Quite unusual for people from the northeast to see this flowering. The Mule Ears are a unique rock formation that looks like, you guessed it, mule ears. This is probably the most interesting part of Ross Maxwell Drive, as the road winds between hills. Despite being mainly a route for an exciting car adventure, the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive offers many opportunities for a day full of short, fun hiking excursions through some of the park's most remote, dramatic scenery. It looks beautiful when struck by the light at sunset. That led to the official formation of Big Bend National Park in 1944. This is one of the best hikes in Big Bend National Park. We were here in a heat wave (hit 116!) Here are 15 of the best hikes in Big Bend National Park. We saw a rattlesnake stopped on the road- we watched the creature for quite a while. With stops at some of the scenic viewpoints and short hikes, we expected it to take about 5-6 hours. There's many close hikes along the way and scenery to see. Here the road levels along the Rio Grand and brings you right next to the awesome cliff that create the canyon. Hiking the Fire Lookouts in Glacier National Park, Pioneer Yosemite History Center at Wawona. However, once at the top, the views really open up. Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, Big Bend National Park: See 321 reviews, articles, and 301 photos of Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, ranked No.5 on Tripadvisor among 51 attractions in Big Bend National Park. Old Maverick Road isn't on trip advisor so here's my opinion on Old Maverick: Old Maverick Road isn't that bad. Note there is both an upper and lower Burro Mesa Pouroff trail. Boquillas Canyon Trail | Best Hikes in Big Bend, Boquillas Canyon | Best Hikes in Big Bend, Distance: 1.6 miles Total Ascent: 215 feet Difficulty: Easy to moderate Length of Time: 1 to 1.5 hours Trailhead: End of Boquillas Canyon Road. Be sure and stop and read the plaques along side the road. Within the park boundaries, you can go from 7,825-foot Emory Peak in the Chisos Mountains down to cacti-dotted Chihuahuan Desert floor and all the way to the Rio Grande carving into ancient canyons. Expect big crowds at sunset. For most of this hike, you walk along the edge of the river. Seniors aged 62 and up can also purchase a lifetime national park pass for just $80. The Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive is a 30-mile paved road connecting Castalon/Santa Elena Junction (near Chisos Basin) and the Santa Elena Canyon Overlook. Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the authors alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more. Take the lower one which is beyond the upper one. After a rolled ankle sidelined my plans for more hikes, we took a rest day and drove all over. One ranch site, on the west side of the drive, not too far after the Ross Maxwell begins - sorry I can't remember its name - is a nice walk with an old wooden windmill for atmoshpere - there I saw a black bear in a thicket near sunset. We share our RV tips, tricks, and travel locations that work for us. If so, did you embark on any of the trails? Sotol Vista, Mule Ears Overlook, and Tuff Canyon are all worthwhile stops. We spent the day in Big Bend and drove every paved road in the park. Click the star next to the title of the map to add this map to your Google Maps account. Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. This is a great place for wildlife viewing, with the chance to see fish and birds. Window View Trail | Best Hikes in Big Bend, Distance: 0.3 miles Difficulty: Easy Length of Time: 20 minutes Trailhead: Chisos Basin parking lot. Yes it is and enjoy it! Trust me, it's gorgeous. This is a 32 mile drive. But by the early 1900s, the land was used primarily for mining with a growing call to preserve the beauty of the region. We finished up by about 5 p.m. and had seen what we wanted to see. But it's well worth the trek. ROAD TRIP IDEA: Learn how to combine Guadalupe Mountains, White Sands, Carlsbad Caverns, and Big Bend National Park in our 10 day Texas Mexico Road Trip Itinerary. If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu. Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment. Before you go on, ask a ranger about road conditions. The Blue Creek Ranch and Sotol Vista Overlooks come into view between 8 and 9 miles, famous for red rock formations and first hint of the Santa Elena Canyon, respectively. Highlight: Stunning Santa Elena Canyon - Sheer rock faces rising up 1200 feet out of glassy water. Be the first to leave a review! 99% of travellers recommend this experience. You can also do some amazing stargazing at Big Bend National Park, known as one of the most outstanding places in North America to do it. This short, easy hiking trail takes you to the 105F hot springs, one of the most popular things to do on this side of Big Bend National Park. Road conditions can change rapidly, especially after rain, so it's important to monitor weather conditions and speak to a ranger before going off-roading. Recommend. Explore the most popular trails in my list Westside - Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive with hand-curated trail maps and driving directions as well as detailed reviews and photos from hikers, campers and nature lovers like you. This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher. Obviously, there are many, many options when it comes to hikes. Highlight: Flat and scenic desert trail to rock formations and Indian petroglyphs. It took us about three hours. Loved it!!! Turn left down the dirt road. So I'd recommend making a loop out of Ross Maxwell with Old Maverick. Maxwell Scenic Drive is worth the time, plus there's lots to stop and see along the road (we stopped at Upper Burro Mesa, Lower Burro Mesa, Santa Elena Canyon, and then exited back to the park entrance via Old Maverick Road). The cacti and assorted shrubs were just beautiful and many were bursting with blooms. Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive 4.5 321 reviews #5 of 51 things to do in Big Bend National Park Scenic Drives Visit website Call Write a review What people are saying By paxa " A most scenic drive to an even more scenic trail " Oct 2022 At the end of it is the Santa Elena Canyon with an easy 1.6 mile out and back trail that's one of the highlights. At over 800,000 acres, Big Bend is larger than iconic parks such as Yosemite and Joshua Tree. Read our. Chris was a reporter at The Points Guy, where he covered the intersection of credit card rewards and travel. The scenic drive gives you a sampling of the best to be found in the park. However, the road from the Chisos to Santa Elena is a highlight, the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. The hotel is even equipped with its own small airstrip so you can charter a flight to Big Bend's entrance if you so choose. We did this drive on Saturday, October 30 and did 3 trails (Santa Elena Canyon, Tuff Canyon and Lower Burro Mesa Pour Off). Those looking for a little more adventure can continue the hike past the water-filled pools and rock scramble their way to the back of the canyon. To extend this hike,continue west on the trail beyond the chimneys another 4.6 miles. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Your email address will not be published. Here are 15 of the best hikes in Big Bend National Park. A few miles further, another side road leads to a viewpoint of Mule Ears, a double-peaked mountain that tops out at 3,881 feet (1193 meters). The other amazing thing is Santa Elena at the bottom. The 2016 U.S. elections have taught us that there are two types of groups of people: those who want to move to Canada, and those Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window). Look across the river to Mexico, wave to the occasional rancher herding his cattle and then spot the trail entrance. Emory Peak is the highest peak in the Chisos Mountains and Big Bend National Park. A 30-mile paved road through the rugged mountain and desert country of Big Bend National Park. The trail ends at a beautiful view into the Santa Elena Canyon. We saw a minivan and a standard car on this road and they were doing just fine, but they had to take things very slowly. Santa Elena Canyon and Boquillas Canyon are some of the more popular paddle trips in Big Bend. We were fortunate to spend a week in Big Bend but if you're there for a day or two this is a must do as it gives you a great overview of the park. Even if you never got out of your car, this is still one of the best experiences in the park. The other amazing thing is Santa Elena at the bottom. If you have plans to hike to the South Rim or Emory Peak, the hike will start on this same trail. Only camping? BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK: Check out our Big Bend National Park Travel Guide for important travel information, sample itineraries, and how to plan your visit. The dive is beautiful and it changes with the sun. Some of my favorite pictures of the trip are dawn outlines of these features. And having a full moon in just the right spot helps, too. How long has it taken some of you? The flyer from Big Ben says Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive takes 7 hours but one reviewer said they did three drives in one day. Restrooms are not marked on the map but there are a couple along the road. The cliff walls, divided by the muddy Rio Grande, soar into the blue desert sky and are not to be missed. One-Day Itinerary: Big Bend is too big to see in a single day, but a great one-day trip to the park might include a trip down the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive and a visit to the Chisos Basin.. Be sure not to bi-pass the old Army compound of Castolon- it was a frontier trading post that is still opened. Bicycling Bicycling Lightly traveled roads and varied terrain make Big Bend a premier bicycling location. Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive is a 30-mile road through some of the most beautiful landscapes in Big Bend National Park. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. Further 8 miles drive along the road took us to Santa Elena Canyon Overlook via the Santa Elena Canyon River Access. Zipline & Aerial Adventure Parks Golf Courses. So I'd recommend making a loop out of Ross Maxwell with Old Maverick. The South Rim Trail is one of the best ways to experience Big Bend National Park. Midpoint down the Hwy, the Sotol Vista Overlook has a vault toilet. My wife and I spent a day and a half at Big Bend Park. No restrictions on Ross Maxwell. The Outbound works best with JavaScript enabled. Distance: 10.4 miles Total Ascent: 2440 feet Difficulty: Strenuous Length of Time: 5 to 7 hours Trailhead: Chisos Basin parking lot. I did have the chance to drive this down and back to see Santa Elena at dawn. Emory Peak adds 3 miles and 1.5 hours onto this hike, bringing the grand total distance to 15.6 miles. You can walk the short loop to overlooks of the canyon, or, take the spur trail and walk through the canyon. However, recognize that this will involve a considerable amount of driving. Either way, this is an amazing road that you have to drive when you are in Big Bend. Interesting, short hikes can be found at all major vantage points along the drive. On the flip side, the park's location in far southwest Texas along the Mexican border means that summers can see temperatures soar to 100 degrees Fahrenheit or greater. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. However, as my friend said when drove along the river "Dang" because here you did not simply see the cliffs, you could feel them lording over you. At the northwest corner of Big Bend, approximately 20 miles from the Maverick Junction park entrance, is the four-star Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa. The Window itself is a V-shaped canyon that overlooks the desert into Mexico and offers stunning panoramic views, especially at sunset. It's recommended to drive 4x4s here, but if you're brave (and not in a rental), it's passable for most vehicles. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. The trailhead is just a few miles further south on Ross Maxwell Drive. We saw a bobcat and a mountain lion (!!) Please view our advertising policy page for more information. Igneous rock trickled into the surface through older sediment layers and formed bizarre shapes like the two eroded dikes of the Mule Ears. Climb several switchbacks (some with stairs and railings, most paved) to a vista more than 100 feet high, where you can look back to admire the overview of the Rio Grande as it leaves the canyon. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). This can be well worth it if you plan on visiting more than two parks over a 365-day period.
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