Best Equestrian Camping near Terlingua, TX

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.

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 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.

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.

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