Big Bend National Park

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I read that it’s a hotspot for border crossings and trafficking.

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People have been using the Big Bend for shite like this since the 80s...you'll be fine.

Coyotes aren't gonna frick with you, it's a business...and the people who are crossing generally are trying to avoid white faces.

Big Bend is a park I definitely want to get to. I've read they have some of the darkest night skies anywhere in the lower 48. There's not much I like better than staring into the Milky Way on a clear night away from civilization.

What's the easiest way to get there from out of state? Fly into San Antonio? Looks like it's still about a ~6 hour drive from there.

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Fly into San Antonio?

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Fly into El Paso or Midland and then make the 3 hour drive. And yes, the night sky is incredible down there.

Thanks for the reminder. Just booked for 1/2.

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I read that it’s a hotspot for border crossings and trafficking

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I've never heard that. It is in the literal middle of nowhere, no matter what side of the border you're on.

Big Bend is a destination trip where you spend multiple days, not a place you stop in and look at from your car while on the way to somewhere else.

Been several times and it always feels “new.” The colors change with the Sun angles and cloud cover and seasons. It’s magical and very large. People get lost.

Guadalupe Mountains is also a hidden gem of a park, and very remote. Lightly visited with more forest and alpine feel.

Went with the fam the second week of October. Had a fantastic road trip from Northwest LA. Having been to Death Valley a couple of years ago, I wasn’t sure how it would measure up…however…as a National Park, I found it fascinating. It really is quite diverse in its landscapes and ecology and the fact that you can run across a black bear (which we did on the way back on the Window View Trail) or a mountain lion (“Is that a cougar in the car?”) in the same area is pretty cool.

You can easily make it a couple of days to explore the different areas of the park. The Chisos Mountain area looks like a forest in the middle of the desert. We spent time hiking on several trails over the few days we were there. Santa Elena Canyon trail and the Boquillas Canyon trails were beautiful by the water. The Window View Trail is worth the effort for the view at the end. Some of my favorite pictures are from there.

We ventured into Mexico (with passports) across the Rio Grande via the Boquillas International Ferry and had lunch at Jose Falcon’s Restaurant.

It is a dark sky area and sitting out under the stars and seeing the Milky Way was pretty amazing. We stayed at The Summit at Big Bend in Terlingua. Was a pretty cool experience. Terlingua Ghost Town is not that far away and the Starlight Theatre was an incredibly interesting place to eat, listen to music and do some people watching.

I would definitely go back to explore more in the park and surrounding area. The area is a geological goldmine. There was a group of Geology students from a&m that pulled in behind us at one of the shorter trails (Lower Burro Runoff). If your fascinated at all by how our world was shaped over time and the geologic formations created by that, then this is definitely a place worth visiting.

As with anything, you make out of it what you want. Me and my family found it to be a beautiful park. I would, without hesitation, recommend it to anyone.