Top 7 Visitor Hot Spots in West Texas
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- Published on Saturday, 28 November 2009 16:16
The Big Bend region of Texas offers visitors more than a million acres of public lands, including the largest state park in Texas. The area boasts amazing sights, activities and destinations. Let's take a look at some of the most popular visitor spots in Big Bend.
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Santa Elena Canyon
Santa Elena canyon is one of the most popular sights in Big Bend National Park. The canyon was formed by the mighty Rio Grande and features 1,500 foot canyon walls. The nature trail follows the river into the canyon giving the visitor an inside view of this majestic formation. Santa Elena can also be visited via raft or canoe, making it a wonderful addition to your itinerary.
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Big Bend Ranch State Park
Big Bend Ranch State Park is the largest state park in Texas. It features unique volcanic landscapes and secluded hiking and biking trails. The park offers an adventurous array of destinations and sights in its 275,000 acre preserve. There are many backcountry campsites and unpaved roads for exploring the desert uplands.
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Boquillas Canyon
Boquillas Canyon is located on the east edge of Big Bend National Park. It is the longest and deepest canyon in the park, and from Pico del Carmen, it is 7,000 feet to the river below, making it deeper than the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The canyon features a spectacular nature trail that follows the river into the canyon. The canyon can be visited by canoe or raft, and usually requires about 3 days to travel the 33 miles by water.
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Terlingua Ghost Town
Terlingua is an abandoned mining town that has been restored to include many popular visitors stops, including restaurants, shops, and hiking trails. One of the most beautiful views in West Texas can be experienced from the Terlingua Porch at sunset.
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Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive
This scenic drive is includes many of the most interesting natural formations in Big Bend National Park. It features many different landscapes, short hiking trails, and majestic overlooks. The drive skirts the Chisos Mountains on their western edge, and slowly descends to Santa Elena Canyon on the Rio Grande.
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Chisos Mountains
Commonly referred to as “the heart” of Big Bend National Park, the Chisos mountains extend 20 miles through the center of the park. These mountains include some of the highest peaks in the park, including Emory Peak at 7,835 feet above sea level. The Chisos feature many hiking trails for every level of hiker, and include lodging and eating facilities.
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Camino del Rio
30 miles of twists and turns define the Camino del Rio. This famous road follows the Rio Grande through Big Bend State Park and features one of the steepest grades in Texas. Visitors can enjoy a vast array of beautiful vistas and interesting natural formations.
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Make a trip to West Texas and enjoy some of the most beautiful sights in the USA.
Would you like to learn more about Places to See in West Texas?
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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.
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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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