Upper & Lower Madera Campground — Big Bend Ranch State Park

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 .

My brother and I layed our sleeping bags under the big sky stars after an evening dip in the Rio Grande at the Lower Madera campground in March 2022. There are about 17 sites that you must reserve at one of the 3 visitor centers in the park. You cannot reserve a specific site in the campground—just a space generally and then you go select your site. We stayed at site 17–closest to the “boat ramp” but shielded by a sandy berm. The campground is on the US-Mexico border but it feels safe because there are cliffs on the Mexico side with no sign of people. The river was about waist high at the boat ramp when we visited but if you walk about 100 yards upstream, there is a grassy bank along gentle rapids with boulders. There is a bathroom at the entrance. Good times.

If you wanna place where you’re not gonna have phone service, or you’ll hear coyotes in the middle of the night, wake up to the most beautiful views, and a well set up site. This is a place to go.