6 Important Tips For Visiting the Big Bend

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6 Important Tips For Visiting the Big Bend

Details: Published on Saturday, 14 November 2009 17:23

The Big Bend is a remote region of West Texas that includes over one million acres of public land, Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, and offers many activities, from camping and river rafting to horseback riding and off-road vehicle tours. But because of the inherent remoteness, planning your trip before you leave the house will help make your Big Bend vacation more enjoyable.

Follow these tips for your next Big Bend Adventure.

Get Informed

There are many online resources for visiting the region. Read up on the area before you embark on your adventure. There is a lot of area to cover, and it is unreasonable to try and see everything in one trip. Online resources can give you advice on what to see and try and do on your trip.
View our links>>

Plan Ahead and Provide Backups

Big Bend is known for being remote and rugged. Because of this, your trip may not go as planned. Unforeseen things can happen and leave you stranded or worse. Plan your trip around activities and lodging, and prepare alternative activities, routes, lodging locations just in case something should go wrong.
Planning Your Trip >>

Weather Changes

The weather in Big Bend is hard to predict. Weather can change rapidly in most seasons, changing from hot and sunny to cold and rainy. Be sure to bring clothes for different climates. Temperatures can reach more than 110 degrees in the summer, but if a thunderstorm blows through, the temperature can drop rapidly to the 70's or 60's in a matter of minutes. These rapid changes in weather can put a damper on an otherwise fun trip if not anticipated.
Weather Information >>

Bring Appropriate Supplies

It is important to be prepared, but bringing a truckload of gadgets is inadvisable. Besides adding weight to hiking or boating trips, gadgets distract from the natural beauty and scenery that surrounds the visitor in this remote region. So, bring only what you need, cell phone, plenty of water, camping and survival gear, and leave the rest up to the local outfitters.

Plan Around Activities

There are numerous activities available to every visitor to the area. Unfortunately, not all activities are available year round. River rafting is a very popular activity, but at times, the Rio Grande water level is low, making rafting difficult. Most of the time you can still go canoeing, at water levels ideal for beginners. But canoeing is not for everyone, and by planning a backup like horseback riding, Jeep tours, or hiking, your trip can be just as enjoyable.
Big Bend Activities >>

Enjoy Yourself

Things go wrong, and your attitude will determine whether it will ruin the family vacation or create opportunities for unanticipated fun. Perspective is everything, and the key to a good vacation attitude is not take things so seriously. If the trip doesn't follow the plan exactly, that's ok, enjoy yourself anyway.

Planning your adventure is not difficult. Being prepared for the unanticipated can make the difference between disaster and memorable.

Would you like more resources for visiting the Big Bend?
Plan Your Big Bend Adventure: www.visitbigbend.com/site09/en/plan-your-trip.html

Worth a Thousand Words

There are some views you just can't take in all at once. Like a dazzling sunset or breathtaking field of wildflowers—you just can't appreciate such beauty in the moment, a moment that is often over before you realize it, the forms and colors of that marvelous vista already fading in your memory. Perhaps it was with the goal of preserving such scenes that the first camera was invented, a goal that you may still share when you visit a place as beautiful as Big Bend and the surrounding area. Why not take a look through our new and improved photo galleries to see what amazing sights have been preserved by astounded visitors and appreciative locals? When you see the mountains, plains, flora, and fauna displayed in those images, you'll be glad the gallery contributors took their camera along.

Birding in Big Bend

Among the many activities available in Big Bend National Park that highlight the region's diversity of wildlife, birding can be enjoyable and promising. Big Bend engulfs a vast area, bounded by the the rushing Rio Grande valley to the south, containing high peaks in the Chisos Mountains, and boasting both desert and forest climates between the two. It embodies the very diversity that makes America great, providing countless opportunities to spot more than 450 birds in one area.

Your Big Year is Here

What are your new year's resolutions for 2012? Did you keep your resolutions for 2011? While the top resolutions each year include losing weight, learning something new, traveling, or getting out of debt, here's a new challenge you can take on this year: spot all the bird species in Big Bend National Park.

Big Bend Video Collections

Big Bend has some of the most spectacular scenery in Texas, if not the entire US. Our big sky country rivals any other state and our night skies are as dark as anywhere for excellent star gazing. The beautiful light and great scenery make for a photographer’s paradise.

Trails and Wildlife

There are many things you may love to do in Big Bend National Park in the heat of summer, but running or jogging is probably not one of them. With 90+ degree temperatures, there simply is no such thing as a nice July run in West Texas. With the dry weather we've had this year, you have truly hostile workout conditions. That all changes this time of year, though, as temperatures drop and the sun gives us a break for a few months. What a great time to get out on some trails in Big Bend!

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