Routes, Drive Times & Road Tips to Big BendBig Bend sits deep in far West Texas. Whether you’re coming from El Paso, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, or Dallas/Fort Worth, choose the route that matches your arrival town and the part of the park you want...
Explore Endless Possibilities
Where Nature, Adventure, and Discovery Meet
Big Bend is home to a few remarkable communities: Marathon, Study Butte, Terlingua Ghost Town, Lajitas, and Big Bend National Park. Communities offer services, amenities, and entertainment. Accommodations run the range from convenient and comfortable to resort luxury. A variety of guided outdoor activities are available. Big Bend is a diverse region with endless possibilities for adventure and discovery.
Start Your Big Bend Journey
Adventure, Relaxation, and Everything In Between
The Big Bend is named for the vast curve of the Rio Grande in remote southwest Texas. It is a wildly beautiful natural region, with a complex and fascinating history. Over one million acres of public land including Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park offer hiking, camping, river running, horse riding, mountain bicycling, birding, jeep touring, and abundant sightseeing opportunities on paved and improved roads.
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Adventure Awaits in Big Bend
From Relaxing Getaways to Rugged Expeditions
Big Bend offers many exciting activities, from sightseeing in the family car and enjoying the amenities of a comfortable lodge, to hard-core wilderness adventures, and everything in between. People visit Big Bend to hike, camp, ride horses, paddle the river, pedal bicycles, ride motorcycles, look for wildlife, look for nightlife, and to get a life. Some work hard at it, others let professionals do the heavy lifting. A small community of experienced outfitters and activity providers arrange excursions of all descriptions, as well as provide good local information for visitors.
Cerro Castellan in Big Bend // 📷 Fuji GW690 🎞️ kodak Ektar 100
Took a family trip to Big Bend to celebrate my 40th 🤍
We don’t need a wall y’all.
The Big Bend sector sees fewer illegal crossings than any other stretch of the US-Mexico border. A physical border wall will harm wildlife that migrate along the Rio Grande corridor and cost taxpayers billions of unnecessary dollars. We’re not against secure borders, but we don’t have to destroy one of the wildest places in Texas to do that. #stopthesteel #savebigbend #pamleblancadventures #noborderwall #bigbend
✨To: johncornyn tedcruz governorabbott reptonygonzales
✨From: We The People
☎️ SAVE BIG BEND💖🏞️ the Trump administration wants to build a 150+ mile long, 30 foot tall border wall wall through Big Bend National Park and Big Bend State Park
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building a wall would irreversibly destroy these lands and habitats for past, present, and future generations
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after public outcry and dozens of environmental laws waived, they’ve shifted plans from a physical wall to a “virtual wall” with technology detection
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this would still cause construction in Big Bend State Park and eminent domain land takeover by the government
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if you were able to attend this Saturday’s 4/4 4pm rally at the Texas Capitol in Austin to help save Big Bend, let us know how it went!🥳
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sign the petition: ✨nobigbendwall.org/sign-the-petition✨
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visit the landing page on my website to support my Print Shop featuring Big Bend National Park📸💖🏞️ all profits donated to Big Bend: ✨emilywisch.com/authors-note✨
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#bigbendnationalpark #noalmuro #nobigbendwall #savebigbend #bigloveforbigbend
It’s the crown jewel of Texas—our most treasured landscape, the purest expression of what it means to be Texan. And they want to put a wall through it.
But it won’t stop at the boundaries of the parks. The real impact will fall on the people who call Big Bend home—families, landowners, farmers, and ranchers who rely on the Rio Grande to sustain their crops and cattle. It will hit the wildlife just as hard, cutting off access to the only reliable water source for miles.
Under the guise of “border security,” the federal government—alongside the willing participation of the State of Texas—is pushing forward plans for a border wall that severs the lifeline both people and wildlife depend on.
And if you don’t comply? Eminent domain. The forced seizure of privately owned land, whether you agree or not—land that’s been held by families in this region for generations.
Tomorrow, we make it clear: Texans will not stand for a border wall anywhere in the Big Bend region.
4/4 at 4pm, rain or shine. South steps of the Texas State Capitol. Show up and let our leaders know this isn’t what we want.
Follow nobigbendwall and savebigbend for more information on how to show up for Big Bend—safely and peacefully.
#stopthesteel #noalmuro #nobigbendwall
Funny how some images just sit quietly in the archives… waiting for the right time to be seen.
I recently stumbled back across these images from Big Bend National Park, taken several years ago under some incredibly dark skies. The Milky Way rising above a blooming cholla cactus and felt just as magical now as it did the night I captured it.
Proof that sometimes the best surprises aren’t new adventures… they’re hidden in old folders.
And if you’ve been wanting to experience skies like this for yourself… consider joining me for my Capture the Cosmos Big Bend workshop this June.
LINK IN MY BIO
If you want to see some truly dark skies, this is the place.
Sony - Alpha Universe A7rv w/12-24 GM (Focus Bracket)
18mm - f/3.2 - ISO 200 - 1/8 sec
Sky: Tracked ISO 400, f3.2, 360 seconds
Really Right Stuff Ascend 14L Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod w/integrated Ballhead
#bigbendnationalpark #texas🇨🇱 #astrophotographer #cactuslovers❤️ #bigbend
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️”We had such a great stay at the casitas at Far Flung Outdoor Center. The casita itself was spotless, comfortable, and had everything we needed after long days exploring Big Bend. The beds were cozy, the kitchenette was super convenient, and the whole space felt thoughtfully put together.
What really stood out was the atmosphere—quiet, relaxed, and perfect for unwinding. Sitting out on the porch in the evenings watching the sunset and stars was easily one of our favorite parts of the trip. The property is well-maintained, and little touches like the fire pit, hot tub, and morning coffee made it feel special.”
#texas #tx #visittexas #bigbend #nowall
🌄 SAVE BIG BEND 🌄
This is big. For starters, follow savebigbend and nobigbendwall.
Ok, now...
What is happening?
“The federal government is waiving numerous legal protections to build 150+ miles of border wall and other development in the Greater Big Bend Region this summer: a measure no one supports. This would be the end of Big Bend as we know it, robbing future generations of the river, the stars, the ecosystem, and our heritage forever.”
Why is this important?
Texans have always fought to keep our parks (national and state), lakes, rivers and natural habitats untouched/protected and safe as we can. The locals down in Big Bend/Terlingua and the surrounding areas, and ALL the visitors to the area need our support as a state right now. There is a lot of federal overreach happening and here is the first way you can directly help and support. If you have a Viva Terlingua sticker on your pick up, or if you’ve ever visited the hot springs, or Santa Elena Canyon, or drank a beer on the porch in Terlingua or eaten at the Starlight, it’s time to step up.
Do the right thing. Show up this Saturday. Save Big Bend.
#wwwatx #atx 🌄🌌⛰️🐻🌄🌌⛰️🐻
Chisos Basin to remain open in Big Bend National Park. 🙌
With construction plans on hold, the previously anticipated closures will no longer take place, which means that winding road into the mountains will stay open and ready to welcome visitors.
Those who know, know: when summer heat settles over the desert, the Chisos Basin answers with fresh breezes, cooler temps and shaded trails.
Visit nps.gov for more information.
Blue hour💙 > Golden Hour 🧡
These colors weren’t quite visible to the naked eye, but longer exposures bring out so much beautiful detail from the days last light ❤️🔥
#bigbendnationalpark
Far West Texas, a sanctuary of sacred isolation, is now facing an urgent threat.
Last April, I found my park—the most peaceful, exhilarating place I’ve ever been.
Now, just a year later, the key draws to this far-out land are at risk of being walled and surveilled to the nines.
Despite unauthorized border crossings dropping 74% in the area, at least 28 laws are being railroaded to construct a border wall.
This region, in fact, has the lowest border crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Wall construction in the region has bipartisan opposition, including Texas mayors, judges, and county sheriffs.
This wall that no one wants would result in the loss of the Rio Grande River, causing irreversible harm to protected land, private property, wildlife, and tourism—the lifeblood of the region.
As these rural counties struggle to keep hospitals and schools open, the federal government plans to spend $17 million per mile on a vertical border barrier system under the guise of keeping citizens safe, when in reality such construction would devastate Big Bend communities.
My heart and all of Far West Texas need everyone to make as much noise about this as possible.
Please share this issue widely and contact your representatives to make your opposition heard.
Follow nobigbendwall and go to the link in their bio to:
* Sign the petition opposing unnecessary wall construction.
* Sign the letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbot & TPWD (Texas Parks & Wildlife Department)
* Access sample scripts for contacting your representatives.
* Call and write your representatives.
* Use #BigLoveForBigBend #NoBigBendWall #NoAlMuro to spread the Big Bend love.
Tap the link in my bio for a short story love letter to Big Bend, more photos, and more ways to fight the good fight.
I urge you to oppose construction of any type of physical border anywhere in the greater Big Bend region of Texas, including near Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, Seminole Canyon State Park, and on private lands in Brewster, Presidio, Hudspeth, and Terrell Counties.
A physical wall here would cause permanent damage to public lands, private property, wildlife corridors, archaeological sites, and the Rio Grande river system, while offering limited additional security benefits in this rugged terrain.
Help steward and conserve the Big Bend region by opposing border wall construction and supporting border security strategies that protect this land.