Boquillas Canyon
While camped at the nearby Rio Grande Village Campground, we decided to take a short hike up Boquillas Canyon. The official website says to plan for an hour’s walk, so that’s what we did. I hoped we’d see some birds on this hike, as the borderlands are well known for being a birding hot spot. Instead we found a dusty trail, vendors selling crafts and tamales from Mexico and a handful of tourists milling about. Though it was early, it was already getting hot. Quickly, we reached the end of the trail. Or, did we?
Technically, the trail terminates at the Rio Grande. However, the river here is wide and very shallow. I took my shoes off and waded into the water. Aaron was more adequately prepared in his Bedrock sandals. I didn’t know this would be an option! I regretted not having my sandals and poles as walking on the slippery rocks was tenuous and painful. My feet are not adapted to this behavior at the moment.
Nevertheless, we persisted. We crossed back on to land, where there was a use trail from other tourists doing the same exploratory walk. It was quieter here and we really felt like we were in the canyon. We looked for birds, turtles, anything we could find.
We took a short walk and then a snack break in the scant shade. For lunch, we planned to pick up some tamales on our way back. Since we already had salsa and sour cream in the van, it would make a nice full meal.
My only regret about this hike is that I wasn’t prepared for the extra exploration after trail’s end. I’m not sure how much farther you can go without getting truly stopped by the river. But it’s such a beautiful place that I wished I’d had had more time there.
Rio Grande Village
Camping at Rio Grande Village is like camping at any National Park campground: packed, loud and with just enough amenities to sort of make it worthwhile. We were able to attend a night time ranger program here, which we enjoyed. And, I took a couple hikes on the trail within the campground. Even if you’re not staying here, these short trails are worth a quick walk.
When we arrived, the ranger recommended hiking the trail up to the viewpoint for sunset. This, we did, and on a very windy evening. The views of the sunset over the canyon wall were definitely worth it despite the wind. This is a well-known activity, so expect to share the view with dozens of other visitors.
I also explored the trail down to the river. Along the way, I found some interesting plants, rocks and views. It’s just a really scenic spot! Try visiting these little trails at different times of day to observe changes in light and animal activity.
Boquillas, Mexico
On certain weekends, the border station is open to cross into Mexico (at least at the time we were visiting). It sounded like there wasn’t much to do on the other side, but the town essentially exists due to tourism, so we decided to give it a visit.
We took our passports to border patrol and listened to the spiel about what you can and can’t bring across the border, as well as what time the border closes in the evening. With that, we walked towards Mexico.
A short path leads down to the Rio Grande. We were greeted by a Mexican man with a small rowboat who offered his crossing services. For $5 a piece, we boarded the boat and he pulled us across the river. Sure, we could have waded across again, but we wanted to participate at least a little in the local economy. Once on the other side, we followed a dusty road for about 3/4 of a mile into town. Occasionally, we stepped aside to let an old pickup truck or a small pack of horses (with their people) through.
When we got to town, the residents were all setting up their little craft and trinket stands outside their homes. We were the first ones to arrive that day. Most of the offerings were wire sculptures, embroidered goods, hats, dolls and other knick knacks we had absolutely no use for. No room for tchotchkes in the van.
There’s not much to see or do there and soon we found ourselves at the edge of town, looking down a long road into the vast, undeveloped nature area. We turned back. By this point, the restaurant overlooking the river was open, so we popped in and ordered coffees, chips and guac. We took out our art supplies and did some painting and sketching to kill time as we sipped our drinks. It was still early.
The border agent in the US told us to pay the natural area access fee in the office in Mexico. It had been closed when we first arrived, but now it was open. We bought our tickets and asked in rudimentary Spanish how we could get out to see the nearby sand dunes. The gal at the desk pointed up the road and we took another walk in search of the elusive hills of sand. The whole way there, I couldn’t get over just how dry it was. Dry. As if a single drop of water had never touched the earth here. It was a harsh place to live. And so isolated.
Even if it was easy to cross the border, Big Bend National Park is hundreds of miles from anywhere. In the other direction, it required an endless dirt road drive to get to the nearest town. I wonder how much longer this village will exist.
Langford Hot Springs
7 mi. | 1100′ ele. gain | 5:20 hr
I’m not usually a fan of hiking into hot springs because they always attract a crowd. But there were some plants on my list that grow on the limestone along the river and I wanted to try and find them. We packed our swimsuits and towels in case it wasn’t completely overrun with people. We chose to hike the long way from Daniels Ranch.
The hike begins from a very birdy trailhead. While Aaron was getting ready, I stood outside holding my phone up like John Cusack in Say Anything, hoping my Merlin app would record some unfamiliar bird songs. I picked up vermilion flycatcher, golden-fronted woodpecker, verdin and many more. The cottonwood trees stood tall above the parking area, their leaves rustling in the breeze. It was going to be a nice day.
Along the beginning of the trail, we walked along rolling terrain with lots of interesting cactus to look at and try to identify. We even found another desert millipede.
Once the river came into view, we began to see flowers, horses and plenty of people. To me, the pool looked crowded, but Aaron insisted there was plenty of room. We found a spot to leave our bags and climbed into the hot springs pool. The water was very shallow, but it was hot outside so neither of us were super excited about dunking into hot water. Before long, the river looked pretty inviting. We clambered over into the refreshing, cool river water and got our bodies back to a comfortable temperature. Aaron stayed square in the center of the river while I scooched over to a spot where I got a mix of cold and warm water washing over me.
More and more people arrived to soak in the pool, so we decided to get out and continue our hike.
Next, we walked to the ruins of the resort. By this time, it was getting pretty hot. I ducked under the cover of a giant palm tree, which must have been planted when the area’s hotel and spa was operating. I tried to imagine this spot even more filled with tourists.
On the return hike, we took the upper loop trail to continue our cactus hunt. Also the views from up there were great, and different than the ones we got on the way in. Aaron miraculously found a tiny cactus with a tinier flower on it and I dropped to my belly to get a closer look. And that was the end of my good mood. I just got hotter and hotter the whole walk back. I reminded myself that we came here in the dead of winter for this reason and that I would have melted into the limestone if we’d done this hike any other time of year.
Pine Canyon
4.6 mi. | 1030 | 2:30 hr.
The afternoon prior to doing this hike, we drove up Pine Canyon Road to campsite #3, which you have to reserve in advance. It took a slow drive on a gravel road to get there, but it was well worth the effort. We had no neighbors that night and exceptional views of the mountains. I loved it there.
So, I was somewhat disappointed in the hike we did up Pine Canyon the next day. Perhaps it was the gray weather. Perhaps it was the brown season. The trail was really short, at only 4 miles roundtrip, and it just dead ended in a brushy basin beneath some rocky cliffs. I would not come out of my way to do this hike unless it was for fall colors or spring wildflower bloom. I would, however, highly recommend grabbing a campsite on Pine Canyon Road. You can read about these campsites here before going to rec.gov to make a reservation.
The east side of Big Bend is wildly different from the west side, and if you have enough time, it’s worth doing both! Heed the climate data and try to visit during the cooler times of year. Start hiking early and plan on resting during the middle of the day if the heat gets to you the same way it gets to me. Walk more slowly to avoid getting overheated and you’ll even notice more plants, animals and birds, too!