Rio Grande Through Big Bend National Park

Location: Southwestern Texas, on the Mexican border (about 250 miles southeast of El Paso).

Length of trips: Boquillas Canyon 33 miles in three days; Mariscal Canyon 10 miles in one day; Santa Elena Canyon 20 miles in one to two days.

Season: All year, although summer is hot; spring and fall are best. The water flow usually peaks in August, September, and October, when thunderstorms are common.

Weather: Mild temperatures (40° to 60°F at night, 80° to 95° during the day) make March, April, October, and November popular for rafting, although water levels are low. Summer can be blisteringly hot, with temperatures topping 100°. The temperature cools off in fall. Winter days are cool (50s and 60s), nights chilly. Thunderstorms often spark flash floods from May through October.

Lodging: Fine desert campsites on sandy beaches, under towering limestone cliffs, or on grassy stretches.

Boats: Oar boats, paddle rafts.

Rapids: Boquillas Canyon Class I and II (mostly small riffles); Mariscal Canyon Class II (depending on water level); Santa Elena Canyon Class II, III, and IV. The temperature of the silty water fluctuates from below 50° in winter to above 80° in summer.

Special features:

  • Dramatic desert canyons separated by stretches of open terrain. Borders a remote, largely unpopulated part of Mexico.
  • Eroded towers, side canyons, and arroyos studded with cactuses, mesquites, and desert wildflowers.
  • Hikes to intriguing side canyons for close-up looks at fossils and rock formations.
  • Beavers, javelinas, bobcats, coyotes, peregrine falcons, cliff swallows.
  • Migrating waterfowl in spring and autumn.
  • Good fishing for catfish.
  • Wilderness solitude.
  • Tranquil trip for families and novice rafters.

Nearby excursions:

  • Big Bend National Park.
  • Big Bend Ranch State Park.
  • Mexican villages.

For a list of outfitters and more information:

  • Big Bend National Park, Texas 79834; +1 915 477 2251. Try to book at least four weeks in advance around Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and spring break. Outfitters are busiest in March and around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

For more information:

  • Rio Grande rafting story in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER, March/April 1995. To order a copy, please click here.

 
 
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