Best Equestrian Camping near Terlingua, TX

Stayed here at the end of May 2022. I knew it would be hot, but I can’t describe the intensity of the heat. The campsite itself was very cramped, luckily there were only a half dozen other campers while I was there… I could see this place being very crowded during peak months. I came here to see the dark skies but had to drive a few miles from the campground to avoid the bright lights of other RV’s. There was gas available at the nearby store as well most things you’d need at the store. You have to pay for showers with quarters so be prepared for that… $2.00 for 5 minutes. I crossed into Mexico via the Boquillas Crossing, rode a Burro into the village and had lunch. Bring small bills to pay for things there… cost to ride Burro, horse or truck. Plus $3 per person once you get to Mexico. Then plan on having cash for lunch and to tip your “tour guide.” Overall the campsite needs more space and shade would help too.

Stayed at Grassy Bank (this is not an “interior primitive site”)off and on over a three weeks period in mid to late Feb. 2021. There are 17 designated sites and several dispersed. All numbered sites are large, offer moderate to total privacy, and all have cabanas, picnic tables, and fire rings. #15 is the only camp site directly on the River. Síť there in total privacy and watch canoers maneuver the little rapids, turtles sunning on River rocks, birds and ducks coming and going and a few hundred feet across in Mexico see three horses and a donkey grazing or javelinas coming to drink at the river’s edge. It’s paradise. There’s a canoe launch or go tubing or take a dip. There are two separate but adjacent very clean pít toilets and plenty of open space to walk the dog.

Cost is $12 pěr day plus $5 park entry fee which unfortunately has to be paid every day you camp. There is no cell service or WiFi. Closest access is seven miles away in Lajitas at the market. The woman Ranger who manages the Bartoň Warnock Center during weekdays where you register should not be dealing with the Public. There’s water and a dump station at the Center.

When we first tried to book our Xmas week Big Bend trip, all campgrounds inside the park were full. We found this on The Dyrt and figured we would stay a night or two and get a spot at the Rio Grande Village inside Big Bend, which is the only full hook up place inside the national park (FYI RGV is phone reservations only and usually has spots open).

We were surprised at how much we enjoyed staying at the Stillwell Ranch RV Park and ended up staying a full week for only $150 with electric and water hookups.

There are 3 sections to this campground. The full hookup sites, which we had originally booked, are up by the store and are fairly cramped with limited views. However, the Electric & Water only hookups across the street offer much better views and even though the campground is set up as a gravel parking lot to pack people in, it was Xmas and we were one of 8 campers. Lots of space. We had the "end" spot so the views were pretty epic. 

The 3rd area is a ranch road with some pull offs for boon docking or tent camping and are even more "dispersed." 

There are two cons: First, the dust. Which I'm fairly certain you would find camping anywhere in the desert. Especially near the once volcanic Big Bend. Coming from the the Atlantic Coast, the insanely arid dusty air was a new experience. But we loved it. And it made for amazing sunrises, sunsets and star gazing. 

The second con for us was the water pressure. Maybe 10-12 PSI at best. It is well water and even with a high-end filter, even the water tasted "dusty."

We set up an outdoor shower tent next to our camper and were able to camp for an entire week without needing to dump since we did all showers outside.

The store it self is small, and has a a few things that are pricey, but much cheaper than driving an hour north to Marathon to find a grocery. So come well prepped with food and bev. Big Bend is HUGE and you want to minimize store visits.

Stillwell does have gasoline available, but only 87 Octane. No propane (bring extra tanks if you have a propane fire pit like we do).

The laundry room was clean and only $1.25 per load. Their campground showers/ bath house is a bit outdated. While you can use the bathrooms, their showers are currently closed due to COVID.

Overall, only 8 miles to Big Bend's north entrance, and then another 3 miles to the first trail head "Dog Canyon," it's a great place to stay when compared to the other options which we checked them all out:

- RV Campgrounds near West Entrance: The little town of Study Butte/ Terlingua does offer small grocery store and several RV parks. But the campgrounds here are all asphalt parking lots and you are packed in. And even though you have bigger mountains in your view, you also have the dusty less than amazing views of all this small town. Powerlines everywhere and lots of noise.

- Inside Big Bend - First, we went to Rio Grande RV Village... it's a small asphalt parking lot. You are packed in and when we went through, the entire place smelt like sewage. So happy we avoided this one. 

Chisos Basin is an epic spot, BUT, like many national parks you are stacked on top of your neighbors. While I feel confident we could have safely pulled our 23' travel trailer down the winding roads, there are only a handful of spots in the basin campground big enough for a camper. Would have loved the views and close proximity to trails, but we prefer a more secluded feeling and Stillwell gave us just that...even though we had to drive more.

Cottonwood Campground down by the St. Elena Gap is nice too, but again, you're packed in there.

Overall, very happy with our choice at Stillwell and would stay there again in the E/W only spots.

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

The countryside in this part of Texas is not lush. The dark skies are astounding and the Stilwell folks seem serious about protecting them. We were there New Years Eve and it was pretty quiet. Everything worked, price was fair- it was an interesting place and the owners’ handouts show a wry sense of humor. I liked the place!

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.

Jeff was a great host. Hot showers and nice eco bathrooms. The stars at night are incredible! Definitely will return to this campsite in future trips. Very close to big bend! did look and look twice. Would have been 5 stars but man had to haul out my trash bags in my car as there was no dumpster.

My brother and I camped at the remote Tres Papalotes site in Big Bend Ranch State Park in March 2022. It was awesome.

Awesome site deep in BBRSP.  Most of the path is easy until you leave normal roads at the La Posta site.  After the first descent on a very rocky ledge, its mostly managing to keep on the path and navigate a few obstacles.  Once you get there, a great site with a shade-covered table etc.  Shared toilets short walk away.

Discover the extraordinary at this hidden gem in BBRSP! The journey is a breeze until you diverge from the regular roads at La Posta site. Navigating rocky ledges and overcoming obstacles leads to a rewarding destination. Enjoy the fantastic site featuring a shaded table and more. the impossible quiz

Incredible location deep within BBRSP. The majority of the route is straightforward until you deviate from regular roads near the La Posta site.
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Just like the other backcountry primitive sites in big bend, bear box only - no other amenities. It was not clear where the tentsites actually are... the whole area looked like a washed out dust bowl/drive way. Nice views from on top of the hill.

Hi clearance roads. Primitive site, no facilities. Drive up to site. Incredibly quiet and amazing stars. Saw a few snakes (none dangerous), deer, lots of birds. Pretty shady, near water. Great views nearby. Convenient to other areas in Big Bend but not so much to do right on the campgrounds.

Along with the very literal size requirements of the Chisos Basin Campground, there are other recommendations of the park that one should take very literally. Among these are bring (and consume) enough water, and the 4-wheel drive, high clearance recommendations of certain back-country camping sites. They are not kidding around, when they say you need it...you need it. We were advised against bringing our small trailer the 10 miles back into this backcountry site along the western River Rd. and we were relieved that we listened. 

Instead, we parked our rig in the turn around area just off the paved road, and bikepacked with mountain bikes into our campsite for the night of my husband's 50th birthday! It was an epic ride, over a very challenging, rough and rutted out road, with steep inclines and declines. This is not for the pavement driver. Lots of folks do take their 4-wheel, high-clearance vehicles back into this area for days at a time, but for the first-timer, it’s a wake-up call. But the scenery along the way is simply stunning. Besides the very occasional vehicle, you share the road with a few stray cows who might have wandered across the border for Mexico, and a lone road runner. 

This area is a backcountry camper’s dream, beautiful, quiet, comfortable and lovely. Hiking in the area can be in just about every direction and mountain biking along the River Rd. is stunning and challenging. The backcountry campsites only offer a bear box, so don’t expect a picnic table or sun shade – come prepared, these are backcountry sites. This campground has poor access to the river, but with the condition of the road, managing a boat shuttle could take a long, long time.

Fresno Vista has a wonderful view! It gets a little windy at night and you have to park your tent pretty far away from the fire ring for flat ground. It's wonderful having a shelter over the picnic table. The drive to the site off the main road is truly 4x4 - we barely got away with being in a 2SW SUV. We stayed over NYE when a cold front swung by - it was brutal but we still loved it. You're so far away from your neighbor which provides quite a bit of solitude.

Great campsite! Site is located 1.3 miles off the main road. High clearance needed. Site has a table and near box. No cover for shade. Great views - definitely recommend this site.

We went out here for a four day primitive site stay in Javelin. If you love solitude this place is right up your alley. We chose Big Bend Ranch over the National park primarily for an adventure and the fact that they allow camp fires. It was a long drive out in the desert. The main road is well maintained. Once you hit the side roads to your campsite you need to pay attention to what vehicle they tell you, you need to get to the campsite. They aren’t fooling around😆we had two wheel drive high clearance and it is exactly that. One thing we didn’t realize was that the brush grows close into the road so if you go out to Javelin you will scratch your vehicle. But you are rewarded with the solitude and beauty of the area. In four days we saw no one. We heard wildlife (coyotes) but never saw anything. It had plenty of trails close by to explore if you want to stay put. They require your own waste disposal. The site includes tent sites (they are rocky), picnic table and a fire pit/grill. Just a beautiful awesome place that I hope to return to soon.

We decided to take our off-road pull along trailer down to Las Burras 3. Let me tell you. I have never underestimated a challenge so thoroughly. Once we got down to the campsite, the views were like a postcard, and we were the only ones there. It was awesome. Unless you have a vehicle that is 4x4 and high clearance, absolutely don’t try this. We manage many 4x4 roads in 2 wheel drive…not this one. If you choose to accept the challenge, don’t get too attached to your paint, drive slow, and most importantly, have fun.

You definitely need 4x4 to get there but the site itself is clear and pretty level. Very rocky, but no problem if you have a decent sleep mat. Great for kids because it is fairly clear, no sharp drop offs, has fire pit, and a picnic table. No shade cover. Watch for cactus.

Plenty of campgrounds to choose from, some that need high clearance vehicles, but plenty that don't and that still offer great views. I came here for an overnight bike-pack trip and the base camp I stayed at had a picnic table, fire pit, and a nice cliff with the river running just behind it. There are also restrooms close by.

Back-country dispersed camping was everything you'd expect. No amenities and camping under the stars.

Be prepared for extreme heat, cold (at night), and unpredictable weather. I had all of this.

If you forget any gear there is a small town just outside of the park where you should be able to find whatever you need and also get your tourist needs in.

We camped at las Buras 3 it was quite the drive in and a very rough do not attempt if you do not have 4x4 and don’t mind getting a few new scratches. It takes a good 2.5hrs to get to the camp site. It is a beautiful spot and very very secluded.