Big Bend National Park Self-guided Driving Audio Tour

Big Bend National Park's entrance station, located near Alpine, Texas, serves as the primary gateway to this expansive and rugged national park. The entrance station itself is a modest structure, often featuring a small building with a rustic design that blends harmoniously with the surrounding desert landscape. Visitors are greeted with a sign marking the entrance to the park, typically bearing the park’s name and emblem.

We’re surrounded by the Chihuahuan Desert—a desert so large that the entire country of France could fit cozily inside of it! Don’t let the idea of a little chihuahua make you think this is a little desert. It spans across Texas, New Mexico, and several Mexican states. This desert lends its name to the state of Chihuahua. And that’s where the little dogs originated, so it’s where they get their name!

They border the park along the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. With no rivers, roads, or towns in the Sierra, the region has earned the reputation of being one of the most remote places on earth!

They get their name from the Chizos tribe. You might notice that while most of Big Bend consists of desert, the Chisos are forested. So, how does this green speck exist in a stretch of brown? Well, it’s a sky island.

Opened in 2017, this exhibit features replicas of some of the most famous fossils discovered in Big Bend. The paleontologists here have been hard at work for years, excavating more than 1,200 fossils! This is also the only National Park where they’ve found rocks from the Cretaceous period!

It’s named after J.C. Avery, who ranched here at the dawn of the 1900s. At this time in Big Bend history, settlements began to spring up like wildgrass. The flood of people was a result of the developing railroad, which finally reached the nearby town of Marathon in the 1880s. With the addition of 4,000 miles of tracks, Brewster County was born—that’s the county we’re driving through now.

The Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park rise majestically from the desert floor, offering a striking contrast to the surrounding arid landscape. These rugged, forested peaks are often shrouded in mist, with their rocky crags and lush greenery providing a haven for diverse wildlife. The dramatic vistas from the mountain trails reveal sweeping views of the park's vast expanse, punctuated by deep canyons and the winding Rio Grande.

Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive in Big Bend National Park winds through some of the park’s most stunning and diverse landscapes, from sweeping desert vistas to rugged canyons. The drive offers panoramic views of the Chisos Mountains, Santa Elena Canyon, and the vastness of the Chihuahuan Desert, with frequent pullouts for scenic overlooks and photo opportunities.

One night in 1883, a young cowhand was driving cattle back to a ranch when he saw something strange. A flicker of light, intense and brief, off in Big Bend’s distance. He continued traveling after a moment, assuming it was simply an Apache fire. But the next day the young man talked with other settlers, who’d also seen the inexplicable lights.

This 15,000-acre ranch operated for nearly 40 years and witnessed a whole lot of Big Bend history. In 1916, two brothers set out for Brewster County during the ranching boom. America saw an increase in homesteads since the government encouraged folks to grow their own food and conserve resources during the first World War.

Long before miners came to this area in the 1900s, Burro Mesa was one of the most valuable natural resource sites around. 13,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers during the prehistoric period found something called chert here. This colorful sedimentary rock was perfect for stone tools like spearheads for hunting.

You’ll also get a scenic view of the Blue Creek Valley—the same sight that probably drew Wilson to settle here in 1929. As a World War I veteran, Wilson returned to Texas looking for a peaceful place to build a home for his family.

Sotol Vista Overlook in Big Bend National Park offers breathtaking panoramic views of the expansive desert landscape, with the rugged Chisos Mountains silhouetted against the horizon. From this vantage point, visitors can see the vastness of the Chihuahuan Desert stretching out below, punctuated by the Rio Grande and distant canyons.

The odd geological formation is made up of rhyolite—a type of volcanic rock. But how did the unnatural ears form? Two words: Geological dikes. These occur when magma flows into the crack of an existing rock mass, then it cools and solidifies.

On the outskirts of Big Bend sits Terlingua, a mining district turned ghost town. The name derives from tres lenguas, or referring to the three languages that were spoken during its founding—English, Spanish, and Lipan Apache. At one point, Terlingua was a sleepy Mexican village that sprung up near the Rio Grande.

We’re approaching Tuff Canyon Overlook, where you’ll get a chance to observe a deep canyon gouged in Big Bend’s landscape. The muddle of red and tan rock is evidence of the region’s volcanic years.

This majestic mountain is the subject of many photos and even more questions. How did Cerro Castellan form? What is the red-orange surface made of?

We’re about to enter the Castolon Historic District. I know, it doesn’t look like much. But pretty soon you’ll see a few historic buildings off to our right—some of the only remnants of the pre-park days here.

Want to get up close and personal with the Rio Grande? Our best chance is just ahead! We’ll soon reach a great spot for river access, where plenty of folks come to hang out by the river’s edge.