Headed to Big Bend NP.

[Chris1836]

We are headed to Big Bend NP in early Feb. Any tips or recommendations? We are headed down with a small Jeep group. I went one time when I was a small child so any information would be helpful. We plan on wheeling there and in the State Park I believe.

I have a 2012 Jeep Wrangler, with lift on 33's with spare. I also have a winch. CB, GRMS, Ham, and a Garmin InReach. a Highlift jack. I also plan on taking 5-10gal extra fuel. I always carry stove extra food and water. Anything I'm missing?

 

[Kueezy]

We are headed to Big Bend NP in early Feb. Any tips or recommendations? We are headed down with a small Jeep group. I went one time when I was a small child so any information would be helpful. We plan on wheeling there and in the State Park I believe.

I have a 2012 Jeep Wrangler, with lift on 33's with spare. I also have a winch. CB, GRMS, Ham, and a Garmin InReach. a Highlift jack. I also plan on taking 5-10gal extra fuel. I always carry stove extra food and water. Anything I'm missing?

I went 2 months ago during Thanksgiving weekend. You’ll be fine with what you have. If you’re only going for a weekend, I recommend dedicating all that time to one single park. I made the mistake of setting up base in BBRSP with the primary goal of exploring both Parks, from BBRSP campsite to entrance of BBNP it took about 2-3 hours one way. It ate up a significant portion of my day.

If you’re just wheeling, you should be fine though.

 

[Chris1836]

I went 2 months ago during Thanksgiving weekend. You’ll be fine with what you have. If you’re only going for a weekend, I recommend dedicating all that time to one single park. I made the mistake of setting up base in BBRSP with the primary goal of exploring both Parks, from BBRSP campsite to entrance of BBNP it took about 2-3 hours one way. It ate up a significant portion of my day.

If you’re just wheeling, you should be fine though.

Thanks!

 

[MOAK]

Ya, if anything you are over prepared, other than extra gasoline. We’ve been twice and 3 days isn’t even enough for BB, more like 7-8 days. Are you backcountry camping? You mentioned a small group. I know the rangers do not like seeing more than 3 vehicles in a group. If you’re not primitive backcountry camping , then the out & backs are going to be very long days. Black Bear is about as technical as it gets, easily traversed with stock high clearance 4x4 vehicles.

 

[Chris1836]

Ya, if anything you are over prepared, other than extra gasoline. We’ve been twice and 3 days isn’t even enough for BB, more like 7-8 days. Are you backcountry camping? You mentioned a small group. I know the rangers do not like seeing more than 3 vehicles in a group. If you’re not primitive backcountry camping , then the out & backs are going to be very long days. Black Bear is about as technical as it gets, easily traversed with stock high clearance 4x4 vehicles.

Yeah I think right now there are 5-6 Jeeps. However I don’t most of us are camping in the park. The wife would have killed me is we did not stay in a bubble hotel. It is a bucket thing for her.
Are permits needed for off road driving?
We are going back in September for a week.

 

[MOAK]

Hmmm, Terlingua has em, about the only place for hundreds of miles outside the park. No permits needed for a drive, just park entrance fee, as I recall. Permits are needed for primitive camping. It's always a good thing to stop in and make friends with the rangers. They will have the best up to date weather and road/trail conditions. Have fun !

 

[Kent R]

Here is the link for camping. Read the backcountry info very carefully, the permit system at the visitors center works well.

Camping - Big Bend National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

 

[Renegade]

Yeah I think right now there are 5-6 Jeeps. However I don’t most of us are camping in the park. The wife would have killed me is we did not stay in a bubble hotel. It is a bucket thing for her.

You can stay in a lodge in Chisos Mtns, but they book fast, so lead time is important. Basing outside park, you are going to be wasting a lot of time driving in/out.

 

[A.K. Forister]

You can find places to primitive camp on Hipcamp. There are several between the two parks around Terlingua, Lajitas, Study Butte. The one I'm thinking of is called Croesus Canyon. And there are some bubbles on the mountainside behind it. I don't think bubbles belong to the Croesus Canyon people but if part of the group were camping and part were staying in bubbles, that would be away to not be separated very far. X2 on not trying to do both parks in a short weekend. The distances in this region are vast. Black Gap and Old Ore Road are really the only 4x4 roads in the NP and neither is very technical. Having said that, there are plenty of dirt /gravel roads that allow you to explore the NP and it's just very cool with awesome scenery and history. If you're looking for something a little more technical, then time would better spent in the SP. For both- you don't need a heavily modified vehicle. But you must be self sufficient. Water, fuel, recovery comms, the ability to handle yourself and rig. NP or SP, know where you are going to stay before you go. There's no dispersed camping and very little boondocking.

 

[Chris1836]

Thank you all for the feedback!