zoso

I'm traveling to Big Bend National Park in October and looking for suggestions and ideas on where to go, great photo ops, and where to stay. Thanks, Zoso

bertloomis Loc: Fort Worth, Texas

Big Bend NP is in a very remote location. Headquarters is 100 miles from Fort Stockton on I-10. There is one town between Fort Stockton and BB, Marathon. Be certain to gas up there. Consult this map:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Big+Bend+National+Park,+TX/Fort+Stockton,+TX/@30.0160198,-103.7661781,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x86f217704be5ef2b:0x64467dbc2783850f!2m2!1d-103.2425379!2d29.1274869!1m5!1m1!1s0x86f07c20e88d6ac5:0x8b89ea870c3ff014!2m2!1d-102.8793222!2d30.8940431

If you are camping you may need reservations. To find a place to stay, expand the map view and go to YP.com for nearby towns to find what is available. It will be almost nothing. Marathon is the only town of any size and it is 40 miles from the park. But whatever you find, have a reservation.

PhotoKurtz Loc: Carterville, IL

Camping and RV at the resort in Terlingua is decent. Breakfast lunch or dinner at Chilie Pepper is nice. Dinner and music at the Starlight in Ghost town. Late night at La Kiva is a hoot. Also camping in the national park grounds is nice.

For $5 you can use your passport to take a rowboat across the Rio Grande to Boquillas, MX. Lots of photo ops there... and user friendly people.

PhotoKurtz Loc: Carterville, IL

Camping and RV at the resort in Terlingua is decent. Breakfast lunch or dinner at Chilie Pepper is nice. Dinner and music at the Starlight in Ghost town. Late night at La Kiva is a hoot. Also camping in the national park grounds is nice.

For $5 you can use your passport to take a rowboat across the Rio Grande to Boquillas, MX. Lots of photo ops there... and user friendly people.

jimdandy

Stay in S park cabin in the Chisos Mountains. It will 10 - 15 degrees cooler with great views.

Drip Dry McFleye

Spent 8 days in Big Bend this spring. We camped in the Chisos Basin. Very good restaurant there with moderate prices. The campground was full to capacity every day we were there but I'm not so sure that would be the case if you are going to be there in October. We got our campsite by showing up around 8:30 or 9 am and looking for people who were leaving. This actually works pretty well because only a portion of the campsites are available for advance reservation. If you want to stay in a room I HIGHLY RECOMMEND reservations well in advance (as in: call now). We stayed in the town of Alpine the first night we arrived in the area. Very nice town with a few good restaurants but it's around 50 or 60 miles from the park so it's not very workable to use it as a base of operation. Recommend the courtyard at the Century Hotel for great dining there.

We did a lot of hiking and the cacti were in bloom at the time. Great photo opps for both flowers and landscapes. Used a circular polarizer an awful lot. Don't let the miles of flat desert you will pass through while getting into the park scare you off. There is a lot of mountainous territory but you have to do some driving to get there. Best of luck!

mikedent Loc: Florida

LaQuitas (sp?) is a great resort a few miles from NP entrance. They have Old West type rooms, good restaurant and bar, have a large golf course, air strip, horses, small outdoor shooting range, Very friendly folks, good reputation, close to a small food store. You are literally in the RioGrande River which is border with Mexico. Beautiful property.

newsguygeorge Loc: Victoria, Texas

Texas Highways Magazine (https://www.texashighways.com/) has had quite the run of stories about that part of the state over the last few years. The main page has a search bar. Have fun.

zoso

Thanks so much

4OX

Watch ur speed in the park!

4OX

Btw, we stayed at aforementioned RV Park in a decent room...they have several little duplex things with kitchens. I said decent...clean. Didn't say 'nice". But convenient!

zoso

40X, I don't think I got an RV Park name....please resend. Thanks, Zoso

Floyd Loc: Misplaced Texan in Florence, Alabama

What ever you do, do not pass up the opportunity to visit The McDonald Observatory! Their tours ($22 total for all three) are fun and very informational and the Milky Way is fantastic with no light pollution. If you decide to go,call and make reservations for the tours now as space is limited and they fill up fairly quickly. You will be there at the tail end of the Milky Way sighting, but Google it and determine whether or not to try to capture it. One of the domes is located on the highest mountain in Texas and the daytime view is worth the trip.

JimG1 Loc: Waxahachie, TX

If you don't want to camp AirBNB has some interesting offers.

SteveLew Loc: Sugar Land, TX

We stay at the Lodge in the valley near the Ranger station in Big Bend National Park. Photo opportunities are endless and present themselves along the myriad of hiking trails and at the Window at sunset a short walk down a trail from the Valley's Ranger station. The trail maps are obtained at the one of two Ranger stations and begin in ether the desert or near the Valley in the mountains. These hiking maps rate the hikes as to difficulty and milage. Make sure that you have gas for your vehicle since there is only one gas station in Big Bend. Take the road that leads from the Valley to the Rio Grande and take photos at the vista points and upon reaching the Rio Grande. Your visitation in October is a good month since the summer months can get very warm especially in the desert areas and coming to the Park. Big Bend is a wonderful National Park that offers something for everyone. Take it slow and photograph the myriad of photo opportunities.