Big Bend National Park

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April. In summer it is often extremely hot. Visitors should fill up with gas before driving to Big Bend: there are only two filling stations in the park, both closing at 5 p.m. There are only 74 hotel rooms in the park and these are often fully booked a year in advance, so prior reservation is essential. Better accommodation is available in Terlingua, Alpine and Ford Stockton, and camp sites can be found in Chisos Basin and Rio Grande Village. The main car park is at Panther Junction (junction of the U.S. 385 and TX 118).

Altogether the park has some 240 mi. of hiking trails. Among the shorter routes are the Lost Mine Trail, a 5 mi. nature trail affording beautiful views, the Window Trail and 17 mi. of other waymarked trails in the Chisos Mountains. There are a number of longer trails into the desert, allowing hikes of several days. On these trails it is essential to take enough drinking water - at least 7 pints per person per day.

Apart from the flora and fauna the great attractions of Big Bend National Park are the three canyons on the Rio Grande, the Mariscal, Boquillas and Santa Elena Canyons, with rock faces rising almost 1650 ft above the river, and the Chisos Mountains, with Emory Peak (7835 ft), once a refuge of the Comanche Indians, a region of wild gorges, precipitous rock faces and gentle valleys.

Boat trips through the breathtaking canyons on the Rio Grande can be booked in the Park headquarters.