Big Bend-UPDATE

There is excellent lodging in Chisos Basin in the park itself for your guests. By the way, May will be very hot in west Texas!

For the McDonald Observatory area you can stay at Davis Mountains State Park and take in Fort Davis as well.

Should have said that we will need water and electric. Sewer nice but not necessary.

We will be going some time in May and yet exact date not confirmed. We want to be sure to see McDonald Observatory. We have stayed in Van Horn and Marathon on trips west and returning.

I am good at planning route and places to go but the remoteness has me somewhat overwhelmed. Son, DIL and 2 grand kids want to meet us after we get there but they will need lodging.

The park is HUGE and it's definitely not necessary to stay out of the park adding driving miles.

If you need full hookups, stay at Rio Grande Village RV in the park.

If you don't need hookups there are 3 campgrounds:

- Rio Grande Village campground (next to the RV park). This is where we like to stay. It has trees, big spots and is very pleasant - right on the river. Generators are allowed and there's a water fill and dump station. There's a small store, showers and laundramat.

- Chisos Basin campground - good for small rigs. I think the limit is 22' or so. It's higher elevation so it would be cooler temps.

- Cottonwood campground - very nice with trees and on the river. However, generators are not allowed.

:)Big Bend Area. We really enjoyed Balmorhea State Park (but might be a little cold for swimming there now) & checking out Fort Davis Nat'l Historic Site.

We did Big Bend on one our Spring Breaks some years ago. End of March, Start of April.

And the new Boquillas Port of Entry might be some you would want to do. Not something we have done or would do.

There is a Passport America RV Park in Marathon, too. Never used it, but have read good reviews for it.

If you happen to be in Van Horn & need a place to overnight, the Desert Willow RV Park is a very nice place to do so.


Oct 28: we overnighted at Desert Willow RV Park. New to being Passport America (not in the listing book @ the time). We were pleasantly surprised with it. Small, yes, and all gravel, but all pull throughs & a very clean restroom/shower. Didn't use them, but very clean. Extremely friendly & nice staff. $12.50 with the PA discount.

Sonora Caverns might be a neat stop off I-10 (they do have an RV park at them also, I believe) but have never stopped.

We visited Balmorhea, Davis Mountains & Carlsbad in Sept.
Our Trip Report: Touring Chihuahuan Desert Using State Parks

I'm heading over there Sunday. Watch for an old guy on a scooter.
With the size of your rig, you'll need to stay at Rio Grande Village. If the wife has to have hookups the general store there will give you parking space. If you're OK without, the campground to the east of the store has great camping. There are generator and non-generator areas.
Make as many of the Ranger programs as you can. They're entertaining and very informative. There are daytime walks and probably 2 evening programs each week. Here's the interpretive programs schedule.
There's over 100 miles of paved roads in the park. Check out all the informative pull offs. Walk the window trail in the Chisos Basin and have a sunset dinner at the lodge (you can combine this with a ranger program later). Check out the hot springs. You can take it easy or you can go to any level of adventure you are comfortable with. You can drive gravel back roads, hike in the pine covered mountains or on the desert. You can bring your passports and take a row boat across the Rio Grande River to the remote Mexican village of Boquillas.
If you want a change from the park you can go out west to Terlingua. There's a couple of modest places to eat there. Or you can go to the resort town of Lajitas. It just depends on how much time you have and what works for you.
Regardless you'll have a great time!