepared... seriously. Most everything out there will either bite you, sting you, burn you, or otherwise make you wish you had prepared better. I did almost all back-country camping when I was there- requires permits that can be secured at Panther Junction ( which is also another gas/ snacks/ ice/ etc location. Pretty hardcore camping if you want it.

BUT- Most of what I mentioned in the above paragraph is a little more geared towards the individual or family that is planning to hike a lot and/ or primitive camp. If you choose to camp at Chisos or Panther Junction, then you will be a little better accommodated with "luxuries".

Just way too much info that I could provide but no problem... just post up here if you need any more specific info. Lots of info online too obviously.

Be safe.

 

[Griff1]

Sounds like fun I'm jealous

 

[RubiCajun]

This might be of some use for you. Might consider being armed if you decide to go to Big Bend Ranch State Park, west of Big Bend Nat'l Park. The park has 238 miles of multiuse trails (for hiking, biking and horseback riding). Visitors can explore 70 miles of unmaintained dirt roads in high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles. The Pink Condo where we stayed in Terlingua was very nice.

http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44410

http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29003&highlight=big+bend




List of motels, gas stations, camping, groceries, auto repair, emergency numbers

911 Works here for emergencies

The Lajitas Infirmary provides urgent care and family practice services in Lajitas.
Office hours are Wednesday through Friday 9am-5pm. There are urgent care call back services during these nights as well as Saturday and Sunday. No Services Monday and Tuesday. Office: 432.424.5111 after hours please call the hotel front desk 432.424.5000; advise them you need to make contact with the Health Care Provider. The provider is a PA-C (Physician Assistant Certified), EMT-P (Paramedic) who has over 30 years of patient contact experience.

Automobile Repair and Towing

Terlingua Auto Service, Terlingua (432) 371-2223

Motorcycle and ATV Repair and Towing

Cycletek, Terlingua (432) 371-2560

Gasoline:

Panther Junction Chevron, Big Bend National Park (432) 477-2251
and 3 other location in the park. See park map.

Stillwell Trailer Park, FM 2627 (432) 376-2244

Big Bend Resort & RV Campground, (gas & diesel) Junction of TX 118 & FM 170 800-848-BEND

Study Butte Store, (gas, lpg & diesel) Study Butte, TX 118 (432) 371-2231

Groceries and Convenience:

The Study Butte Store, Study Butte, TX 118 (432) 371-2231

Big Bend Resort Convenience Store, Study Butte, TX 118 (432) 371-2218

The Terlingua Store, Terlingua, FM 170 (432) 371-2487

Terlingua Springs Market FM170 1/2 mile west of Junction TX118 432-371-2332


WEBSITES

Home of the Pink condo, Chisos Mining company Motel http://www.cmcm.cc/Accomodations.html

Study Butte Mall(lol) gas. booze, stuff. http://www.terlingua-lajitas.com/

Terlingua Ghost Town.... accommodations, food, drink http://www.visitbigbend.com/site09/e...ghosttown.html

Big Bend National Park....Lodging, camping, tent and RV, restaurant, fuel, etc.
http://foreverlodging.com/destinatio...PropertyKey=73

Longhorn Ranch Motel and Restaurant... http://www.longhornranchmotel.com/index.html
__________________
08 Rubi Unlimited named Freebird

 

[DFW Rusty]

StubEXrube: Thanks for the info. I'll be looking up all those places your referencing! You are right, taking an (will be) 8 month old might not be the option for most exciting adventure option, but I am sure it will be fun none the less. I am trying to find more spots within the parks (state, national and ranch) that are accessible by vehicle (jeep or not), so that if the whether turns south we can still enjoy everything with our baby.

I always plan for the worst when doing trips like this. I plan to get a couple jerry cans to carry on my jeep, and I'll have about 3 gal of water on my rack. I also plan to carry a pretty good assortment of tools and snacks.

Once again, thanks. I'm sure as the trip gets closer I'll be picking y'alls brains more.


RubiCajun: If my wife or I get our CHL before our trip we will probably carry, but other wise we will probably not have a gun on the trip. I enjoyed reading through the threads you linked. I also appreciate the info on all the local places. We are staying at the Big Bend Resort and Adventures. Thanks for the reply


I was googling trail maps for the area and nothing really came up. Except a map put out by National Geographic, but it doesn't say what kind of trails and it's only the national park. I heard the ranch has the most "unimproved" roads and the state park has more paved roads with hiking only trails.

 

[Stfuz]

Went this past March. Pack for all kinds of weather. We had temps in the 40s in the am and 90s in the pm. Snowed on us the last day. When the front blew in I felt like Dorthy in the house during the tornado. My pop up felt like it was gonna launch at any moment. We really did more hiking than off roading. Be prepared to drive forever to get to any of the trailheads. You have to make it to the Observatory. Best star show EVER. The night sky out there is, well, stellar. It was well worth the time and drive. Have a blast.

 

[DFW Rusty]

Been doing a little more homework on our trip and I have added this:

Pine Canyon trail- looks like it's 2/3 offroad trail for 4x4 vechicles then finishes with a hike down into a canyon that during the wet parts of the year has a nice water fall.

Lost Mine Trail- Atleast a portion of it anyways. We will have our 8 year old and our baby with us and don't want to push it with them. It's a 5 mile round trip hike or you can do a portion that only covers 1.6mi of the loop. 5 miles normally wouldn't be much, but reading through the testimonials it looks like it gets really windy as you near the top and the last .5 mile is steep.... babies + wind= not a good time, and my 8 year old + .5 mile steep climb = a cry baby for the rest of the day!

Dagger Flat auto trail- looks like a dirt road in the middle of a desert, but still looks fun to me!

I have been searching info on a cave that is I believe located in the Chisos mountain area, but can't seem to find any info on how to get to it.

 

[Nepo]

Get a Diego Burger from the Starlight theatre in Terlingua. It is 1lb of beef!

 

[Bar SR Bar]

Check out Big Bend Ranch State Park. Hundreds of miles of unmaintained high clearance 44 roads. We spent a week out there in the fall. Amazing place. Campsites that are completely off the grid. You likely wont see more than a few people there on any given day.

 

[DFW Rusty]

A little over a week until our trip. Getting pretty damn excited. Going to get a new CB for the jeep hopefully today, and just go through the jeep tightening everything up. Have to install new front control arms on my dad's TJ and do a full service on it.

Been working on an Itinerary for the week, but there are so many things to do and just not sure....

I did find a ghost town called Buena Suerte and it looks like the trail is called the Contrabando Dome Trail, but I can not find any info.... Has anyone done this or does anyone know the directions? Does anyone know of any old mining towns or abandoned buildings within the park that are cool to go see?

So far the things locked in are:
Climb Christmas mountain in the jeeps,
Take the kids fishing at Santa Elena Canyon
Visit Terlingua (because we are staying just outside of Terlingua),
Check out Alpine,
Black Gap Road,
If I can find info on this Buena Suerte we will probably go check it out.

 

[StubEXrube]

You really must plan to see Mariscal Mine within the NP.

 

[DFW Rusty]

You really must plan to see Mariscal Mine within the NP.

I looked it up... looks awesome! Since I was able to find info on how to get to it and not Buena Suerte. I dropped Buena Suerte and now were going to go to Mariscal Mine. Thanks a lot.

 

[DFW Rusty]

We did it! Had a blast! I did a thread with lots of pics in the trails section...

Link
http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=312201

 

[jdalcour]

Was just down there to shoot the milky way and some product photos for a lighting company. Black gap trail is super photogetic!