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.
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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.
Interp guides
Organized groups, bus tours, bird watchers, and people who are curious about the intriguing natural and human history of the Big Bend can hire a specialized guide
Local Transport
Getting around Big Bend can be a complicated affair. National Park Headquarters is over 4 hours drive from the nearest commercial airport, and two hours from the train station in Alpine. Backpackers, hikers, and river runners often need help moving their vehicles and equipment from the beginning of their route to the other end.
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.
Spas and Retreats
Some people come to a place like Big Bend to relax and rejuvenate. Get a massage or a spa treatment, or try out a yoga retreat in an absolutely maginificent setting.
Big Bend Activities Videos
Big Bend offers many activities for your family, from sightseeing and hiking to river running and birding. You can choose from comfortable lodging and eateries to outback wilderness adventures.
Golf
There are two golf courses located just outside Big Bend National Park, offering completely different golfing experiences:
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.
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.
Shopping
Professional surveys suggest that the most popular vacation activity is shopping and in Big Bend unique local merchants have made many interesting shopping opportunities available.
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.