Big Bend Ranch State Park

The main reason to stay at the Rancherias campsite, which like most other campsites in the park only has a picnic table and fire ring, is to hike the Rancherias Loop or Rancherias Canyon. The canyon lies on a 4. 8 one-way trail that is fairly rugged but rewards hikers with that rare phenomenon, a desert waterfall called Rancherias Falls. The loop Read more...

Big Bend Ranch isn’t the most friendly place for anyone with a trailer, or anyone not in a Jeep Wrangler 4x4, really. The terrain is often brutal and the roads reflect this. So a site like Vista de Bofecillos is a welcome retreat for many since it is one of the only sites accessible to small trailers and tent trailers, especially since this site i Read more...

If you happen to be a part of a merry band of marauding, history-loving, mountain biking geologists that number up to twelve people, have we found the site for you. The rocky hills and canyons here reveal the park’s fascinating geological past, and this site used to be the base for mining operations in the area, so there are abundant remnants of t Read more...

Jackson Pens is one of the five campsites in Big Bend Ranch with equestrian pens and is pretty standard compared to the others—fire rings, picnic tables, and an active water trough (unless you’re a horse, treat the water before drinking. If you are a horse, get off the internet and go frolic). The difference with this site is that you can ride (or Read more...

This is a no frills campsite, even by Big Bend Ranch standards. A campfire ring and picnic table is all you’re getting, apart from some remnants of a bygone era—ruined pens and watering sources from when the area was used for ranching. Flatter than a pop artist pre-autotune, you can see for miles around and get a pretty nice view of Solitario. It’ Read more...

This is a great spot if you want some privacy, mostly because it can’t really fit anyone else. La Posta still has a picnic table and fire ring like the other campsites in the park, both underneath a pretty cool, old wooden shelter. Plus, La Posta Mountain is only a short hike away. Overall, this is actually a pretty great private oasis (except, un Read more...

Papalote Rancho Viejo is pretty much what you would get if you could average together every campsite in Big Bend Ranch, the Baby Bear of campsites if you will. There’s a little bit of history in the form of an old windmill, stone corral, and water tank; your amenities are a fire ring, a picnic table, and tent pads; and the area is pretty open so y Read more...

Yedra’s two 4x4-only accessible campsites, each suitable only for a single group of no more than eight people, are two of the most secluded sites in the park. Site #2 lies beyond an even more rugged stretch of road but rewards the effort with better sunsets and an awesome fire ring set in the shelter of boulders. Both sites have a picnic table and Read more...

The natural temptation when staying at Papalotito Colorado will be to simply sit around beneath the campsite’s wooden shelter and marvel at the beauty around you. After all, from here you can watch the sun rise just off of La Mota Mountain, watch it set behind the former volcano of the Bofecillos Vents, watch wildlife come and go, and picnic all t Read more...

Tascate is a small campsite for about eight people that provides the picnic table and fire ring that every site in the park has as well as the ruins of ranching days gone by in the form of old windmills and water tanks. What really separates this site from others, though, is the way in which it is sheltered in a broad canyon by tall, age-old rock Read more...

Travelling with a big crew? Tend to be late or forget to book in advance? Have a chronically late, forgetful, big crew? Try camping at South Leyva. This group campsite can accommodate lots of people and is only a quarter mile from the visitor’s center. The campsites themselves are only unassuming plots of sandy desert, but a short hike will put yo Read more...

We know that you’ve always fantasized about being the hero in an old western flick. No, don’t try to deny it, embrace it and camp at Agua Adentro Pens. The site looks more like an old ranch than a campground with large, flat, hard-packed staging area complete with three fire rings, three simple wooden shelters with picnic tables, and even a livest Read more...

Calling Escondido Pens just a campground is like calling the Nestle Wonder Ball, that oh so coveted treat of the 90’s, just a chocolate. This site is actually multiple campgrounds in one. The Escondido Group Site is a large exposed area perfect for a grand ole desert dance party (or a family reunion, but we recommend the dance party). Ojo Escondid Read more...

This is one of the five campsites at Big Bend Ranch built with equestrians in mind, so if you’re bringing your horse or your buddy who wears that $20 Amazon horse mask, this site is probably a good fit. Like the other equestrian sites, this one has water access for your horses (treat the water if you are drinking it) and large, open pens for your Read more...

La Mota, Spanish for… The Mota (sorry, we took French), lies just outside the shadow of its eponymous mountain. The mountain itself offers short hikes and great panoramic views and is the main draw to this barebones site. It is a good site for kids, though, as there are boulders around perfect for climbing and playing on. With a picnic table and f Read more...

Channel your inner McFly, because where we’re going we don’t need roads. On second thought, leave the DeLorean at home unless you want to wreck it; the three Las Burras sites lie 2-2. 5 hours off the main road and are accessible only via 4x4 high clearance vehicles. Each site has a specific strength. ‘Burras One’ is nestled amidst canyons and smal Read more...

Twins have kind of had a bad rep since The Shining. Fear not, though, there are no supernatural occurrences at Los Cuates (the Twins), accessible only by 4x4 drive high clearance. This site is protected on the north by large rock formations and wide open everywhere else, preventing the cabin fever that made Jack a dull boy. This site is great if y Read more...

These campsites have what the best sites in the park have—a fire ring, a picnic table, mountains around to scramble up and then gawk at the view, and some pretty incredible chances to observe the region’s noteworthy wildlife and geology. Mexicano 1 is almost completely surrounded by mountains, meaning lots of shelter but not much a of a view witho Read more...

Ok, we were confused by this site at first, because we could have sworn that Ayers Rock was in Australia, yet here it is, just a few dozen yards from Papalote Encino’s eponymous windmill (the name means ‘oak windmill,’ for those that no hablan español). There was once a spring here that the windmill pulled water from, but it’s gone now, so make su Read more...

Papalote Llano & Papalote Llano Nuevo are par for the course as far as Big Bend Ranch campsites go—room for 3-4 tents; picnic tables; historical windmills, water tanks, and corrals; and views of mountains. Just like in the rest of the park, you’ll need to bring your own water. These sites do rise above the rest in their access to mountain bike Read more...

This is another one of the smaller backcountry sites in Big Bend Ranch, able to fit around four tents and three high-clearance vehicles. Like other sites, you’re not going to be staying here for the amenities that really only include a picnic table (there isn’t even any water, so bring plenty); you’re staying here for the beauty and sense of truly Read more...

If most campsites are like hostels—you share a space with a bunch of travelers you’ve never met—then the three Pila Montoya sites are like private suites for you and up to seven friends. Ok, not quite suites given that there is no water or electricity and really just a picnic table to speak of, but these three scenic solo sites with only two tent Read more...

If you’re taking a trip to Big Bend Ranch with a bunch of your buddies, then Arenosa is your oasis. One of two group camping sites in the park, Arenosa is a “primitive” camping area, meaning that you will have access to a self-composting toilet, picnic table, and little else. That also means either bring your own fresh water or some form of water Read more...

RVers, this one’s for you. Madera Canyon is the only campground other than Grassy Banks offering “trailer camping” within Big Bend Ranch. “Trailer camping” is a bit of a generous term here, though-- there are no hookups for water or electricity. In fact, the only amenities that this campground offers are a self-composting toilet and picnic table ( Read more...

Don’t bother staying here if you want plush camping more akin to your apartment than the wilderness. Chorro Vista is a backcountry site with an amenity list that begins and ends with picnic tables. This site will reward you for roughing it, though, with great sunsets and sunrises to view, canyons to explore, and springs to imbibe (after treating y Read more...

Fresno Vista rocks rock. Yeah, we saw the chance for a geology pun and we took it. The Fresno Canyon that Fresno Vista looks out upon provides glimpses into the history of the earth through the exposed strata, and volcanic rocks and boulders abound in this campsite. And if looking at rocks doesn’t appeal, the boulder field is a whole lot of fun to Read more...

This is it, the primo site. What are you looking for, stunning panoramic views? It’s a full 360 here. A fire ring that overlooks a canyon? You dream small, friend; this site throws the tent pads on the overlook as well. Want to see another country from your site? Oh hey, Mexico. Sweet volcanoes? Volcanic rock… close enough. ‘But Hipcamp, I’m baffl Read more...

It’s all well and good to set up camp at some high, exposed campsite with a view, but then you’re subject to wind and sun. Take the low road, however, and you arrive at the small and secluded Fresno Canyon campsite. We should mention that ‘the low road’ is traversable via horseback or four-wheel-drive only, so don’t bother coming with a horse trai Read more...

We’ve found a real-life desert oasis here. Los Ojitos is so named because it is just a few dozen yards from the spring of the same name. While you won’t be able to play a rousing game of Marco Polo in the shallow pool formed by the spring, it is a great spot to see the local wildlife. We still recommend bringing your own water because there’s no t Read more...