2 Best Sights in Big Bend National Park, Texas

Panoramic vistas, a restaurant with an up-close view of jagged mountain peaks, and glimpses of the Colima warbler (which summers in Big Bend) await in the forested Chisos Basin. The spiritual heart of Big Bend, at an elevation of 5,400 feet, it's ringed by taller peaks and has a lodge, a campground, a grocery store, an amphitheater, a visitor center, and access to some of the park's best hiking trails. Winter sometimes brings snow, but in summer this is where you can find relief from the desert heat below.

This 7-mile road climbs majestically from Chisos Basin Junction to Chisos Mountains Lodge, with a spur leading to a campground. In these higher elevations you're slightly more likely to spot mountain lions and bears as well as white-tailed deer amid juniper and pinyon pines. You'll also see smooth, red-barked Texas madrone along with some Chisos oaks and Douglas fir trees. Roadside exhibits explain the various ecosystems. Because of sharp curves and switchbacks, this drive is not suitable for RVs longer than 24 feet.