March 17-19, 2025.
Amistad National Recreation Area encompasses part of a huge reservoir that spans across the U.S.-Mexico border. I’d never heard of it until a NPS volunteer recommended it to us while we were visiting the Natchez Trace. He mentioned cheap camping and beautiful views, so I added it to our travel itinerary. Since I blocked out a week to visit Big Bend, and we couldn’t get camping reservations, I had plenty of flex time in the schedule to plug in new destinations.
We arrived at the visitor center and were greeted by a ranger with a staggering amount of recommendations. He was like a walking encyclopedia of the area. I LOVE our park rangers. I wish they garnered more respect (and pay!) from our government leaders. After a thorough orientation to the area, we decided to find a campsite at Governor’s Campground. For only $10 a night we found a spot with beautiful views of the lake.
Amistad Reservoir, formed by a dam on the Rio Grande, is the most exquisite cerulean blue. From our camping perch it stood in sharp contrast to the white rock on the horizon. I could hardly believe my eyes.
It was another hot day and all I wanted to do was get to the water. Unfortunately, there were no obvious developed hiking paths anywhere. So, I pushed through the thorny shrubs and followed a drainage to the lake. The strong breeze began to counteract the blazing sun. I walked through corridors of yellow blooms all the way to the bluest of blue lakes. But just getting to the water didn’t appease my wanderlust; I kept exploring. I wandered among the chalk-colored blocks along the lakeshore, searching for more plants, birds and bugs. I watched how the wind moved through the tall shrubs and trees. But I had to get back for dinner and book club, so I’d have to wander around more the next day.
Nature trail and a swim spot
In the morning, we drove the van to the Diablo East parking area and hiked the nature trail. There, we enjoyed a wide variety of cactus and ocotillo, but very little in bloom. We even found a palm tree, which was quite unexpected. It must have been planted or inadvertently sprouted from a traveler visiting from its native range.
The day was quickly getting hot, so we continued driving to a pin on Google Maps labeled “swimming area.” When we arrived, we found what looked like a campground, with picnic tables, individual parking areas and sun shades. We chose one, loaded up our backpacks and scrambled down the rocks to the water’s edge.
We laid out our picnic blanket and enjoyed a few hours down by the water. Aaron brought his snorkel and swam out to a little island. I read some of my book and worked on a painting. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.
During this quick visit, we only got to experience a small portion of this massive recreation area. Much of the recreation use appears to be geared toward boating, but there’s plenty of camping, swimming and hiking available too. The campgrounds are primitive, inexpensive and not busy (at least at our time of visit). I’d definitely come back here if we’re ever in the area again.