Official Website Link
Scanned images of the park map are attached to this post.
Big Bend Ranch State Park is a great park to camp and wheel in West Texas. The park headquarters at Sauceda does accept cash or credit card (as long as the Internet connection is working which was 50/50 when I was last there). Reserve your camping spot well in advance as the colder months are their busy season. The best place to camp really depends on what you want to do while you are there. Camping in the remote spots is great to get way away from anyone but also makes traveling around the park much more time consuming as the speed limit on the main roads is 25 mph. If you intend to cover a lot of ground by driving around I would recommend getting a camping spot that is easily accessible from the main road - Los Ojitos being the prime example. This spot is easily accessed from the road yet private and has instant access to the rest of the park without wasting lots of drive time.
The website for BBRSP has some maps on it but the best map for use out there is available at the ranger station for purchase (~$7 last time I checked). I did not have good success using Google Maps downloaded to my phone for the area and plan to use BackCountry Navigator next time I go to the park. The PDF for the latest one side map is attached below.
Fuel/ Food: None. If you did not bring enough gas your best bet is to buy some off of someone who did or drive 1.5- 2 hours back to Presidio and buy some. The same goes for food.
Facilities: The park office at Saucedo does have heated/cooled restrooms with showers that are open 24/7. There are "eco friendly" outhouses at a few campsites. I only saw them at Tres Papalotes, South Leyva Campground and La Mota 1; other than these bathrooms you are looking for a bush.
Roads/Trails: The main roads are all marked as 2WD on the park maps. These roads are all dirt and maintained by road graders. These roads are wide enough and easily traveled by a truck with a trailer. The secondary roads are all marked as 2WD High Clearance (2WDHC). BBRSP recommends at least 8" of ground clearance on these roads for any vehicle; so pretty much trucks or SUVs. This is where the pin striping comes into play. These trails are tighter due to vegetation not being trimmed back by park staff - pinstriping begins. There are lots of trails that are easily covered with 2WD vehicles during good weather. The 4WD trails in the park range in difficulty but are not technical so much as not really maintained. The traction and camber of the 4WD trails will vary greatly depending on the part of the park you are driving in. These trails are also lined with pinstriping opportunities so good luck with that - after the first few you will just mutter a few choice words under your breath.
The trails that will most likely interest drivers are the 4WD Unmaintained roads. There a few roads in the main park that are unmaintained; but the vast majority of them are in the upper NorthWest part of the park. These trails can be difficult to find or follow as they receive almost no attention from park staff. Do not expect traffic on these trails.
2WD Road driving into the park towards Sauceda
2WDHC Road - driving down towards Javelin Pens/ Madrid Falls road
4WD Road - Madrid Falls Road
Camping: All camp spots for vehicle camping are marked and reservable. If you are going to be parking and hiking into the back country they have a list of requirements for camping that is available on the website and the ranger station. No campsite has electricity or running water unless you bring it with you. The South Leyva Campground is the only place where you will be close to other campers if you chose to camp there. This site is ideal for large groups that would bring +5 vehicles and want to camp close together. This is still an excellent location since it has easy access to the main road for exploring the rest of the park.
If tent camping is not ideal for the trip there is a bunkhouse and some rooms that can be rented at the Sauceda station.
Signs/ Marking: All vehicle accessible roads/trails are clearly marked at the turns. In the main areas the signs are the standard Texas park signs. Once you get onto the "light maintenance" areas the signs become rusted pieces of metal with the letters and arrows cut out. While this is easy maintenance it is harder to see in low/no light situations.
Scanned images of the park map are attached to this post.
Big Bend Ranch State Park is a great park to camp and wheel in West Texas. The park headquarters at Sauceda does accept cash or credit card (as long as the Internet connection is working which was 50/50 when I was last there). Reserve your camping spot well in advance as the colder months are their busy season. The best place to camp really depends on what you want to do while you are there. Camping in the remote spots is great to get way away from anyone but also makes traveling around the park much more time consuming as the speed limit on the main roads is 25 mph. If you intend to cover a lot of ground by driving around I would recommend getting a camping spot that is easily accessible from the main road - Los Ojitos being the prime example. This spot is easily accessed from the road yet private and has instant access to the rest of the park without wasting lots of drive time.
The website for BBRSP has some maps on it but the best map for use out there is available at the ranger station for purchase (~$7 last time I checked). I did not have good success using Google Maps downloaded to my phone for the area and plan to use BackCountry Navigator next time I go to the park. The PDF for the latest one side map is attached below.
Fuel/ Food: None. If you did not bring enough gas your best bet is to buy some off of someone who did or drive 1.5- 2 hours back to Presidio and buy some. The same goes for food.
Facilities: The park office at Saucedo does have heated/cooled restrooms with showers that are open 24/7. There are "eco friendly" outhouses at a few campsites. I only saw them at Tres Papalotes, South Leyva Campground and La Mota 1; other than these bathrooms you are looking for a bush.
Roads/Trails: The main roads are all marked as 2WD on the park maps. These roads are all dirt and maintained by road graders. These roads are wide enough and easily traveled by a truck with a trailer. The secondary roads are all marked as 2WD High Clearance (2WDHC). BBRSP recommends at least 8" of ground clearance on these roads for any vehicle; so pretty much trucks or SUVs. This is where the pin striping comes into play. These trails are tighter due to vegetation not being trimmed back by park staff - pinstriping begins. There are lots of trails that are easily covered with 2WD vehicles during good weather. The 4WD trails in the park range in difficulty but are not technical so much as not really maintained. The traction and camber of the 4WD trails will vary greatly depending on the part of the park you are driving in. These trails are also lined with pinstriping opportunities so good luck with that - after the first few you will just mutter a few choice words under your breath.
The trails that will most likely interest drivers are the 4WD Unmaintained roads. There a few roads in the main park that are unmaintained; but the vast majority of them are in the upper NorthWest part of the park. These trails can be difficult to find or follow as they receive almost no attention from park staff. Do not expect traffic on these trails.
2WD Road driving into the park towards Sauceda
2WDHC Road - driving down towards Javelin Pens/ Madrid Falls road
4WD Road - Madrid Falls Road
Camping: All camp spots for vehicle camping are marked and reservable. If you are going to be parking and hiking into the back country they have a list of requirements for camping that is available on the website and the ranger station. No campsite has electricity or running water unless you bring it with you. The South Leyva Campground is the only place where you will be close to other campers if you chose to camp there. This site is ideal for large groups that would bring +5 vehicles and want to camp close together. This is still an excellent location since it has easy access to the main road for exploring the rest of the park.
If tent camping is not ideal for the trip there is a bunkhouse and some rooms that can be rented at the Sauceda station.
Signs/ Marking: All vehicle accessible roads/trails are clearly marked at the turns. In the main areas the signs are the standard Texas park signs. Once you get onto the "light maintenance" areas the signs become rusted pieces of metal with the letters and arrows cut out. While this is easy maintenance it is harder to see in low/no light situations.
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