A group of us are planning a camping trip to Big Bend Nat. Park the weekend of 11/6. We plan to arrive there Thurs 11/4 around 4pm and try to get a spot in the Chisos Basin. This is the last week of first-come, first-serve camping, and I'm worried that we're going to drive all that way (~ 8 hrs from Austin) only to find that there are no more spots. I've been to BB twice, but never before camping. The web site says they don't fill up, and that is why they don't take reservations (still seems odd to me), but I don't trust it. Does anyone have experience with trying to get a spot at that time of year? And is it a sure thing? I am hoping that arriving on Thurs will help, but I'm guessing arriving at 4pm will not.

Thanks,

Paul

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

It has been awhile since we camped there but don’t recall campgrounds getting filled up that time of year. We’ve camped at the Cottonwood location. You could call and check with a ranger to be on the safe side.

I have some questions about Big Bend as well - thinking about going there for my son's Spring Break next March.

Kind of late to reply and not sure if you're even checking back.

First off, the park website says the Chisos campground is closed through mid-November for road re-paving. It also says the Basin road will be closed for a couple days some time soon. You need to call the park and find out current info on both the campground and road before making any plans to stay in the campground.

You're going the same weekend as the chili cook-off in Terlingua so that may cause some issues. It's hard to say if the campground will fill or not by 4pm on Thursday - if you're flexible enough to stay in the Rio Grande campground instead you'll be fine as it's much bigger (and warmer) than Chisos Basin. But if you're set on staying in the Basin then just hope for the best.

Not sure if you're tent camping or what - if you are, another option is to see if you can get one of the roadside backcountry sites that are fairly close to the main highway. I think you could even get an RV into some of them if you don't need hookups.

Good luck, hope it works out for you.

Wherearewe, thanks for posting that about the roads. My husband is heading up there and we had no idea about the closures.

thanks for the replies. Sorry, I hadn't been checking in a while because I got busy with other things. But we're heading out tomorrow morning as planned. I called the park earlier in the week and they confirmed that Chisos Basin would be closed through 11/15, but that there should be plenty of space in Rio Grande, despite the chili cookoff. I was surprised, but I'll take them at their word. Should be a great trip ... rafting, fishing, off-roading, hiking, etc, etc.

Sounds about right, Rio Grande campground is on the other side of the park from Terlingua (about a 1.5 - 2 hour drive) so the chili cookoff people probably don't want to drive that far every day.

Rio Grande has showers (the Basin doesn't) and it'll be warmer by the river so not a bad thing that you'll be staying there.

Enjoy your trip, I'm jealous.