Never been there. Thinking about March, 2021. Any tips or recs?

Window Trail

Lost Mine trail, Boquilias canyon, Santa Elena canyon, depending on how long you stay, Emory Peak, it's close to an all day there and back. But it's a beautiful view at the top.
Ditto on the window,

Take a back track or gps with you.

Pack more water than you think you’ll need and then some more!!

The place will cause you to redefine your idea of BIG. Take extra water, extra food, make sure you fill up on fuel every chance you get. Rattlesnakes like to come out onto the roads at night to warm up. Add an extra day or two to your plans. Make sure your spare is aired up. Take along a tire pump and plug kit. DO NOT RUN OVER ANY MESQUITE!.

I would take the money and time you were going to spend there and head to South Padre instead.

Camelbak. Seriously.

Unless Collard Lizards carry covid, thats about the safest vacation you could have.

First tip - do it.
What kind of trip were you wanting? Are you backpacking/ trying to disperse camp, or stay at the lodge? Or just nearby?

Windows hike, Santa Elena Canyon, there is a c-Store close to there where you might be able to get water/beer and some basic supplies. Fuel up and have some good tires and spares if you get off main roads. March is a good time but river may be flowing higher than normal. Even in March the heat can get bad during the day and cold at night. Unless you are a primitive camper, just drive the park and do day hikes and stay in Alpine - getting a room at the lodge is tough, but they do have a decent restaurant.

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It's pretty, that time of year.....But you can get turned around...….




The day before you go...… Start drinking Gatoraide………
You'd be surprised, how fast you can get dehydrated...…...

Excellent advice....Take along, high protein snacks... Lots of'em…

Spring Break is not the time for Big Bend, every time we went at Spring Break the place was packed. A week prior or he week after is a lot better. .

A multi-day backpacking trip with my two sons, 15 and 22, is kind of what I had in mind.

Go to the hot springs too!
The chisos mountains is pretty neat, and it stays fairly cool up there.

We went a few years back. The Chisos basin was packed but the rest of the park was pretty empty. We drove the river road along the rio Grande for 4 hours and never saw another truck.

The chisos sky island is awesome. The rest of the park is pretty rough. Santa Elena canyon is awesome.

The old mercury mine is something to see as well. Terlingua is a voodoo infested cesspool. Will never go there again. Lajitas s is nice

I thought i felt a pin in my back the two times we went through their.....

Did the south rim a few years ago in mid September. It was a good time. I think we made a 2 day trip out of it.

The hot springs are nice. I made a baby in that hot spring pool, then swam across the border.

True story.


Look it up.

If you are not camping, look to stay here https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_R...ung_Outdoor_Center-Terlingua_Texas.html. Outside of Lajitas, this place is super nice. Also doubles as an outfitter that does river trips, etc. Don't forget to check out the state park as well

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It's a magical area. Gorgeous scenery, brutally rugged, peacefully remote, and offers a variety of hikes suitable for all ability levels. My wife and I have hiked there extensively From short day hikes (Window, Santa Elena Canyon, Grapevine Hills, Upper and Lower Burrow Mesa, Hot Springs etc) to longer day hikes (the South Rim, Dog Canyon/Devils Den), to multiple day hikes (the Outer Mountain Loop). It just depends on the time of the season you want to go there (you said late Mar), the amount of time you have to hike/camp, and your ability/experience level. Late March can be brutally hot in the lower regions of BBNP, so for a full day hike in late March I would recommend the South Rim Loop. It's one of the best hikes in all of Texas. It's a roughly 13 mile loop and you can begin and end it from the Chiso's Basin Lodge/Campground. If 13 miles and roughly 2000 ft of elevation gain is beyond your ability, or you don't have the time for a full day hike, I recommend the 4.2 mile Lost Mine Trail. When you top out you'll have a gorgeous view south of Juniper Canyon. If your time is even shorter, hike the Upper Burrow Mesa. It's a short hike, maybe only 4 miles round trip, and follows a drainage down to what turns essentially into a slot canyon with a roughly 150 ft pour-off at the end (which will hopefully be your turn around point). You can then return to your vehicle and travel down Ross Maxwell drive to hike Lower Burrow Mesa which is a very short hike, maybe a mile out and back, which follows a drainage to where you can view the Upper Burrow Mesa pour-off 150 ft above you. The link I'm posting below is to a Big Bend Chat website where I am a member. It's a wealth of information and I've learned a great deal from it, and shared what I've learned from our hikes there (look for trip reports from jtemples). I recommend you visit that site. PM me if you have any specific questions I might be able to answer. Attached is a pic of enjoying the sunrise in Juniper Canyon on the 3rd day of our Outer Mountain Loop hike 2 years ago. Big Bend is a special place. Here is the link to the Big Bend Chat websites. Cheers.
Big Bend Chat

If multi-day is 2 days and one overnight, then I recommend either the South Rim Loop or the Marufo Vega trail. Both can be done as either a long day hike, or a more relaxed 2 day hike. In late Mar though I would opt for the South Rim since it is higher in elevation, less exposed to the sun with all of the trees, and MUCH cooler. Both are amazing hikes and have great views. The Marufo Vega trail (around 14 miles roundtrip) is much more exposed to the sun, and in late March you may have a miserable, sweaty trip depending on the climate cycle. As for the South Rim, you would need to reserve a camping spot in advance online. The National Park Service (NPS) recently changed their campsite reservation protocol and and went to an online system. I'm not certain of the specifics since I haven't camped there since they implemented it so you will have to research it. The only other option I can think of for a great, multi-day hike is the Outer Mountain Loop (OML). The standard route is approx 32 miles over three days starting and ending from the Chisos basin and going clockwise via Pinnacles, Boot Canyon, Juniper Canyon, Dodson, Blue Creek, and then Laguna Meadows trails back to the Chiso's Basin. That's the standard, NPS route, but there are several variations. In late March however, the heat on the lower Dodson trail could be approaching miserable levels. We did it in mid-Feb and it was plenty hot enough for us. Do your research. Water will be your main concern. When hiking clockwise, cache water in the bear boxes at the Homer Wilson Ranch at the end of the Dodson. ALL folks cache water there when hiking the OML, and some folks even choose to cache water in the bear boxes at the junction of the Juniper Canyon and Dodson trails - like we did. You can filter water from the available springs (Boot Canyon, Juniper Spring, Fresno Creek, Dodson Spring) to supplement what you initially packed but you'll need to know in advance from trip reports if they are flowing. Plan for one gallon of water per day/person. I spent a year planning our OML trip. It was well worth it. Cheers.

A few pics from our 2014 South Rim hike.

Before I had a good camera.