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Big Bend National ParkDouglas airplanes on the field at Johnson's Ranch
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Big Bend National Park
Backcountry Roadside Campsites
Paint Gap 4 campsite in use
Dave Catalani
Camping in the Paint Gap at PG4.
 

Webmaster's note
Some of the roadside campsite pages do not yet have campsite photographs linked to them (a time consuming process). As time allows, high resolution images will be added for all roadside campsites.

 

For those who wish to camp in the backcountry without having to backpack, Big Bend offers a number of primitive campsites along backcountry roads. Most sites are located in the desert and along the River Road. There are no primitive roadside campsites in the Chisos Mountains. While some sites are accessible to most vehicles, a high clearance and/or four wheel drive vehicle is necessary to reach others. Other than a nice view, isolation, and a flat gravel space, these sites offer NO amenities. A backcountry permit is required for all roadside campsites.

Select a backcountry road for descriptions and maps of primitive sites available:

Along Main Park Roads:
Nine Point Draw Hannold Draw K-Bar
Croton Spring Paint Gap Grapevine Hills



Primitive Dirt Roads:
River Road Old Ore Road Old Maverick Road
Glenn Spring Pine Canyon Juniper Canyon

  

Jeep driving the River Road  

Did You Know?
Environmental essayist Edward Abbey once wrote of Big Bend National Park, "I’d rather be broke down and lost in the wilds of Big Bend, any day, than wake up some morning in a penthouse suite high above the megalomania of Dallas or Houston."
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Last Updated: April 13, 2008 at 10:16 EST