Chisos Basin Campground (big Bend, Tx)

This campground is absolutely beautiful. Chisos Basin is special! Site #26 has great shade all day which was awesome. However, it is really tiny and it’s difficult to find space to pitch a tent. There is no level ground at this site. We made it work, but want to warn folks especially if they’re trying to stay here with a couple tents!

Great views great location

Great location, great view

We love camping in our National Parks and enjoyed our stay at Chisos Basin in Big Bend, with a couple of caveats. Because of the water shortage, there were no toilets or sinks (other than a utility). The port-a-potties filled up very quickly and were often out of toilet paper and fairly messy. The lack of any sink for washing faces, etc. was difficult in such a dry, dusty climate. And the camp store was more limited than other other NP experiences. They are about to begin a big remodel of the area, which I believe will address many of these challenges (including better water capture to respond to the drought), and I'm excited to see what Chisos Basin will look like on the other side of some of those repairs/renovations.

The bear boxes at these camp sites are fantastic, and made it very easy to clean up the campsite and protect any food.

Most of the sites are quite small and very close together; there's not much privacy at this campground. Our site (29, loop 2) had a good layout and a little more privacy than most.

Some sites have ABSOLUTELY NO shade, which I imagine would be quite difficult in the summer months! The ones that do have shade structures (such as ours) are well suited to bringing a hammock-- I wish we had brought ours.

This campsite can't be beat for convenience to the best hikes: Lost Mine, Windows, and Emory Peak were all fantastic and easily accessed.

We did find that recent funding cuts meant we saw far fewer park rangers than we typically do on NP visits, and the visitor center hours were very limited :-( A sad state of affairs. But the ones that we did encounter were fantastic, as always. Rangers are what make America's Best Idea even better!

Our campsite offered spectacular views of Casa Grande, and the proximity to the Window and Lost Mine Trail was excellent. The park felt less busy than on Spring Break in years past, so that was a bonus. All park rangers, staff, and volunteers were friendly and kind. We love Big Bend!

Site #43 was perfectly located with an amazing view. We repositioned the metal table to allow us to stake our tent in the center of the site facing the mountain range. We had a good size Kelty Discovery Basecamp 4p tent and had plenty of space remaining for our chairs without feeling cramped. There's a very large bolder that my daughter really enjoyed climbing on -- it made for a great spot to view the stars. The site is close enough to the bathroom but far enough to not feel/hear the noise from bathroom traffic. The bear box was super spacious. We had no issues during our two night stay. The camp host was super friendly and helpful. She drove by and introduced herself and gave information about the area. I would absolutely stay at this site again.

Nice campsite, directly across from the bathrooms. No neighbors directly behind and close to the Window Trail which is nice. The ground is hard and rocky so you definitely need heavy duty tent stakes made for rocky ground. And you need a real hammer for those stakes, not a rubber mallet (ours broke). Also, it is very windy here so be prepared for that. Lots of broken tents and canopies during our stay. There is no shade at this site. Our 6 person tent fit just fine with room for a smaller tent. Can move the picnic table to make room. Neighbors are very close and noise carries very well here so you’ll hear that guy snoring across the way.

This is a fantastic campground if you know what to expect. The sites are well maintained and pretty large. The scenery surrounding the campground is incredible, and some of the best trails in the park start from just a few minutes away. You can stargaze directly from the campground (I recommend bringing a headlamp with a red light). There is a lodge (with a restaurant), camp store, and visitor center just up the road. I also had no issues with excessive noise or light from neighbors when I was there, the campground is not particularly large and the narrow winding road to the campground blocks larger RVs, both of which help.

There are some things to know about camping here: there are no showers, the nearest are in Rio Grande Village ~1hr drive away. The ground is hard and rocky so you may have trouble with tent stakes, I was able to find a good enough spot quickly enough. It can be quite windy at times, consider a low profile tent (or at least make sure you’re staked in really well!) and make sure to close it up as much as possible to keep sand out. Some sites have little shade, but it’s manageable with appropriate clothing.

Overall this is an excellent campground and I highly recommend it, with just a bit of planning and prep I had a great camping experiences ever here Chisos Basin.

Amazing hiking and camping. A bit windy, but temperatures were perfect.

Good camping experience. A few things to know beforehand, the campsites are pretty close to each other and the tent pad is about 75% gravel so heavy duty tent stakes are necessary