| |
Big Bend may well be the most anonymous of the national parks in the Lower
48. If it's solitude you seek, you'll find it here. Besides serving up quiet
in big, Texas-size portions, Big Bend boasts geologic wonders, unique wildlife,
and plenty of room for hikers and campers to spread out.
The park, which earns its name for the sharp turn the Rio Grande takes in
its midst, sprawls across an astounding 801,000 acres of arid plains and
mountains in far-west Texas. The Indians thought this land was the Great
Spirit's rock storage facility; the Spaniards called it "El Despoblado,"
or "the uninhabited land." However you see it, Big Bend is not
soon forgotten: It's a place of mystery and timeless beauty.
Big Bend is generally crowd-free year-round, Thanksgiving, Christmas,
and New Year's excepted. Park officials also recommend steering clear
during spring break time — usually the second and third weeks of
March — when sun-starved college students descend.
Big Bend National Park preserves a magnificent and diverse portion of the
Chihuahuan Desert where the Rio Grande River, looping to the south, forms
a "Big Bend" in the border between Mexico and Texas. Superb desert
scenery, curiously eroded rocks, volcanoes, faults, anticlines, fossils,
hot springs, old mines, archeological sites and a high and dry wilderness
ecosystem are among Big Bend's fantastic wonders. One of the largest national
parks, Big Bend is relatively uncrowded much of the year. Visitation is
highest in March and April. The park is extremely crowded during spring
break, which is usually the second or third week in March. Easter weekend,
Thanksgiving weekend, and the week between Christmas and New Year's Day
are also very busy. All lodging and campsites are usually full during these
periods. Visitation is lowest in August and September. |
|