Lone Star Travelers Blog » West Texas

Big Bend Ranch State Park Lajitas TX

joanie7 — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:56:27 +0000

Madera Canyon Campground Big Bend Ranch State Park

Big Bend Ranch State Park is located in far West Texas very close to Big Bend National Park. You do not just happen upon this park – it is a trip that you have to plan and make an effort to visit. So what is there to do there and where should you stay?

Big Bend Ranch State Park is the largest state park in Texas. The landscape that you’ll be camping and driving through is the rugged Chihuahuan Desert. You will see plenty of ocotillo cactus, rugged mountain ranges, and hot desert sand. Sunrises and sunsets can be quite stunning and are well-suited for the visiting photographer.

There are trails throughout the park for those who want to get out and explore. Trailheads however do not always have a trailmap or any information about the trail, so be sure to ask at the visitor center for trail information. In addition, turnoffs to the trails (or campgrounds for that matter) can be hard to spot as signs are small and not always next to the entrance or facing the correct way on the road. On your visit, a good idea is to dub someone in your car navigator so they can keep an eye out for things you want to visit! One of our favorite stops in the park was the Contrabando Movie Set very near the Lajitas park entrance. Several movies including Dead Man’s Walk, Journeyman, and Streets of Laredo were filmed here.

Contrabando Movie Set at Big Bend Ranch State Park

Another nice thing about visiting this park is that you’re not going to be on top of other visitors. The park encompasses 300,000 acres and is quite out of the way, meaning you’ll pass relatively few other visitors. One thing however that we were disappointed to see was litter strewn intermittently along the roadside.

On your visit expect it to be hot if you are visiting during the summer – average July temperatures average 99 degrees! January however can get as low as 36 degrees, so go dressed accordingly.

Camping
There is camping at Big Bend Ranch State Park, however it is all primitive – meaning you will not find any sites with running water and electricity. For those wanting to do backcountry camping – you’ve found the right place! There are plenty of campgrounds for you to choose from.

If you’re wanting to do car camping, your best bet is to go to one of the campgrounds that have a self-composting toilet, that way you will not have to purchase one of the portable potties from the visitor center.

On your visit, you can camp in the “interior” of the park or within view of the river. In the interior of the park you’ll find self-composting toilets at South Leyva. Check with the park for additional campgrounds with toilets on the interior. The campgrounds along the river (not on the river!) with the composting toilets are Colorado Canyon, Madera Canyon and Grassy Banks. These campsites each have one or two loops of campsites (no electric or water) where you can pull in your car and set up your tent.

If you’re coming in through the Barton Warnock Visitor Center, the closest campground is Grassy Banks. Expect to find these sites fairly small, relatively close together, and fairly unscenic with no view (despite the name, you will find no grassy banks!!). In addition, on our visit we noticed horse manure in and around our site, as well as trash in the surrounding brush.

If you’re wanting to camp at one of the three river campgrounds mentioned above, a better bet is a couple of miles up the road at the Madera Canyon campground – where you’ll find both a lower and an upper loop. If you camp on the upper loop you’ll get nice views of the surrounding canyon.

The campsites at the park all have a picnic table and a fire-ring (check with the ranger however to see if there are any fire bans). None of them have shade, tent pads, or any other features. The composting toilet is generally on the outer edge of the loop, and there are trash cans scattered throughout. On our visit, we found that the toilets were relatively clean (for a composting toilet) and stocked with plenty of toilet paper.

Getting there
If you are coming in from Alpine, TX, take 118 South to Study Butte. From there turn right heading west on 170 West past Terlingua into Lajitas. In Lajitas you want to stop at the Barton Warnock Visitor Center to pay your entrance fee, get a camping permit, and pick up some maps.

If you’re coming in from Marfa, TX, take 67 South to Presidio. At Presidio, turn leaving heading east on 170 east into Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Fees
At the time of this writing, if you do not have a TX state park pass, the entrance fee was $3 per person, in addition to $8 if you are overnight camping. Regardless of if you’re car camping or primitive camping, you will need to get a camping permit from the visitor center. So plan accordingly!

Get more info at the official Big Bend Ranch State Park website.

Pronghorn Antelope in Texas

joanie7 — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:29:19 +0000

Texas Parks & Wildlife biologists have completed a study showing a considerable drop in the population of the Pronghorn Antelope in portions of Jeff Davis and Presidio Counties in West Texas. The region west of the Pecos River known as the Trans-Pecos has experienced 7 months of drought and a rare late hard freeze at higher elevations. These conditions may have resulted in poor physical condition of he animals contributing to a possible loss of up to 50% of adults as they became more vulnerable to predators. No signs of disease has been detected. The Pronghorn Antelope is named for it’s backward curving horns that split to form forward-pointing prongs. They are generally recognized as the second fastest land mammal in the world, (after the cheetah) able to run long distances at sustained speeds of 40 mph with bursts of up to 60 mph. They have exceptional eyesight due to the large eyes set on the sides of their heads allowing almost a 360 degree field of vision.

Antelope Canyon

Monahans Sandhills State Park Monahans, Texas

joanie7 — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:35:42 +0000

Visit our Monahans State Park photo gallery

Monahans Sandhills are part of a dune field that extends 200 miles to the West and North to New Mexico. This 3,840 acre park of sand dunes is a delight for children of all ages. Rent a sand disk or toboggan and surf down dunes up to 70 feet high as the West Texas wind swirls and lifts the sand into ever changing shapes . The day use area is well used with families picnicking, and surfing the hills. Clean restrooms are nearby. The Dunagan Visitor Center is where you rent your sand saucer ($1 per hour) and enjoy the hands on displays and the history of this West Texas desert area. A short (1/4 mile) self-guided nature trail winds through the dunes nearby. We spent a night camping here on our way home from the Big Bend area. The Willow Bend Camping Area (sites #1-14) offers pull-thru or back ins. We stayed in site #5, a nice, level pull-thru with views of the sand dunes in all directions. This campground rarely fills up however if the back-ins sites were needed drifts of sand would need to be shoveled out of the way. The surreal feeling of being surrounded by all this white sand felt soothing and strangely enveloping. Sleeping with the blinds open heightened the effect. Tent or pop-up trailer sites (#15-25) are roomy and appointed with covered picnic tables and bbq grills. Most of the fire pits were buried under mounds of sand. Be aware that the wind blows and blows here. The fine sand will be everywhere and in everything. We observed a young couple breaking camp the morning we left, struggling a bit as their tent turned into a sail in the wind, their children occupied with digging and playing in the sand. Surprisingly a dependable source of pure, fresh water is found right under the sand. This drew prehistoric man to hunt bison and mammoth in the area and later Indians, mostly Apache and Comanche camped here. No one knows for sure why this massive field of dunes is here. One theory is of erosion and wind blowing the sand into this area over the course of millions of years. There are equestrian camp sites here and 600 acres of sand set aside for riding. Overnite or 3-day Texas Camel Treks are held here in the Spring. Take exit #86, just west of Odessa as you travel Interstate 20 and spend the day or overnite at this fun park. Note: train tracks run directly outside the park and trains may occasionally be heard as they pass by.

Balmorhea State Park Toyahvale, Texas

joanie7 — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:59:51 +0000

Visit our Balmorhea State Park photo gallery

The world’s largest spring-fed swimming pool lies here in the desert of West Texas inside Balmorhea State Park. For thousands of years the springs, formed by subsurface geologic faults provided water for Native Americans and later for Spanish explorers and soldiers. Now they provide a swimming hole that is not equalled anywhere. The pool itself covers 1.75 acres, 77,000 square feet of clear cool water feeding in at more than 20 million gallons a day. Swimmers glimpse scuba divers 25 feet below as they observe several species of fish two of which are endangered and occur no other place in the world. The pool is open year round and maintains a 72-76 degree temperature even as the cold winds of winter blow through West Texas. You will find two wooden bath houses for changing and showering on the grassy shady grounds and a concessionaire seasonally. We visited on a Sunday in July. The boys were lined up to dive or cannonball off the diving board while the girls sunned on their pool floats watching. The crowds made up mostly of family groups found plenty of room to picnic and the large pool never looked crowded. The San Solomon Courts is a 1930′s CCC built southwestern adobe style motel. A recently restored desert wetland (cie’nega) with viewing platforms and an underwater viewing window winds through the park. This small park (45.9 acres) amazes the first time traveler turning off Highway 17 not expecting to enter a desert oasis. Located at the foothills of the Davis Mountains the elevation is only 3.205 feet and hot in the summer. Even so the campground is full almost every weekend so be sure to reserve in advance. The campground itself offers 6 tent sites with water only, 16 water and electric for tents or small trailers and 12 pull thru’s with water, electric and cable. The day we were there the campground was in desperate need of a litter patrol and restroom cleaning. We have visited one other time and found the same unkept conditions. Our advice would be to camp at the well maintained Davis Mountains State Park and make Balmorhea State Park a day trip (32 miles each way) to enjoy this special water world.

Chisos Basin Campground Big Bend National Park

joanie7 — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:19:23 +0000

We drove out to Big Bend National Park for the day while we were camped at Fort Davis State Park. You may ask what you can do in Big Bend National Park if you are only going to be there for the day and the drive to get there is 150 miles each way. The answer is not a whole lot however we did have a purpose for the side trip. We have signed up to volunteer at Chisos Basin Visitor Center for three months in the summer of 2009 so we wanted to check out where we would be working and living. We drove from Fort Davis on Hwy 118, through Alpine and on to Terlingua and Study Butte to the entrance on the west side of Big Bend National Park. We stopped in at the Panther Junction Visitor Center first then headed up the 6 mile narrow windy road to Chisos Basin with it’s sharp curves and steep grades. The visitor center is small but interesting with exhibits and items for sale. The campground is nothing more than a rocky outcrop. At 5,400 ft above sea level the summer weather is pleasant and it is of course surrounded by the magnificent Chisos Mountains however the camping spaces are small, not level and have no amenities. (By this I mean water and or electricity.) There is a comfort station with flush toilets but no showers. There is a sink for dishwashing only. Trailers up to 20 ft are allowed however this campground is really best suited for the tent camper. There is a campground host site with full hook ups (they frequently have openings for campground hosts) however this site was also rocky, not level and no shade.

On the way to Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert

joanie7 — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:13:04 +0000

Tomorrow is the day we leave for our summer volunteer position with the National Park Service at Petrified Forest National Park in Northern Arizona. The first leg of the trip is 359 miles from home in Dallas Texas to Amarillo Texas. We are headed for the Overnite RV Park right outside Amarillo. This is the best park ever if you travel with your dogs. You may request a campsite with a dog corral that is just for your use. There is no extra charge just call and ask them to reserve a site with the dog pen. For a roadside RV park this is a pleasant and fairly quiet place to spend the night. I will try to get some pictures tomorrow night of that wide open West Texas sky.