West Texas & Big Bend: 8 days of desert and starry skies
El Paso → Seminole Canyon · 8 Days
Wide, empty Texas: from El Paso to the Guadalupe Mountains with the state's highest peak and a detour to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Via Marfa with its art scene and the McDonald Observatory with star parties into Big Bend National Park – the Chisos Mountains, Santa Elena Canyon and the ghost town of Terlingua.
Long stretches without fuel: fill up before every leg and carry water. Best from February to April and in autumn.
A sample route to look at. If you copy it, your own copy lands in your plans – there you can change days, stops and order.
1 Day 1
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09:00El Paso Start
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09:00Franklin Mountains State Park
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12:00Car · 66 km · 57 min
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12:57Hueco Tanks State Park
3 campgrounds near the day’s end
- Mission RV Park 33 km
- Ft Bliss RV Park 39 km
- Cotton Valley Travel Center 43 km
2 Day 2
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05:51Car · 146 km · 3 h 9 min
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09:00Guadalupe-Mountains-Nationalpark
Foto: Leaflet, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Desert mountains with dramatic rock formations and deep canyons, surrounded by diverse flora and fauna of the Chihuahuan Desert. Written by Claude from Wikidata facts
- Well known: Wikipedia articles in 30 languages.
3 campgrounds near the day’s end
- Tejas Wilderness Campground 3 km · National Park Service Recreation.gov
- Guadalupe Peak 3 km · National Park Service Recreation.gov
- E&I RV Park 32 km
3 Day 3
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06:10Car · 103 km · 2 h 50 min
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09:00Carlsbad-Caverns-Nationalpark
Foto: Eric Guinther, User:Marshman, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Vast underground chambers with dramatic stalactite formations wind through the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico. Written by Claude from Wikidata facts
- Well known: Wikipedia articles in 51 languages.
3 campgrounds near the day’s end
- Whites City RV Park 6 km OpenStreetMap
- Grease Wood RV Park 24 km
- Dog Canyon Campground 42 km · National Park Service · 14 sites · RVs up to 23 ft (7,0 m) Recreation.gov
4 Day 4
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05:13Car · 289 km · 3 h 47 min
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09:00Chinati Foundation
Foto: Jgc3, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Former military buildings have housed large-scale minimalist art installations since 1986. Written by Claude from Wikidata facts
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11:00Car · 60 km · 41 min
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11:41Prada Marfa
5 Day 5
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07:23Car · 109 km · 1 h 37 min
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09:00McDonald-Observatorium
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11:00Car · 22 km · 24 min
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11:24Fort Davis National Historic Site
3 campgrounds near the day’s end
- Prude Ranch 3 km
- Lost Alaskan RV Park 34 km
- La Vista RV Park 47 km
6 Day 6
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04:57Car · 227 km · 4 h 3 min
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09:00Big-Bend-Nationalpark
Foto: TripOfALifestyle.com, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Well known: Wikipedia articles in 37 languages.
3 campgrounds near the day’s end
- Chisos Basin Group Campground (Big Bend, TX) 6 km · National Park Service · 7 sites Recreation.gov
- Chisos Basin Campground (Big Bend, TX) 6 km · National Park Service · 62 sites · RVs up to 24 ft (7,3 m) Recreation.gov
- Lost Gringo RV Park 36 km
7 Day 7
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06:33Car · 74 km · 2 h 27 min
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09:00Santa Elena Canyon
Sheer limestone walls rise above the Rio Grande, carved by the river along the border between Texas and Mexico. Written by Claude from Wikidata facts
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12:00Car · 36 km · 56 min
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12:56Terlingua
3 campgrounds near the day’s end
- Lost Gringo RV Park 1 km
- Maverick Ranch RV Park 17 km
- Cottonwood (Big Bend, TX) 22 km · National Park Service · 31 sites · RVs up to 30 ft (9,1 m) Recreation.gov
8 Day 8
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06:55Car · 103 km · 2 h 5 min
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09:00Big Bend Ranch State Park
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12:22Car · 432 km · 5 h 30 min
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17:52Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site
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20:52Car · 0 km · 1 min
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20:53Seminole Canyon Destination
3 campgrounds near the day’s end
- Three Rivers RV Park 41 km
- San Pedro Group Campground 42 km · National Park Service · 1 sites Recreation.gov
- 277 North Group Campground 44 km · National Park Service · 1 sites Recreation.gov
Campgrounds: recreation.gov (RIDB) · Parks Canada, contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada · OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)