The last four nights in the National Park were in two different primitive high clearance backcountry sites. These sites have a designated parking area, tent site and bear box, nothing else. GENERATORS ARE NOT ALLOWED. They were located well off the main park road, on a gravel access road. Some of the access roads are suitable for typical clearance vehicles, but all roads turn into a slippery mess with any rain or snow. Big Bend National Park is larger than the state of Rhode Island, so camping in various sites, allowed me to explore and hike much of the park, including the desert, canyons and mountains.
Emory Peak
Lost Mine Trail
Big Bend Ranch State Park is divided into two main components. The river corridor and the interior section. The river corridor is accessible by any vehicle. The interior is accessible by most vehicles as far as the Sauceda Ranger station, assuming you don’t mind driving 26 miles on a maintained but wash board gravel road. Beyond the Ranger Station most of the park roads are accessible by high clearance and or 4WD/4WL high clearance, vehicles. Many of these roads have warning signs, and eat AWD Subarus for breakfast. The campsites located on these roads are true overland sites. I even shifted into 4WL a couple of times just to give me a bit more control. These interior campsites have a covered picnic table, bear box in some cases, designated parking and tent area. There are only two campsites with privies. GENERATORS ARE NOT ALLOWED.
The park is a mecca for mountain bikes, but does offer some nice hikes. I camped in three different interior sites over six nights. I did not hear a man made sound or see a source of artificial light from any of these backcountry sites. The park is a designated international dark sky park, the stars were amazing.
The one negative is that you must check-in and obtain a new permit every time you change sites, so I alternated opposite sides of the park when changing sites. The ranger station is also the only source of potable water and trash in the park. There are also free showers at the ranger station as well. No dump station.
My last two nights were in a river corridor campground, the sites here have covered picnic tables, a privy, trash. No water, no dump station, unfortunately, generators are allowed.
I use a clean waste toilet system and I was glad I had it. It would have been very difficult to dump a cassette toilet or similar potty legally. They do not allow them to be dumped into the privy or flush toilets. Some of the visitor centers had dump stations.
I started the trip carrying 20 gallons of water and was always able to fill water before I got down to 7 gallons, but I did make a point of refilling anytime I had the chance. The weather for most days was sunny, warm and windy.
I highly recommend both parks. If you are a mountain biker, spend most of your time in the state park, if you are a hiker, then the national park offers more hikes. Both parks are extremely popular during spring break, so avoid if possible.
