Big Bend camping question

[Aggiesdm]

Hi all,

I'm planning a trip to Big Bend next month and want to do some backcountry camping out of my 80. Can anyone recommend some good spots that are at a decent elevation so that I can enjoy the view, cooler temps and some hikes into the higher peaks? Our plan is to find a nice, secluded spot to set up camp and then hike and mountain bike from that area for 3 days.

It's just me and my best friend going for 3 days, so want to get the most out of it. We'll be there the weekend after Labor Day and historically the traffic is VERY low in the park. I've been there twice before during that week, but just as a motorcycle tourist, not a camper.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any advice or direction. BTW, I'm a pretty avid outdoorsman, but never been on a camping trip like this before so any tips are appreciated too.

 

[BMThiker]

We arrived at the park knowing that reservations were hard to come by at the designated camping areas. We wound up getting a back country camping pass for each vehicle and then they let you choose a "region" of the park. I don't think any of those maps are available on line to view ahead of time. They want to spread people out so everyone is not camping in the same region and also register each camper so that they know where to look for the bodies, when a javelina eats you in the middle of the night.

But the idea is that you drive to that region and park your vehicle just off the roadway. Then you must hike into the region with all your gear (backpacking) away from the road. Specifically, you must be out of sight from the road when your tent is set up. I think it was a minimum of 1/2 mile, but we fudged that a bit and found a closer spot just over a big ridge to set up in. The one caveat was that we could set up our chuck box and cooking stuff by our vehicles, so we could enjoy breakfast and dinner without hauling ALL of our gear to the camp. You just can't "sleep" or tent on the road side.

I think with back country camping you can only stay in one "region" for a few days (or maybe only 1, its been a couple years since we were there). Then you have to move to a different spot.

The park is amazingly vast, so you could hike for days in the back country and not see a soul. We opted to drive around the park as much as we could in a few days and see as much of the terrain and history. You don't want to miss the St Elena Canyon, natural hot springs, and petraglyphs. I think we covered 120 miles by "road" in one day, a combination of paved and off-road sections.

Dinner setup

Natural hot spring right on the Rio Grande

St. Elena Canyon has a sandy river bank that's easy to wade into. Just across the Rio Grande is Mejico.

Petroglyphs

a tinaja ("jar" formation full of water)

 

[Aggiesdm]

Thanks a ton

Is there any place in particular that you would recommend in terms of camping with a decent elevation? Since we're going the first week of Sept there tends to be some 90+ degree days and I'm looking to find a comfortable sleeping area.

After speaking to my friend, I think we're gonna shoot for a spot in the Chisos Basin campground for the first night and then regroup and shoot out to a backcountry spot. Judging from my past visits during the week after Labor Day, we shouldn't have any trouble finding a spot to camp. Its pretty dead that time of year.

 

[BMThiker]

Well our problem was that it was spring break season when we were there. And as I recall they wouldn't take reservations more than 24hrs in advance. We did this trip in conjunction with attending the LSLC Round Up, so we just played the cards we were dealt.

The elevation varies pretty greatly, but the highest point in the park was somewhere just east of Chiso Basin visitor center - Toll Mtn / Emory Peak. I have a USGS topo that you can match up with the BBNP visitor's map. Well, even the park map shows some elevations.

You'll definitely have to backpack to those spots.