An innovative archaeological dig has revealed the park's original wet prairie, buried by years of farming and development.
Read More »Wild Texas
Out with the new, in with the old: prairie restoration at Sheldon Lake
A fierce battle is under way to vanquish invasive grasses and restore the prairie's native landscape.
Read More »Booming Prairie Chickens at the Attwater Refuge
An early morning visit to the breeding grounds of the endangered Attwater's Prairie Chicken.
Read More »Jupiter and its moons at McDonald Observatory
On a visit to the McDonald Observatory in West Texas, I gazed at Jupiter and the Orion Nebula and traveled in the footsteps of Galileo.
Read More »Big Bend Ranch: West Rim Overlook Trail
The Fresno Rim trail offers a taste of a solitary desert hike - without the difficulties of most of Big Bend Ranch's more primitive routes.
Read More »Refuges
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McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge
McFaddin is home to tens of thousands of wintering waterfowl, migratory songbirds and the largest collection of alligators in Texas.
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Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge
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San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge
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Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge
Sanctuaries
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Smith Oaks & The Rookery
The Rookery is a tenement for birds, where they gossip, fight and raise their families.
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Sabine Woods Sanctuary
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Boy Scout Woods Bird Sanctuary
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Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary
Trails
Big Bend: Pine Canyon Trail
bottom of a 200-foot pour-off that becomes a gushing a waterfall after ...
Read More »Big Bend: Lost Mine Trail
The most picturesque short hike in the park, with a top-of-the-world view at the end of the trail
Read More »Big Bend Ranch: Hoodoos Trail
The Hoodoo Trail takes you past a gathering of impassive natural rock monuments overlooking the banks of the Rio Grande in the southern arm of Big Bend Ranch State Park.
Read More »Big Bend: Ernst Tinaja Trail
The Ernst Tinaja Trail follows a dry wash past colorful, uplifted limestone walls to a deep, dark pool carved in the canyon floor.
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