Hiking Big Bend Ranch State Park: Rancherias Loop Trail

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Big Bend Ranch State Park is one of the few truly wild places in West Texas. The park gets few visitors, trails are faint and access involves a long drive on back roads. The rewards are amazing scenery and solitude rarely found in West Texas. I hiked the Rancherias Loop Trail, one of the best hikes through the State Park. The hike leads over mountains, mesas, and through canyons. It is supposed to take at least three days, and the ranger said I might need four. I took that as a challenge and did the loop in two days!

Details:

This route has the most solitude of any trip I've done in Texas. Rangers told me only one other party was hiking the loop that weekend and they were a day ahead of me. I never saw them. I did see two-day hikers at the very end, but they were the only people I saw.
Navigation was tricky because the trail often followed dried up creek beds. This was made worse by the fact that my map and GPS didn't always match the reality on the ground.
Unlike most West Texas hikes this route has relatively reliable springs along it so you don't have to haul tons of water with you.

Rancherias Loop Trail Route, Rancherias Loop Trail Schmidt

The Author, Rancherias Loop Trail Schmidt

Read on for the full story!

Article Outline

Introduction
Photo Essay
Gear Notes
Lessons Learned

# of Photos: 21; Word Count: 1800

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This topic has 6 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 8 months ago by Will B.

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

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Sep 16, 2016 at 5:02 pm #3426574

Luke Schmidt
BPL Member

@cameron
Locale: Alaska

Companion forum thread to: Hiking Big Bend Ranch State Park: Rancherias Loop Trail

The Rancherias Loop Trail in Big Bend State Park is one of the last wild places in West Texas. With few visitors and stunning scenery, it is not to be missed.

Sep 17, 2016 at 10:16 am #3426683

Kevin Scott
BPL Member

@fjrpilot

Nice write up. What month did you complete this hike? I live in El Paso and the BB is a bit to hot to hike in the summer (at least for me…)

Sep 17, 2016 at 12:30 pm #3426699

HiLight
BPL Member

@hilight
Locale: Directorate X

Luke, well done. Thanks for giving some attention to this beautiful area. I’ve driven through the state park, but my trips to Big Bend country have been focused on the national park. The entire Big Bend area is filled with backpacking opportunities, as well as some 4WD trails worth the time. Many trails in the nearby national park are relatively untraveled, too. A hike into the Chisos Mountains is a real treat, and Terlingua is interesting.

Kevin, I’ve been to the area in November, 2013 and May, 2016. The November trip was unseasonably wet, but that was a treat, as the desert greened up considerably, and water falls were active. The May trip was a bit of a scramble after my plans for Grand Canyon fell through. I didn’t mind the heat, but I would’ve enjoyed my time there more earlier in the year, as everything had dried up by then.

Sep 17, 2016 at 8:52 pm #3426781

Anonymous
Inactive

Thanks for the report! Sounds pretty lonesome, which can be a good thing!

Bill

Sep 18, 2016 at 8:40 pm #3426905

Eugene Smith
BPL Member

@eugeneius
Locale: Nuevo Mexico

Love me some BBRSP. Thanks for sharing here Luke.

The region feels like an extension of my stomping grounds in southern NM, but the distance away from any large urban areas really sets the park apart for northern Chihuahuan desert exploration. I spent 5 days last October on my bike riding across the park and zig zagging around checking out other cool loops, such as the Solitario. I’d do it all over again in October, or any month into early spring.

http://desertpaincave.blogspot.com/2016/09/bbrsp-belated-reflections-from-multi.html

Sep 18, 2016 at 9:00 pm #3426907

Ben C
BPL Member

@alexdrewreed
Locale: Kentucky

Nice report. Hope to make it out that way some day,

Mar 21, 2019 at 8:56 pm #3584913

Will B
BPL Member

@will-b-2
Locale: Colonia Centro

I did the same route recently and found this info really helpful. Such a beautiful place. Thanks!
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Hiking Big Bend Ranch State Park: Rancherias Loop Trail

By Luke Schmidt