Big Bend: Hiking, Paddling, and Stargazing

Arrive in El Paso, Texas 

Arrive in El Paso, Texas (ELP) by 5:00 PM today and make your way to the Hampton Inn & Suites El Paso Airport Hotel on your own. A group transfer from the airport to the hotel will be provided when most guests arrive (exact time to be determined). Private transfers at other times are available for purchase.

Get comfortable at your hotel before enjoying a lively Tex-Mex welcome dinner this evening. Share stories and learn about why each woman in your trip is excited to explore more of Big Bend!

Dinner 

Overnight: Hampton Inn & Suites El Paso Airport

Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Prada Marfa

After enjoying the breakfast buffet at the hotel, gather in the hotel lobby at 8:00 AM Mountain Time to meet your guide. Embark on a 2-hour drive to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, just crossing into the Central Time zone.

After making sure your watch is set one hour ahead for Central Time, set off from the visitor center at Guadalupe Mountains National Park for today’s hike.

Following lunch, enjoy expansive views of West Texas as we drive another 2 hours, to the town of Marfa. Known as a center for the arts, we’ll stop along the way at the famed “Prada Marfa” art installation – a fake Prada store located exactly halfway between the tiny communities of Marfa and Van Horn, Texas.

After we arrive in Marfa, we’ll get settled into our historic hotel which, in the mid-1950s, hosted the likes of James Dean, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor as they filmed the epic Western “Giant”.

Today’s total hiking will be 4 miles with 600 feet of elevation gain.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Overnight: Hotel Paisano

Guadalupe Mountains National Park to Fort Davis

Following breakfast, you’ll head out to the historic town of Fort Davis. Established in 1854, Fort Davis is the highest elevation town in the state of Texas at 5,050 feet above sea level. Fort Davis is not only a historic site but also home to a former Cavalry post where the African American soldiers, famously known as “Buffalo Soldiers,” were stationed in the latter half of the 1800s. They played a crucial role in safeguarding emigrants during the western expansion of the United States. Explore the grounds to gain insights into life on the West Texas frontier and discover more about the native plants in the area.

Return to Marfa for lunch and spend the afternoon delving deeper into the arts scene of the area.

After dinner, you will take a quick drive to the University of Texas McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis. Participate in one of their famed star parties along with the general public. Take a tour of the constellations and observe an assortment of planets and stars through various telescopes before heading back to the hotel.

Today’s total hiking will be 2 miles with 500 feet of elevation gain.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Overnight: Hotel Paisano

Big Bend National Park and Terlingua

Drive south as you make your way toward Big Bend. About 2 hours into your journey, you will stop at the Fossil Discovery Exhibit where you will see the astonishing Quetzalcoatlus northropi, the world’s largest known flying creature which had a 36-foot wingspan and weighed over 500 pounds!

After a picnic lunch, drive another hour to Terlingua, a former mercury mining town that became a ghost town when the price of mercury collapsed in 1947 and the mines closed. In the 1960s, it experienced a renaissance when artists, musicians, naturalists, and river guides moved there and tourism reshaped the local economy.

Enjoy a scenic hike near your hotel just steps from the Rio Grande. Later, enjoy dinner as a group near the hotel.

Today’s total hiking will be 4 miles with 500 feet of elevation gain.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Overnight: Lajitas Golf Resort

Big Bend National Park and Santa Elena

Today is all about Big Bend! Begin the day with a one-hour drive to the main visitor center to learn more about Big Bend’s natural and human history. After a short 20-min drive, tackle an iconic trail in the Chisos Mountains for a hike to a scenic overlook.

Following a packed lunch, embark on a 70-minute drive to Santa Elena Canyon, a strikingly beautiful destination nestled within Big Bend National Park, boasting canyon walls that soar up to 1,500 feet. Enjoy a short hike in this breathtaking locale before returning to the hotel.

Tonight, drive 15 minutes to dine at the Starlight Theater Restaurant, an adobe structure built in the 1930s as the Chisos Movie Theater. When the mines went bust, the roof materials were sold for scrap, leaving only the adobe walls intact. The roofless adobe building became a gathering place for open-air parties, concerts, and plays, thus the Starlight Theater was named. In 1990, the building was restored – including a new roof – but the adobe walls still remain.

Today’s hiking will be 5 miles with 900 feet of elevation gain as well as 2 miles with 200 feet of elevation gain.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Overnight: Lajitas Golf Resort

Paddling to Rio Grande, drive to Van Horn

After breakfast, meet your local river guide after a short drive. After an orientation about the gear and safe paddling, you will launch your canoe (or raft if the water is higher) and paddle down the Rio Grande. It’s a gentle paddle with some faster sections and some stunning scenery. After your paddle, you can change clothes before driving 3 hours to the town of Van Horn and another historic hotel.

After settling into your room, enjoy a farewell dinner with your new AdventureWomen friends. Reflect on the cherished memories you’ve created and celebrate the conclusion of an amazing journey through this truly remarkable land.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Overnight: Hotel El Capitan

Depart

After breakfast, drive an hour and 45 minutes to El Paso International Airport (ELP) where you should arrive at 10:00AM MST. We recommend scheduling your departing flight no earlier than 12:00PM today.

Breakfast

Please note: AdventureWomen will attempt to adhere to the itinerary as much as possible. However, certain conditions (political, climatic, environmental, and cultural) may necessitate changes in the itinerary. AdventureWomen reserves the right to alter any itinerary at any time, if necessary. We will attempt to notify participants of changes as far in advance as possible. Costs incurred by such changes will be the responsibility of the participants.