Christmas in BBNP??

[outlook8]

First, thank you all for the wealth of information that is available on this site...it has been extremely helpful in planning my first trip to the park, but I still have lingering questions.

I'm not new to backpacking/camping (Philmont, Teton Crest, Continental Divide, etc), but this will be my first trip the BBNP despite haing lived in Texas all my life.

My girlfriend and I are looking to do a trip starting 12/26 and ending either 12/30 or 1/1 (haven't decided if we want to do New Years in the park or not). How is the park this time of year? Too crowded? Too cold?

I don't want to camp in any of the HUGE campgrounds with everyone and their RVs, but I also don't think my girlfriend is ready for 5+ nights on the trail in the backcountry. Is 'zone' camping with my vehicle the best option for us? Can you leave your car at a zone campsite and hoke out into the backcountry for an overnight, or do I have to give up the site? I think using a car firendly zone campground would be a good way to go as both a base camp for a single overnight, or making daytrips where I might have to drive to a different trailhead.

How do you pick a zone? Can you book in advance, or do you just drive to the park and hope something is available? Any zones that are better suited for day hiking than others?

Thanks for all of the help, I'm sure I will have plenty more questions, but this will give me a good jump on getting my trip planned.

[Al]

First, thank you all for the wealth of information that is available on this site...it has been extremely helpful in planning my first trip to the park, but I still have lingering questions.

I'm not new to backpacking/camping (Philmont, Teton Crest, Continental Divide, etc), but this will be my first trip the BBNP despite haing lived in Texas all my life.

My girlfriend and I are looking to do a trip starting 12/26 and ending either 12/30 or 1/1 (haven't decided if we want to do New Years in the park or not). How is the park this time of year? Too crowded? Too cold?

I don't want to camp in any of the HUGE campgrounds with everyone and their RVs, but I also don't think my girlfriend is ready for 5+ nights on the trail in the backcountry. Is 'zone' camping with my vehicle the best option for us? Can you leave your car at a zone campsite and hoke out into the backcountry for an overnight, or do I have to give up the site? I think using a car firendly zone campground would be a good way to go as both a base camp for a single overnight, or making daytrips where I might have to drive to a different trailhead.

How do you pick a zone? Can you book in advance, or do you just drive to the park and hope something is available? Any zones that are better suited for day hiking than others?

Thanks for all of the help, I'm sure I will have plenty more questions, but this will give me a good jump on getting my trip planned.

You may be mixing terminology a bit.  Primitive camping is at a designated campsite and zone camping is hiking off into an area and camping away from roads, trails, water sources etc.  That week is one of the busiest of the year and it can be a problem getting primitive campsites but you will have no problem getting a permit to zone camp.  Check out the NPS website and do a little more research and then I'm sure the folks here on BBC will give you as much advice as you may need.

Al

[catz]

Just be aware that camping at the "primitive" sites is just that--primitive.  There are no amenities whatsoever, just a cleared off space for your car and a cleared off space for your tent.

[Al]

First, thank you all for the wealth of information that is available on this site...it has been extremely helpful in planning my first trip to the park, but I still have lingering questions.

I'm not new to backpacking/camping (Philmont, Teton Crest, Continental Divide, etc), but this will be my first trip the BBNP despite haing lived in Texas all my life.

My girlfriend and I are looking to do a trip starting 12/26 and ending either 12/30 or 1/1 (haven't decided if we want to do New Years in the park or not). How is the park this time of year? Too crowded? Too cold?

I don't want to camp in any of the HUGE campgrounds with everyone and their RVs, but I also don't think my girlfriend is ready for 5+ nights on the trail in the backcountry. Is 'zone' camping with my vehicle the best option for us? Can you leave your car at a zone campsite and hoke out into the backcountry for an overnight, or do I have to give up the site? I think using a car firendly zone campground would be a good way to go as both a base camp for a single overnight, or making daytrips where I might have to drive to a different trailhead.

How do you pick a zone? Can you book in advance, or do you just drive to the park and hope something is available? Any zones that are better suited for day hiking than others?

Thanks for all of the help, I'm sure I will have plenty more questions, but this will give me a good jump on getting my trip planned.

You may be mixing terminology a bit.  Primitive camping is at a designated campsite and zone camping is hiking off into an area and camping away from roads, trails, water sources etc.  That week is one of the busiest of the year and it can be a problem getting primitive campsites but you will have no problem getting a permit to zone camp.  Check out the NPS website and do a little more research and then I'm sure the folks here on BBC will give you as much advice as you may need.

Al

Outlook8, sorry if I seemed a bit short. I have gone to Big Bend during the week between Christmas to New Years many times and have always enjoyed it.  As far as cold, figure it will be cold when the sun goes down because it does get cold.  When there, prepare for sunset by layering while there is still sun.  Sometimes it will be warm enough to wear shorts during the day sometimes it will be cold day and night.  Watch the weather the week before you go and pack accordingly. 

What I would do is study the maps of primitive sites and zones.  Be prepared for alternatives to what you want.  First night you may have to stay in a large site, but that's just the price one may have to pay to be there.  No big deal.  Be sure and get a continuous permit as soon as you get there.  The primitive site(s) you want may not be available the first night but sites will open up as the week progresses.  If you have alternative plans it will all work out and Big Bend can be enjoyed in many ways.

Al

[outlook8]

Again, thanks for all of the info! 

So if I camp in a 'primitive' site, can I use that as my base for a zone overnighter and leave my vehicle there? Or, do I have to vacate that site and hike from elsewhere?

One other question...is there any fishing in the park? Probably not at this time of year, but in general. I see info all about camping/backpacking, but no info on fishing.

Thanks for all of the help, looking forward to making my first trek out there.

[Homer67]

My wife and I trekked out on Marufo Vega the last week of January; one could tell when it was time to get the layers on.  The shortened days were nice, with temps in the upper 50's/low 60's in the day, and down to the high 20's at night, the first two nights coming in at about 25. This was right before the big freeze that occurred shortly thereafter. About 3:45 the wind would become a bit painful, so we pretty much knew when to get bundled up. I don't know if the temps are this cold at the end of Dec; I'll have to look into that as I am trying to work in a trip at this time as well!

[perterra]

Some of the camps like cottonwood are pretty quite even when crowded.

[hunterhughes]

My wife and I did a similar trip two years ago at Christmas.  I would plan on spending New Years in the park to have the extra time.  Everything is far.

Temperatures?  The coffe water was frozen a few mornings.  During the day we wore shorts and short sleeves.  As soon as the sun dropped behind the mountains the temp fell accordingly.  I think it ranged from mid 80 to low 20’s.

We set up a base camp in the Basin Campground (the section that does NOT allow generators or RVs).  Great views, several trails start from the basin and your girlfriend will appreciate the bathrooms/running water.  Even when this is full it does not seem "crowded".  But that is relative.    It is my experience that if you make the base camp as comfortable as possible it is easier to get them to buy into the overnight backcountry trips.
We did day hikes and one overnight trip (zone camping).  We left our tent at the Chios Basin to save our spot and took a smaller ten for our overnighter.
 We zoned camped off of the Dodson Trail.  The logistics were easy, the hiking was beautiful, there was a water source and it was a good workout. 

Our overnighter:
We parked at the Homer Wilson Ranch Pull Out.  From the Homer Wilson Ranch we caught the Dodson Trail towards Fresno Creek.  We actually ended up camping at Fresno Creek because we found a nice level spot in Fresno Canyon.  There were a few steep sections that gave us a nice workout.  The evening temperatures were mild compared to the higher elevation Chios Basin campsites.  This was a good thing since I left the tent in the car! 

There is catfish in the Rio Grande.  I fish a lot and have about eight rod and reel combos for almost every situation.  The fishing is not good enough to give up a quarter or half day of exploring. 
We are heading back this thanksgiving.


Regards,
Tom

[outlook8]

 

Awesome info, thanks guys.

I went ahead and book a site in Loop 3 of the Chisos Mountain campground for the night of the 26th. Other than that, I guess I'll just plan it out when I get there by what is available. A little bit nervous about driving 600 miles with only a single night reserved, but what's the worst that could happen?? Famous last words...

[catz]

My understanding is that you are not supposed to "hold" a site for more than 24 hours (such as for going on an overnight backpack), even if you have paid for it.  If he park is not busy--the usual situation--this is not enforced very strictly.  But the week between Christmas and New Year's is different.

[outlook8]

Well, the trip didn't happen as planned last year due to us getting a new puppy that week and having to deal with all of that...it is, however, slated for this year.

Planning on leaving the Saturday before Christmas, camping in the Chisos Basini campground (on one of the nearby places like Paint Gap) for a night or two to get acclimated doing day hikes. Then, we want to do 3days/2nights on the South Rim before heading out to Old Ore Road to start our loop around the park using the 4wd roads and back country campsites. Probably going to try to stay at the Gage Hotel or something for New Year's.

Has anybody ever done any horseback riding in the park? I think we would like to do a half day ride, and maybe a half day canoe rental to go thru Santa Elena Canyon as well.

Are the gas stations in the park reliable, or should I plan on bringing a couple jerry cans?

I just got a new tent and tarp shelter, I'm really getting excited!

[VivaTerlingua]

Well, the trip didn't happen as planned last year due to us getting a new puppy that week and having to deal with all of that...it is, however, slated for this year.

Planning on leaving the Saturday before Christmas, camping in the Chisos Basini campground (on one of the nearby places like Paint Gap) for a night or two to get acclimated doing day hikes. Then, we want to do 3days/2nights on the South Rim before heading out to Old Ore Road to start our loop around the park using the 4wd roads and back country campsites. Probably going to try to stay at the Gage Hotel or something for New Year's.

Has anybody ever done any horseback riding in the park? I think we would like to do a half day ride, and maybe a half day canoe rental to go thru Santa Elena Canyon as well.

Are the gas stations in the park reliable, or should I plan on bringing a couple jerry cans?

I just got a new tent and tarp shelter, I'm really getting excited!

Unless the river is flooding, you'll not do Santa Elena in a half day.

[kevint]

Yes. I believe you can rely on the gas stations, at least the one at panther Junction. A recent lesson I learned is that even when the PJ gas station is closed, the gas pumps can be operated with a credit card.

[Raoul Duke]

I think we would like to do a half day ride, and maybe a half day canoe rental to go thru Santa Elena Canyon as well.

Are the gas stations in the park reliable, or should I plan on bringing a couple jerry cans?

I just got a new tent and tarp shelter, I'm really getting excited!

Unless the river is flooding, you'll not do Santa Elena in a half day.

The only way you can get a taste of Santa Elena in a half day is to do a "boomerang" trip where you put in at the mouth of the canyon, paddle up river into the canyon a mile or two, and then turn around and paddle back out to where you started.  You need relatively low water to do this (but not too low) so that you aren't paddling upriver into a raging current.  It's actually a really pleasant way to see the depths of the canyon without committing to the full 19-mile paddle from Lajitas.

[eddie]

Not sure if it is still that way, but the last couple of times that I have been to the park, the gas at Panther Junction was actually cheaper than the station in Marathon.  It was still cheaper at Study Butte, however.