IMPORTANT: Please note that all property in Brewster County is either private property or is part of Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, or other State preserves. It is illegal to trespass on private property. Please do not collect rocks, plants, artifacts. Brewster County Tourism Council request that you abide by all laws and regulations.
Big Bend offers many exciting activities, from sightseeing in the family car and enjoying the amenities of a comfortable lodge, to hard-core wilderness adventures, and everything in between. People visit Big Bend to hike, camp, ride horses, paddle the river, pedal bicycles, ride motorcycles, look for wildlife, look for nightlife, and to get a life. Some work hard at it, others let professionals do the heavy lifting. A small community of experienced outfitters and activity providers arrange excursions of all descriptions, as well as provide good local information for visitors.
Hiking
Big Bend offers a variety of hiking opportunities, everything from short interpretive walks, to rugged, multi day excursions. Big Bend National Park alone features a system of over 150 miles of improved hiking trails.
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River Trips
Five spectacular river canyons in Big Bend offer incredible opportunities to kayak, canoe or raft the Rio Grande. The river is not difficult for beginning and intermediate paddlers at normal river flows, and some sections are ideal for novices. Bring your own gear, rent equipment from local outfitters, or take a fully equipped guided trip from two hours to ten days.
Horseback Riding
There is no better way to see Big Bend than from the back of a horse. Horse rides as short as one hour in length are available right outside Big Bend National Park in Study Butte. For the more adventurous trips from 3 hours to multi-day camping trips are available in Big Bend Ranch State Park.
Bicycles
Big Bend offers many opportunities for bicycle travel and sport. Scenic paved highways with low traffic are ideal for skinny tire road bikes with lots of gears. The extensive back road system in Big Bend National Park offers great mountain bike access.
Motorcycles
The Big Bend is one of the best places in Texas, maybe the world, to ride a motorcycle. There are hundreds of miles of scenic paved highways with mountains and curves galore.
Vehicle Tours
There’s a lot of country to cover in Big Bend. Big Bend National Park has 100 miles of paved road, and at least 150 of backcountry dirt roads. Highway 170 between Lajitas and Redford is one of the most spectacular drives in the US. Guided tours are available in a variety of vehicles, from luxury SUV’s to rugged open air Jeeps with cloth canopies.
Air Tours
Retired National Park Ranger and pilot Marcos Paredes has founded Rio Aviation www.rioaviation.com to show folks a bird’s eye view of Big Bend. From the air, you view the unobstructed geology of this amazing region, and can imagine the powerful process that made and continue to shape our planet. Rio Aviation is licensed to conduct tours over both the Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park.
Golf
There are two golf courses located just outside Big Bend National Park, offering completely different golfing experiences:
Sight Seeing
There is more to Big Bend than can be seen in a lifetime. Big Bend National Park is the main destination, and together with neighboring Big Bend Ranch State Park, there are a million acres of spectacular vistas, shadowy canyons, and rugged desert mountains that visitors explore by road, river, and trail.
Night Life
Along with a variety of dining options in Marathon, Big Bend National Park, Terlingua, Study Butte and Lajitas, there is a surprising night life with live music at several locations just about every weekend, almost nightly during busy seasons.
Birding
Big Bend National Park is the most bio-diverse park in the entire system. Within its boundaries, one finds more species of butterflies, bats, reptiles, plants, ants and birds. Over 450 avian species either live in Big Bend National Park, or migrate through at some point in the year.
Birding Hot Spots
Several locations in and around Big Bend National Park offer excellent birdwatching in a variety of habitats.
Birding List
Common names and phylogenetic sequence are from the 1993 Thirty-ninth supplement to the 1983 sixth edition of the American Ornithologists’ Union Checklist of North American Birds as published in the April 8 1994 Auk 110:675-682.