The Santa Elena Canyon is located at the end of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. The Santa Elena Canyon Trail is rated as moderate with little elevation change and a round-trip distance of 1.7 miles. The park service mentions that one must cross Terlingua Creek. One the day we hiked, the creek was about waist deep. Other hikers walked out into the Rio Grande nearly to the Mexican side of the river on a series of stones and then made a sharp turn to continue following the stones to near the American side upstream from Terlingua Creek. Just before reaching land, they ran out of stepping stones and stepped into knee-deep water before scrambling up the bank and onto the trail. The total distance that hikers balanced on the rocks in the river was about 300 feet. For someone with balance issues, like me, that was a deal-breaker. However, we had a nice walk down to the sand and gravel beach. We enjoyed the view of the canyon from there. Parking is available for about a dozen vehicles. We visited in September 2021.
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| Warning signs at the trailhead |
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| Informational sign at the trailhead |
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| A boardwalk of sorts |
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| Approaching the canyon |
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| View downstream from the sand and gravel beach |
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| Santa Elena Canyon with a line of rocks across the Rio Grande |
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| Terlingua Creek |
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| The US side of the canyon |
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| The trail on the west side of Terlingua Creek |
An entry fee of $30 per vehicle, $25 per motorcycle, or $15 per person is valid for seven consecutive days at Big Bend National Park. Other fee payment options include the America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands passes including the Annual Pass ($80), Senior Pass ($80 for a lifetime), Access Pass (free with a documented disability), and Military Annual Pass (free for active-duty personnel). Also available is a Big Bend National Park Annual Park Pass for $55.
The Big Bend National Park website is https://www.nps.gov/bibe/index.htm.
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