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Chisos Basin (Big Bend)

47 Reviews
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About This Campground

National Park Service

Chisos Basin Campground, perched high in the rugged Chisos Mountains, is one of the most sought-after campgrounds in Big Bend National Park. At an altitude of 5,400 ft., the campground is surrounded on all sides by tall, rocky cliffs and is conveniently located near some of the park's most…

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)
  • Dispersed
  • Group
  • Cabins
  • Tent Cabin

Features

For Campers

  • Market
  • ADA Access
  • Trash
  • Picnic Table
  • Firewood Available
  • Phone Service
  • Reservable
  • Showers
  • Drinking Water
  • Electric Hookups
  • Toilets
  • Alcohol
  • Pets
  • Fires

For Vehicles

  • Sanitary Dump
  • Sewer Hookups
  • Pull-Through Sites
  • Water Hookups
  • Max Length: 24 ft.

Access

  • Drive In
    Park next to your campsite
  • Walk In
    Park in a lot, walk to your campsite
  • Hike In
    Hike a trail to your campsite

Reviews

47 Reviews of Chisos Basin (Big Bend)

Ratings Breakdown

  • 0
  • 0
  • 2
  • 10
  • 35

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Brian F.The Dyrt PRO User
Reviewed Apr. 15, 2021

Best Camping In Texas!!

Chisos Campground is the place to camp on Big Bend National Park. It is a high elevation location and many great hiking trails from the location. As a landscape photographer, this was a fantastic place to camp. Nice sized sites, however, no hookups & only 8 sites that allow generators. There…

  • Sunrise Big Bend
  • Montains in Mexico
  • (12) View All
Site#32 Loop 2
Month of VisitNovember
Shari G.The Dyrt PRO User
Reviewed Mar. 1, 2021

Gorgeous Setting!

Getting to Big Bend National Park is part of the adventure, it is nowhere near anything other than itself, but for those who go, it’s so worth the effort. If you are going to camp in Big Bend National Park, make sure you spend a couple of nights in Chisos Basin. It is the quintessential National…

  • View from the South Rim hike!
  • View in the campground.
  • The campground is nestled in there among all those trees!
  • (11) View All
Site22
Month of VisitMarch
SThe Dyrt PRO User
Reviewed Feb. 4, 2021

Mt camp

The only established campground up within the mountains at Big Bend. Definitely worth spending a few nights here as well as the lower river camps. It was completely busy and booked when we first got to Big Bend but we were able to pick up a cancelation

Lots of hikes directly from the camp, South…

Location

Chisos Basin (Big Bend) is located in Texas

Directions

From Interstate 10, take highway 385 south to Fort Stockton and then on to Marathon. From Marathon, go 40 miles south on Highway 385 to the north entrance of Big Bend National Park. Drive straight 26 miles to Park Headquarters at Panther Junction. Turn right and drive for three miles. Turn left at the Basin sign and go seven miles before making a right into the campground road.

Coordinates

29.27500021 N
103.3041664 W

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About This Campground

Chisos Basin Campground, perched high in the rugged Chisos Mountains, is one of the most sought-after campgrounds in Big Bend National Park. At an altitude of 5,400 ft., the campground is surrounded on all sides by tall, rocky cliffs and is conveniently located near some of the park's most spectacular and popular trails. This campground offers excellent views and mild temperatures.

Also found in the Chisos Basin area is the Chisos Basin Visitor Center, the General Store and the Chisos Mountains Lodge, which houses the only restaurant in Big Bend National Park.

Please note: The road to the campground is steep and winding with sharp hairpin turns. Trailers over 19 feet and RVs over 24 feet are not recommended. No RV parking is available at the group campground. All sites where you may have a generator are now reservable. If you need to use a generator and you do not have a reservation, you will need to camp elsewhere.

Recreation

This campground is a hub for hikers. Some of the park's most spectacular and popular trails are nearby, including the Lost Mine Trail, the Window Trail, the South Rim Trail and the Pinnacles Trail, with its access to the park's highest point, Emory Peak (elevation 7,825 ft.). Campers can find the trailheads for most of these trails in the main Chisos Basin area a mile or so further down the basin road from the campground.

Access to the river is approximately 30 miles away, where visitors can canoe, kayak and fish.

Facilities

The Chisos Basin Campground has 60 individual campsites. Beginning in 2020, the campground will be available for reservations year-round. Sites 1 - 40 are reservable, sites 41 - 60 are first-come first-served. The first-come, first-served sites are not visible on this website.

Because of the size of each campsite, they are more suitable to tent camping than RVs or trailers, though both are allowed. Each site comes with a picnic table, charcoal grill and bear-proof food storage container, and some sites come with picnic shelters for shade. All campsites are within easy walking distance to drinking water and toilets, and a dump station is provided for RVs and trailers.

Natural Features

The national park is named for a curve in the Rio Grande called the "big bend." For 1,250 miles, the river is an International Boundary between the United States and Mexico. The campground lies at the base of several sloping cliffs amidst montane shrubland; desert plants such as Arizona cyprus and mesquite trees fill the landscape. Maple, aspen, pinyon and ponderosa pines grow at higher elevations just above the campground. Though it is lower than the surrounding cliffs, the Chisos Basin is at a higher elevation than other campgrounds within the park. Summer temperatures here are cool, yet warmer than other areas in fall and winter due to the cold air sinking into lower regions. The Chisos Mountains are a popular nesting site for migratory birds. The mountains provide the only nesting ground in the United States for the Colima warbler, which arrives in mid-April and departs for its wintering grounds in southwestern Mexico by mid-September.

Nearby Attractions

Big Bend National Park encompasses 801,000 acres and the Chisos Basin area is centrally located. This allows visitors an excellent opportunity to explore all areas of the park in a relatively short drive. Big Bend offers excellent hiking trails, miles of rugged dirt roads, and endless possibilities for sightseeing.

ADA Access: N

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