Seminole Canyon State Park Campground

This was another incredible trip to a state park when it wasn’t crowded, and we were able to tour the canyon where the pictographs are as well as hike along the canyon’s rim. We even enjoyed a snack overlooking the Rio Grande with Mexico across the river.

Historical, vast

Cave paintings in the desert. Definitely do the main tour. It's the reason to come here. No trees. The river has carved its way through. Makes for quite a sight when hiking the trails. Don't do this trip when it's very hot.

Cave paintings

Seminole Canyon State Park is located in the southwest part of Texas. The Rio Grande River and the Pecos River run through the park and have shaped the history of the area. The park is in the dessert, so the late fall, winter and early spring are the best times to visit. The summer can be very hot. The campground has developed sites with water and electricity, basic sites with water, and primitive sights without amenities. Some of the campsites have shade shelters and if one is available I highly recommend that you take it. The sun and heat can be brutal. Bring a tarp which can be tied up to the shelter for additional shade. The distinguishing feature of this park is the rock art. The art has been left in the area by different people groups over different eras. The Fate Bell Tour is the basic tour which is led by park staff. It provides an excellent overview of the history and rock art in the park. There are other tours to offsite locations that are also worth a visit if you have time. The White Shaman, Curly Tail Panther, Painted Shelter and Bonfire Shelter tours are all great. If you need a respite from the heat visit the nearby town of Langtry and stop in at the Judge Roy Bean museum. The museum contains some displays and a film about the Law West of the Pecos. One of the best features of the museum is that it also has cool water and air conditioning to escape the heat. ;)

Seminole Canyon State Park + Rock Art

We tent camped two nights here in November, 2018 and were very pleased. The campsites were great, close proximity to bathrooms with showers, very clean. We did the 8 mile hike around the park and it was easy, beautiful views of the Rio Grande river looking into Mexico. We also took the rock art/painting guided tour (8.00 per person for adults).  Sunsets were beautiful. 

Seminole Canyon State Park November 2018

First camping trip of 2018, couldn’t have picked a better place. The views of the canyon was beautiful, took the hike many times just to see it and to have lunch. 

An underrated park that should be visited more often 

April 6, 2019  We arrived before check-in time and were not allowed to go to our reserved site until the official time whether it was or was not available. It was very hot and our site had no electric but we did have water. There were showers and flush toilets. We had a state pass so we received a discount. Our site fee was $12.50 per night. We had no Verizon cell service. Elevation 1,400 ft.  We had to leave next day due to some unknown sickening odor in the campground. I did not get the opportunity to take pictures in the campground as I was too sick to do so.  There was no refund for the 3 nights that we booked.

Seminole Canyon State Park & Historic Site

Currently there is no camping in the park. We visited on Nov 12th, hoping to camp only to find out that we had to move on. The park is still offering guided canyon tours which we thought was odd - why allow strangers to group up for a tour, but not allow people to camp isolated in their own tent in a remote area? 

Closed no camping due to covid

Even the primitive sites are close to the bathrooms! Short walk away. Sites are BIG. FREE showers!!! Bathrooms are super clean. 

Awesome

Don't expect the normal campground experience.   We arrived only to be greeted warmly by the staff and directed to our campsite.  For such a desolate area the campsite was fully equipped perfectly sited with respect to other campers.  Restroom and shower facilities could not have been cleaner or better.

  

Dark dark skies made for great heaven gazing.

  

Gift shop was filled with stuff you would like to take with you.

  

The highlight of the Park is the twice daily guided tour of the 10,000 year old pictographs on the sides of the canyon.  Unusual and should not be missed.

Wonderful Surprise

Two sunsets that went on and on, we hiked the Canyon Rim- Presa Overlook trails and back ( about 3 mi worth). We live in the PNW, so desert is not home territory for us. Much of the beauty is subtle, and Seminole Canyon really shines. 

There is a small well done history museum in the Park Headquarters. Everything looks new and clean; restrooms, campsites are level, most have shelters. The trails are well marked and well mapped. It’s one of the best-designed and maintained camps I have been to. 

They offer guided tours to the nearby Pictograph site; some of the pictographs apparently go back as far as 10,000 years. You purchase tickets for these tours and some moderately challenging hiking is required. 

All in all, it’s a pretty fabulous place. But I sort of wish we didn’t bring our dog. It’s not a very pet-friendly environment because the desert is like that. 

Stunning, historic, remote desert 

This campground is your typical Texas desert environment, and has awesome pictographs that you can view via guided tour! There are hiking trails that trace the rim of the Seminole Canyon and have views of the Rio Grande. We did the Fate Bell guided tour which is not very strenuous and takes you down into the canyon to see 4000 year old pictographs. Definitely worth it as they are fading due to man made changes in the environment and won't be visible to the eye much longer.

  

We stayed in site 6, which was a bit disappointing. Since you're in a desert there's not much to divide the sites, but they are spacious. The prime real estate is in the loop with sites 18 - 31. The outer sites on that loop have a really great view! The no hookup sites on the other loop (9, 10, 11, 13) also have nice views. The primitive camping area is actually pull through RV sites that just never got their hookups so if you're up for camping with no hookups those sites can accommodate large rigs. 

  

Don't miss taking a few mile drive to the west to check out the Pecos High Bridge views!

Unique experience along the border

This park is right along the border, but don’t let that deter you. It’s as safe as can be, as the river in this area ledges up anyone intending on crossing over illegally. The rangers offer a tour of the petroglyphs, some of the oldest in North America, and it is done very well. Visitor center has an amazing museum inside. Campsites are pretty exposed, but spacious. There is zero cell service there, but spotty Wi-Fi from the restrooms. The trails are well marked and offer amazing vistas. Fun mountain biking too. Lots to do. 

Great park, awesome petroglyphs

Seminole Canyon is usually my first stop on my way to Davis Mountains State Park. I'm a tent camper.  Every campsite has all you would need. Water, electricity, and a table. Can be challenging if the wind is blowing hard but doable. Wonderful hiking trails with vistas over the Rio Grande River.  Also take the guided tour into the canyon to see the ancient pictographs.

Dark Sky at Night - Star Gazers Delight

So far an amazing place and wish I was staying longer. Clean, nice, easy in and out. The views and the quiet are priceless!

Amazing views

Came here as a last minute plan B after original trip east showed too much rain. Very happy we found a great camp space here. Really enjoyed the facilities, staff were very friendly, campground extremely clean, and great hiking trails. Will be back in Spring or Fall for more temperate weather and I imagine it is spectacular!

Excellent campground

Perfect camping in the high desert . Small quiet campground with stunning views . Mexico to our right … U.S . To our left . Impeccable restrooms . Site was secluded . 