Big Bend Rio Grande Village No Reservations

[MilesandSmiles]

My wife and I are headed toward Big Bend National Park next week, and all of the reservable sites are taken at the Rio Grande Village campground. However, the majority of campsites in the park are not reservable.

Has anyone tried to get one of the non-reservable sites in the park around this time of year? How good are our chances of finding a site? Any tips on when to arrive to have the best chance?

We are willing to take a risk... but would like to know how good or bad the odds are before heading so far!

[GoHorns]

You'll enjoy Stillwell. Be sure and drive to the end of the road... I think if you look up "middle of nowhere" there will be a picture of Stillwell.

We plan on going back some day.

[MilesandSmiles]

Thanks for much great advice. We've decided to go with Stillwell because we have pets and may need to run our air conditioners if the days get too hot.

[mkc]

Try this

Big Bend Closures

The areas closed to public entry from February 1 through May 31 are:

The Southeast Rim Trail and a portion of the Northeast Rim Trail from the Boot Canyon/Southeast Rim junction to a point just north of Campsite NE-4.
All Southeast Rim campsites as well as Northeast (NE) campsites 4 and 5 are closed during this period.
Technical rock climbing on rock faces within ¼ mile of known peregrine eyries, as posted, will not be allowed between February 1 and July 15.
The National Park Service does not plan to close any other areas, but restrictions may be modified if Peregrine behavior or nesting sites do not follow traditional trends.

[huachuca]

mkc wrote:
Be aware of some area closures at Big Bend for the next several months

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2019/02/temporary-closures-big-bend-protect-peregrine-falcons

Link wouldn't work for me but the only closure I'm aware of is for some sections of the trails leading up to the South Rim due to the falcons nesting. Its a fairly hard core hike up to that area so I don't think this would impact the average visitor too badly.

[huachuca]

rr2254545 wrote:
The have 44 sites available on line available for next Monday for a week@ $ 14 per night.....

It could very well be my unfamiliarity with the workings of the new recreation.gov website but I couldn't find any single site available for all days between 2/04 and 2/11 at the NPS RGV campground. I couldn't even find any sites available for two or more nights in a row for the entire month. March and most of April seem to be almost as bad. Same pattern goes for The Basin.

If I'm missing something, please straighten me out. We're planning to visit in May and this may be indicative of higher use than I've seen in the past. We're hoping to get one of the boondocking sites but even those might be taken with this degree of usage. I've seen the Park full between Christmas and New Years and in mid-March for Spring Break but nothing like this.

[fitznj]

I'll 2nd Stillwell RV; I just spent 3 weeks in the BB Area with 1 week
at Stillwell; Great place (although remote);

I had the whole of "The Strip" to myself (I'm guessing 3-4 acres of space);
Good water/elec/WIFI - really friendly people;

I went to Rio Grande RV and the space are really close and essentially a
paved parking lot;

The nights at Stillwell were dramatic and superb sunrises.

I also stayed at Terlingua but I would go back to Stillwell in a heartbeat.

(bring all your supplies because you're really far from anything)
You're right outside the BB NP and next to Black Gap WMA

[mkc]

Be aware of some area closures at Big Bend for the next several months

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2019/02/temporary-closures-big-bend-protect-peregrine-falcons

[vermilye]

I was there during Spring Break (early March) 2 years ago & everything was filled a day or so after I arrived. Ever other trip I was able to get a site without reservations. You will need them for Chisos Basin most of the time.

[Jayco-noslide]

Been there twice in winter. It seems there were plenty of the sites without hook-ups and they are nice sites. The ones with hook-ups are basically a parking lot but OK. Be aware of weather. Both times it started out very hot and abruptly got cold. One time so severely cold that it would not have been safe if we had not changed to the sites with electric. We won't go back in mid-winter but it is a great Park and we were probably just unlucky.

[GoHorns]

As a backup plan: you should consider the Stillwell Store. We spent Christmas there in 2017 and it was great! Full hookups, good wifi, and the darkest nights you will ever see. It is very convenient to Big Bend, and the Stillwell ranch and museum have a remarkable story of their own. https://stillwellstore.com/

[Roy_Lynne]

I understand that it is fairly easy to get sites.

[rr2254545]

The have 44 sites available on line available for next Monday for a week@ $ 14 per night - they have no hookups but have generator hours

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234035/campsites

The full hookup sites next door are called Rio Grande Village RV Park and are probably booked

[NoVa_RT]

Arriving fairly early on a Sunday or non-weekend day would likely give one a better chance at non-reservable sites anywhere, absent a major event in the vicinity.

[TxGearhead]

I'm wondering the same. Also wonder if the visitors have spiked with the Park Rangers now back to work. If I don't go pretty soon it will be in the fall or winter before I can get there.