Agile Trekker: Boquillas Canyon Trail, Boquillas Border Patrol, Hot Springs Trail, Big Bend National Park

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
3/30/2025	1.4 miles	1 hour 5 minutes	63'	1.7 mph	101.2 miles

Parking:

Boquillas Canyon Road

Map:

National Geographic, Big Bend National Park

Directions:

Take Boquillas Canyon Trail to the end. Return the same way.

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
3/30/2025	1.7 miles	1 hour 52 minutes	51'	2.3 mph	102.9 miles

Parking:

Hot Springs Road, Oversized vehicle parking lot

Map:

National Geographic, Big Bend National Park

Directions:

Continue walking down the road to the trailhead. Follow the sign for the trail to the hot springs. Hike to the hot springs and return the same way.

We woke up to the sound of donkeys in our campground. We decided to hike near our Rio Grande Campground. Our first hike was the Boquillas Canyon Trail. Along the way were collections of Mexican items for sale along the trail: glazed mugs, bracelets, hiking sticks, and metalwork. We saw a sign later saying they are contraband and will be confiscated if you are found with them. This hike was listed as an easy hike, but the small amount of rock steps hurt my hip a lot at the midway point. We saw horses and cattle along the trail.

We hadn't brought our passports, but we decided to go to the Boquillas border crossing after our hike. We parked and walked into the small border patrol office. We told the border patrol guard that we didn't have our passports, and she told us where we were allowed to walk. If we went beyond the pavement of the building, there would be problems letting us re-enter America. She questioned me where Tara and Dian were, when they disappeared into the bathroom lol. Still legal. A small part of the park is in Mexico. You can either wade across the Rio Grande or have someone boat you across. I wish I had known to bring my passport!

Our next stop was to the hot springs. You can drive partway in & then it says you need a 4WD vehicle. We didn't know the road condition, so we parked and hiked the 3/4 mile down the hot road to the trailhead. So hot! I think our vehicle could have made it fine. There were historic buildings along the trail, but we didn't want to stop long due to the heat. I think it was 92 degrees today. And here we are, going to soak in hot springs which are 105 degrees. Crazy! There were a handful of people at the spring. One boy asked if the river went to the Atlantic Ocean. Someone else answered that it went into the Gulf of America. Oh dear. You could alternate between soaking in the hot springs or the cold river. The river current was fast, so we didn't lie down in it, but it was still a nice break to dip your legs in to cool off. This hot/cold soak was refreshing, despite the heat.

After that, we stopped at the Rio Grande visitor center and sat inside on the floor charging our phones, enjoying the air conditioning. When the park volunteers weren't busy, we peppered them with questions. When they closed at 4:30, we moved to the campground laundry room. The laundry room has a bit of AC from the connecting campground store until 6:00 pm, when they close the campground store and the laundry room gets hot again. This campground has showers, but I tried not to shower too early, as I'd just end up getting sweaty again before sleeping. The javelinas visited our tents in the evening. Nights have been surprisingly pleasant. I spent some time lying with my head out of the tent to stare at the amazing stars.