Best Glamping near Big Bend National Park

This is a great location to mountain bike in Big Bend Ranch State Park and on the Lajitas trail system, but also you’re only an hour away from sitting in the Big Bend National Park Chiso basin parking lot to do great hiking. Terilinga Texas is a fun town nearby and there’s a place to buy groceries called the Cottonwood general store in Study Butte. I am a single camper and Rancho Topango is only $15 a night and you get hot showers and flush toilets and some of the sites have a roof built over the picnic tables to help keep the searing Texas Sun at bay

Pretty close to the highway but mostly quiet . Many coyotes and javelina . Lajitas is just down the road with a good store . The state park is less traveled than Big Bend National Park . The view from this campsite was quite nice . Overlooks the Rio Grande and Lower Madera campsites . Pit toilets were new down low and the upper one was under construction , no water .

Big Bend Ranch State Ranch is quite different than Big Bend National Park. While much of the national park has sky islands (mountains), much of the state park is classic desert. The park stretches from the desert to the Rio Grande River. There is a scenic road that runs along the river with a number of campsites. The campsite are drive up campsites, but somewhat primitive in nature in that there are not restrooms with toilets, sinks and showers. There are picnic tables and fire rings, but that is about it. There is not much shade cover at these campsites so it is helpful if you have a tent or canopy shade. The attraction of this park is the expansive views of the desert that one is able to view. The heat and lack of cover can be tough on the body, so bring lots of water and hydrate. Outside the park are some interesting towns like Terlingua and the old silver mining town of Safter.

We stayed at Rancho Topenga for 2 nights during our week long trip at Big Bend National Park(we also stayed in the park for 2 nights). We wish we would have stayed at Rancho Topenga for more nights than we did. It's only about 20 minutes to the park entrance from the campground. Guy, the owner, takes such good care of his campground. The showers and bathrooms are amazing and meticulously clean (sorry I didn't take any pictures, you'll have to trust me). Some of the campsites are a little close together but have more space than the established campgrounds within the park would have. In addition to having showers and flushing toilets, you can have a fire which is a huge bonus for us. Each campsite has a fire ring, picnic table, and tent pad. You can hear a little road traffic(depending on what site you get, some might have more noise). The sunsets were amazing here and we liked walking around the property to say hi to his dogs and horse. We would definitely recommend Rancho Topenga for camping while in BBNP.

Big Bend National Park had no open campsites, like none, but Big Bend Ranch State Park (right next door) had multiple options, all with good road access. We were surprised and delighted!

The information on the State Park website is confusing at best. Much of the park lies along poor dirt roads leading into the interior of the park. Backcountry campsites there are numerous and offer those willing to bounce along the 27 miles of dirt road exactly what they want, seclusion and beauty. This park is stunning. 

What the website doesn’t make clear, at least we couldn’t find it, is that several camping areas lie right off the perfectly paved road that follows the Rio Grande from Lajitas to Presidio, TX.  Just a note about HWY 170, there is one major incline and decline, just west of Madera Canyon at a 15% grade that is not for the faint of heart or an underpowered towing vehicle. 

We camped in site 6 of Lower Madera Canyon, and simply loved it. Each site has a picnic table, with sun shade, and a campfire ring. The composting pit toilets were well maintained, and didn’t smell at all. 

Hiking and biking options are close by, and Big Bend Ranch is a famous location for Mt. Biking and float trips down the Rio Grand. The campground has access to the river so be sure to plan a float trip. Permits are available at the park’s visitor’s center, or you could also go with an outfitter located in Terlingua. 

Potable water was only available at the Park’s Visitor Center, so plan accordingly.  No electrical hook-ups, so bring your solar panel!

The towns of Terlingua and Study Butte offer options for groceries, gas and restaurants. Just outside the park there are a few options in Lajitas, or TX as well. To the west lies the larger town of Presidio which has the normal selection of services of any good-sized town, USA.

This pin is actually across the road from where the Upper & Lower Madera campgrounds are. As the name suggests, one is on a plateau and one is on the ground/ river level. There is a clearly marked sign for Upper Madera, but the sign to turn for Lower Madera is simply a “river access” sign. The Lower Madera sign is visible only once you turn onto the road.

I stayed for a few nights at Lower Madera because it’s the closest thing I could find to Big Bend National Park, which is still about an hour drive away. Luckily the drive up and down River Road is absolutely stunning!

I stayed in site 10, which was a bit set back from the road and could have easily fit another tent or two. I also prepaid/ reserved my stay through the Texas SP website for $12 a night.

Lower Madera is fairly desolate, there were only three other campers that I spotted throughout my two nights there. The highway was not heavily trafficked to begin with, but the plateau of Upper Madera blocks any sound that might come through. The river gurgling in the short distance is nice. This is a GREAT place for stargazing as this and the surrounding area is a designated dark sky.

Speaking of the Rio Grande, most of the shoreline is covered in brush, with an opening for boat access. From what I could tell, this boat access ramp is really the only place you can truly get to the river’s edge at the campground.

Wildlife spotting: skunks and javelinas. You can hear the coyotes yipping and howling in the middle of the night or early in the morning, but I didn’t actually see any. The skunk and javelina both went on their way when I shined my flashlight on them.

There is absolutely ZERO cell service. You may be able to pick up some phone calling service or even 3G data around Lajitas, but LTE is nonexistent out there. There is WiFi at the visitor centers within the national park.

The picnic table is metal, easy for cleaning! The fire ring was in great shape too, but there was a burn ban in effect when I came through a few days ago. There is a lot of brush to separate the campsites, but not really much for shade trees.

I would stay here again, but no longer than two nights, with a tight activity plan in place.

We have recovered from our shake out trip to Big Bend Ranch State Park, Chorro Vista Camp Site. Yes we did a shake out in the most remote camp site, in the most remote State park in Texas. Texas Parks& Wildlife Dept calls this"the other side of No Where" and says bring TWO spare tires and they mean both. The 4x4 trail to get to the camp site was exhilarating, both the scenery and driving what they call maintained road. Want some real fun try the unmaintained 4X4 roads....we had a mountain goat tell us we were crazy for drive up there. If you care about your paint don't drive these roads, but if West Texas Pin Striping is a badge of honor this is for you. The Falcon Pro was awesome, if we would have had the old truck bed tent, it would have been in Mexico after the winds Friday night, as it was I was trying to figure out self rescue when the winds blew the truck over....but we made it. Then Saturday night the temps dropped to 15 degrees and us without a heater again did OK. We got some sleep Sunday night. The days were great some of the most rugged hiking ever...and the views, AMAZING. What a great experience, cant wait to get back out there.

This is one of my favorite Texas campsites. If you love the desert and big Texas sunsets this is the place to camp. You will need a high clearance vehicle and experience camping in dispersed desert sites. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring, otherwise you need to bring everything including water and a toilet. The ranger station is about 25 miles off the highway on a rough washboard road. Sections of the smaller roads which lead to campsites required 4x4 vehicles. Our Sprinter 4x4 has no problem making it to our site which was about 12 miles off the highway. The variety of desert cactuses was amazing. We visited in April and it was very hot in the day. So, you will need to time the visit carefully has the summer temps can exceed 100 most days. We also experienced a lot of bees in the spring from the flowers Ocotillo plants.

We were here 2/20/21 to 2/26/21. Weather was great, mid 70's during the day, 40 to 50 at night. 

Horrible roads, takes forever to get anywhere! We loved the Isolation, saw very few people unless we went into the Ranger Station. Bathrooms and showers very clean, although never used showers. Bring tons of water! Can get more at Ranger station and also decent WIFI there. Free Ice is a huge bonus!

Had Texas Longhorns in camp. We have a Truck Camper on a Silverado 3500 and originally reserved Yedra 1. We were talked out of that site by a ranger and ended up in Tascate 1 instead which was just fine. We tried driving into Yedra later in our stay and turned around, so glad we didn't end up there.

Trails are plentiful and fantastic. The scenery fantastic. Be sure to bring everything you need food and alcohol wise!

Also, if you have the Texas state park pass, you don't pay the daily fees and you get discounted camping on at least one night plus discounts on gift store items. Was well worth it

BBRSP is quite possibly our favorite park in Texas. The draw is that there is far fewer foot traffic than BBNP - so much solitute. We camped at Fresno Vista and backpacked the Rincon Loop from the Barton Warnock Station... about 30 miles in 3days/2nights. Wifi at the Ranger stations and a shower at the Sauceda Station. If you have any questions don't hesitate to call the Ranger stations. Water near the Crawford Smith house.

Ranch Topanga Campgrounds

A good place to camp if you want a quiet, secluded spot, lovely views, close to both the National and State Parks. Reasonably priced. The managers take great care of the place and have a great camping spot with all the amenities needed. The bathhouse has hot showers, toilets, large sinks for washing dishes, and electrical outlets. I camped in Site#1 February 2020. I had my camp set up in the back of my truck topper, and I was attending an annual 4 day motorcycle rally in the Big Bend region of Texas.

Rancho Topanga is located on the North side of Highway 170, approximately 11 miles West of Study Butte and 7 miles East of Lajitas.

I will definitely come back.

The site has awesome views of the night sky and of the surrounding mountains. The road is passable if you drive slowly. Plenty of room to park. The site is exposed to wind and dust storms so a lower profile tent would be a good idea.

A remote campsite at the end of the road. Its accessible by most vehicles. You can see the mountains all around you but this site is flat with no shelter or windbreaks of any kind.

Nice and quiet at the end of the road. There will be no thru traffic here. It's less sheltered than telephone canyon #1 however. The road getting here is very rough. 4x4 recommended. High clearance needed

We drove in after dark and were greeted and driven around by the amazingly friendly Megan. She got us set up in our spot in no time. We brought our own camper van to stay in buy they also offer extremely unique trailers and tents to rent. Waking up to the views of the mountains was an unforgettable experience and we are truly envious of those that get to live in them. We will definitely be back for a more lengthy visit :)

Tin Valley Retro Rentals is a diamond in the rough! Owner Ronda has transformed Airstreams, buses, retro RV’s, and even a VW Beetle (the Cuddlebug) and Land Yacht into amazing places to stay. At Tin Valley you’ll share your stay with a donkey, some pigs, chickens, dogs and cats. It’s a pet friendly atmosphere. Along with the retro rentals and tent sites there’s amazing RV parking and new to Tin Valley, Van Lifer parking spaces. This is not your standard RV park, the RV parking spaces are spread out not packed in tightly. The sites are spread out so you’re not looking directly into your neighbor’s window but instead at the immaculate unobstructed view of the surrounding mountains. Two of the tent sites have their own artistic touch complete with A-Frame style lodging so you can leave the tent home if you’d like. The Land Yacht site is the only clothing optional site here as well, where you can feel free to feel free. Each site has it’s own fire pit and charcoal grill. There’s an outdoor shower here, or nearby showers, laundry, pool and cafe at the neighboring Terlingua Ranch. Artist Jules Muck has put her own touch on Tin Valley transforming what would normally be just a renovated RV into a work of art. Stars will shine brighter here than you’ve ever seen before without the city light pollution nearby and it’s an amazing sight. You can hike up the two mountains closest or take a walk around Tin Valley. Take time to head to Big Bend national or state parks in the Terlingua area. The center of Terlingua also has a ghost town complete with walking tour. In that area you’ll find bars and restaurants, Cottonwood, the nearest grocery store, or the closest place to fill up on gas. A visit to Terlingua and Tin Valley Retro Rentals won’t disappoint. You won’t’ find another place this original, or with this much space to rent to call your own as an RV’er, camper, or retro renter. Check out tinvalleyretrorentals.com or Tin Valley Retro Rentals on Facebook.

This place was home for 4 nights of our Big Bend trip and Im so glad we chose this place. Showers and bathrooms nice and clean and very welcome after a day on the trails. $10 a person per night.

I would have given a 5 but for that we can't run our quiet genny during the day to charge batteries and cook, and campsites are pretty snug to each other... But it's a beautiful setting, they let you charge up from the outlets in the bathhouse, nice patio to chill on while you do so... Hard packed road, nice views, dog friendly!!! This is our 3rd night here!!! Super close to Terilingua...

Best place to camp if you want a secluded spot, lovely views, close to both the National and State Parks. Super reasonably priced. Guy and Pat take great care of the place and have carved a beautiful little camping spot with all the amenities you need. The bathhouse has showers, toilets, large sinks for washing dishes, and electrical outlets where you can charge your phone, etc. I will definitely come back.