Big Bend National Park: Some Background

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I've spent three full days in Big Bend National Park and I feel like I'm beginning to understand the park at last and now it's time to leave.

Big Bend was first a Texas state park known as Texas Canyons State Park and was established as a national park in 1944, a gift to the people of the United States from the State of Texas. Whatever your feelings about the State of Texas, we should all be extremely grateful for its generosity in gifting us this wonderful and diverse place.

For those of you who don't know, Big Bend refers to great U-turn the Rio Grande makes at the park in the southwest of Texas. Big Bend lies in the northern part of the Chihuahuan Desert, one of North America's four major deserts. While a large part of Big Bend is desert, the Chisos Mountain Range is also in Big Bend - in fact, all of the Chisos Mountains are in Big Bend and Big Bend is the only national park with an entire mountain range fully within its boundaries. Finally, Big Bend is also the Rio Grande - which has been designated as a Wild and Scenic River. So, Big Bend National Park is like no other national park I've been to - it has the Chihuahuan Desert, the Chisos Mountains, and the Rio Grande, all wrapped up in one place.

I highly recommend that anyone, who has the time and inclination, plan a visit to Big Bend. It is one of the least visited parks in the National Park System. Of course, it is in the middle of nowhere and accessibility is not its strong suit, and it does get brutally hot in the Spring and Summer months, so that may be a reason for it low visitor rate.

But it is an incredible place and I would rank it among the top 10 of the National Parks that I've visited. And if you come at the right time, you may have the park all to yourself, like I did on many of my adventures in the park. Believe me, you will not be disappointed with a visit to Big Bend, even you are not a hiker and are merely someone who enjoys scenic drives and beautiful and awe dropping vistas.


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