Big Bend National Park. Unknown Parks Episode 1

Subscribe for more national park content.

Welcome to the first episode of Unknown Parks, where I talk about national parks that are not the most popular but are definitely among the most beautiful. In this episode, we will discuss Big Bend National Park in Texas, which I consider to be the best desert national park and the most underrated national park out of all of them.

[NationalParkWild]

Happy Earth Day! Which park should I cover next?

[margaretcontreras]

I love this National Park great place to visit tons of birds great hikes and peaceful nights beautiful stars we were hit by a good wind storm on our last night but it was still a great time🙏❤️

[MadDemocrat.]

Shush - we are addicted to Big Bend and have visited at least 8 times over last 30 yrs. It’s so remote that we still haven’t seen all of it but plan to and do have our favorite spots. Great post.

[jamesmasn]

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK is really an awesome park, ty for the Video .. also right next to it is BIG BEND RANCH STATE PARK, also great for hiking and camping but also for overlanding and offroading.. y'all look into it also thanks again

[phantomblooper]

Big Bend is probably my favorite NP. I've been there 4 times and can't wait to go back again. January is the best time to go. Doesn't get too hot during the day, or too cold at night. June to September is brutally hot.

[tommorris]

I am with you. My favorite national park. Hardly any people. Been there a number of times since the early 70's. You should canoe not only the canyons, which are spectacular, but the open desert stretches in between. And do not miss lounging in the hot springs.
The herping in the park is top notch. The park is in what is known as the Trans Pecos region, which is renowned for the biodiversity of its snakes and lizards, many of which are endemic. Canoeing the river from Boquillas Canyon down to the Pecos, which takes one through over 150 miles of canyons, is on my wish list. Wild country, indeed.

[isaidit]

Just got back from Big Bend a few weeks ago. It was our first time ever visiting Big Bend and it was absolutely beautiful and worth it. We didn't come across any black bear even tho we wanted to see one so badly but we did come across a mountain lion on one of the trails. It was about 15 feet away from us and was lying inside one of it's dens staying in the shade. It made eye contact with us and we stared at each other for about 15 seconds until it ran back into the cave/den. We were both defitly frightened and scared but we kept our calm and stayed relaxed as they say you should and luckily we didn't catch it on a bad day while it was hungry, feeding or defensive. It nvr followed us or anything but i hear they do dtalk you so i will say we did have God on our side that day but it did give us one of the best experiences ever as most people will never get to see a mountain lion face to face like we had :)
Keep kids close and never stray too far away from your partner while hiking at Big Bend.

[MTBExtraordinaire]

I added the description below on another of your videos and I wanted to put it here as well:

I just got home from a 3 1/2 day visit to BBNP. I wanted to like this park so mush and for 2 days it was cool but not hitting the spot. And then on the last 2 days we did a sunrise hike on Lost Mine Trail and another one on the South Rim Trail. Those 2 hikes combined with going over the border into Boquillas with my 2 young daughters (who were scared to do so) really rounded out the park and it finally hit the spot .... THIS IS AN AWESOME NP

From the Santa Elena Canyon, to the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, to the Chisos Mtns and eating in the lodge, to the dinosaur exhibit, to sitting in the hot springs, to the great views all throughout the park ... this one is a winner ! I think the best place to stay is just outside the park in Terlingua. It sounds crazy but staying there is more accessible than staying at 1 of the 3 campgrounds within the park.

[jmax]

Just left Big Bend today, top 3 of the 14 parks I’ve been to.

[aaronlewis]

I generally don't care for desert parks, but this park hits different. If you don't mind the 3 hours of off-road each way to get to the trailhead, check out Mariscal Canyon Rim Trail. It's one of the best trails I've ever been on. There's a backcountry campsite around 1/2 a mile from the trailhead on the riverbank.

[embarkthepark]

I just visited. I spent a few days exploring the park and the surrounding area and agree with you. The park is amazing and the Lost Mine Trail is incredible

[smarvin]

Glad to have you back, can't wait to see more of this series!

Big Bend is such a great park, I was able to spend a few days there last spring. Had probably my most humbling/scary NP experience here though - did the Marufo Vega trail in one day, which is near Boquillas canyon I believe - goes through maybe 7 miles of desert to get some amazing views of the Rio Grande. Couple thousand feet of elevation change each way, with no shade or water, and barely any other people to help in case things go bad - I saw one group of two people the entire time I was out there. Didn't bring enough water with me, and it was a brutal slog to get back to the trailhead. Beautiful views out there, but just a reminder to always be careful! Sadly, two people died from that trail last summer, bringing the total that have lost their lives to Marufo Vega up to 5. Enjoy the views, but start early, stay safe, and hydrate!

Also did Lost Mine, and started before sunrise, but it was a little rainy and foggy that day, so I didn't exactly get the stunning mountain views you would normally get on that trail, but seeing the mountains shrouded in a thick, eerie fog was a cool experience of it's own!

[michael]

Great video! Very nice pictures! Maybe you could do a park in Alaska for this series 🤔

[HamLover]

Great video Eric! I would say for future videos on this subject to shout out Congaree! My wife and I are going there soon as we will be in the area. My research says it's something of a hidden gem, and I'd love to see a video on that park before we head there in July!

[beaubows]

Just did the south rim trail a couple days ago. Beautiful park!

[andrewstravels]

Nice to hear from you Eric, it’s been a little bit. I went to Texas for the first time this past Christmas and almost went to Big Bend. The only reason why I didn’t go is because I only had a little over a week in the state and it would’ve taken a day to get there from San Antonio, I only would’ve had a day to see the park and it would’ve taken another day to get back to San Antonio and I needed to head north towards Dallas/Ft. Worth. Nonetheless, I had a great time in Texas. I went to San Antonio, Fredericksburg, Austin, Waco, Dallas, Ft. Worth, and Jacksboro. I have some videos on my channel if you are interested in seeing them. Next time I’m in Texas, I hope to go to Big Bend. After visiting New River Gorge last summer, I’ve been to 9 National Park thus far.

[MC_AudioGratitude]

I did Lost Mines trail. It was a good one, one of my favorites. I'll be back, because I want to see Santa Elena Canyon. I didn't see a black bear there, but I saw one last year at Sequoia. The birds at BB are cool, I agree with that. :)

[markweaver]

I'm not sure it's underrated -- just under visited. It's a long way from everywhere that you can easily fly into. We've been a few times, and loved it -- especially the wonderful back-country drive in camp sites that, AFAIK, are unique in the National Park system. The gateway town of Terlingua is hoot, too. On our visits there we saw bears, coyotes, a ring-tail cat (relative of coati and raccoon), and more ordinary wildlife like jack rabbits and deer. We were fortunate that our camp sites were never molested by any Javelina. No snakes either, but we were there during winter (which is an excellent time to go). The hot springs on the shore of the Rio Grande early in the morning are great too. And Chisos mountain hikes are wonderful. Highly recommended.

As for next places to go -- you could go for some of the other least visited but gorgeous parks: Channel Islands, North Cascades, or maybe Isle Royale (which is even harder to get to than Big Bend).

[shumandaniele]

Going there spring '25, we're big bird watchers, so we're excited.

[cesarchavezAudio]

i’ve lived 3 hours from big bend my whole life and i’ve never been. 21 years later it’s on my bucket list