The Chisos Mountains are the centerpiece of Big Bend National Park. To their cool, relatively moist highlands come some of the most sought-after migratory and nesting birds in Big Bend. The hike up into the mountains will cover approximately four miles of trail with an elevation gain of about 2,000 feet. This is a demanding hike.

Instructor: to be announced

Guided tour through the Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center's 2.5-acre Desert Garden. Discover how plants have adapted to survive the harsh conditions of the Chihuahuan Desert and how the first inhabitants of the Big Bend region used these plants for food, shelter, and medicine. The tour will finish up with an introduction to the indoor exhibit at the center. The exhibit "Una Tierra/One Land" is on the geology and biodiversity of northern Chihuahua, northern Coahuila, and the Big Bend region. The tour should take about two hours. Entrance fee of $3 will be charged at the center, but also entitles you to entrance into Big Bend Ranch State Park. Only involves short walks.

INSTRUCTOR DAVE LONG is a Park Ranger at the Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center, involved in interpretation and as a park naturalist.

 

The Villa, as it is locally known, is a former mine and hotel located between Terlingua and Lajitas. The buildings are beautifully built and the mine, cool even in the hottest weather, fascinating. Moderately strenuous. BRING A FLASHLIGHT.

LEADER BLAIR PITTMAN is an award-winning photographer and writer whose works include The Natural World of the Texas Big Thicket, The Stories of I.C. Eason, King of the Dog People, and Texas Caves. His photography has been published by National Geographic, Forbes, Texas Monthly, and Texas Parks & Wildlife magazines, among others. He has lived at the Villa de la Mina for seven years.

 

The warm months in Big Bend are the best time for studying its many reptiles and amphibians, and the Grapevine Hills area of Big Bend National Park is one of the best places. The minimally-demanding trail down a sandy path between red igneous boulders should provide striking scenery as well as many opportunities for observing animals.

Instructor DAVID ELKOWITZ is Chief of Interpretation in Big Bend National Park. He is a lifelong student, and photographer, of reptiles and amphibians.

 

Jeeps are able to access areas not possible for passenger cars. The itinerary for this tour is still being worked out, but you can count on seeing some of Big Bend’s spectacular geological scenery. You will learn from a very knowledgeable instructor and you won’t have to drive. An additional fee of $65/person will be charged for this tour to cover jeep costs. Jeeps and drivers provided by Texas Jeep Expeditions.

Instructor: to be announced

 

Native peoples got to the area that is now called Big Bend at least 8,000 years ago. This tour will take you to archeological sites inside and outside Big Bend National Park where you can see their rock art, the debris from tool making, and get an idea of how they lived their lives.

INSTRUCTOR: Tom Alex, Big Bend National Park

 

Tour the Big Bend Museum of Paleontology and Geology to see fossils of the monstrous creatures that strode Big Bend millions of years ago, and the environment in which they lived. The museum also houses a huge skeleton of a hadrosaur dinosaur as well as an advanced conservation lab. On the grounds you will be able to observe several active fossil dig sites.

INSTRUCTOR: Kenneth Barnes is a paleontologist and director of the Museum.