Camino Del Rio aka Texas Mountain Trail

Javelina

The one paved road through the Big Bend Ranch State Park follows the Rio Grande since the name “River Road”.  Over half of the 57 mile drive follows the river, climbs mountains, crosses arroyos and hugs canyon walls. One ‘hill’ has a 15% grade, very steep but the views from the top were breathtaking.  This drive was voted one of Reader’s Digest most scenic drives in Texas.

We stopped several times to read about the history of the area and to hike down the hill for a view the river.  Closed Canyon was a short hike into a slot canyon where we could touch both walls while standing in the middle and look up 15 stories of canyon wall to see a sliver of blue sky.   We shopped in Presidio, a small town on the west end of the road and had a nice lunch at The Bean.  It was the closest town with a decent grocery store.