Big Bend State Park

This place is vast and provides unlimited riding for every rider. Climbs are very gradual and doable and downhills are fun too. Hard to find any other place like Big Bend State Park.

I've been to Big Bend State Park for two Chihuahua Dirt Festivals and each time I'm blown away by this place. The Big Bend Trails Alliance is the main advocacy group for mountain biking in the area and puts on a fundraiser in the middle of February each year to help support trail maintenance.

They've done amazing work on about 30 miles of trails nearest the main entrance and are slowly working on turning the more remote double track jeeps trails into single track.

The trails they have built so far are very rugged and natural but have an amazing flow to them. One tire off the path though and you'll be flung mercilessly into sharp cactus and Cholla. The community and trails are both top notch and if you go for the dirt festival you'll have aid station support from the park rangers that allows you to conquer the hellacious 62 mile loop the IMBA recently certified as Epic.

This is the epitome of west Texas desert riding - you are in the middle of nowhere with views for miles and you love it! The riding overall isn't mind blowing, however the state of mind I found myself in while traversing this amazing landscape left nothing to be desired. In my opinion, you make the trek to this far away corner of Texas for the overall experience - isolation, history, scenery, ambiance & tranquility the desert offers...the riding is a bonus!

The majority of the riding is done on rarely used jeep roads but there are plenty of dried up river beds you'll find yourself in & some parts of the park has plenty of singletrack. These singletrack sections are found closer to the highway and they are excellent - designed by mountain bikers for mountain bikers. They made great use of the terrain & I consider these sections the cream of the crop as far as the riding is concerned. Personal favorite is the Chimney Rock cutoff but I recommend hitting all the singletrack on the way in & on the way out...it's like getting to ride 2 trails! Some flow better in 1 direction vs the other but they are all rideable either way.

An awesome loop that most everyone with any mountain bike experience should be able to complete and enjoy is the Contrabando Dome Loop. This is an amazing ride around, you might have guessed it, a huge dome. There are some nice climbs, great descents, a ton of amazing views & you'll pass several historical sites including a couple ruins of old rock cabins. If you're looking for a couple hours long ride this is the best bang for your buck.

There are literally thousands of different options for how you could route a ride through this vast landscape. I haven't even scratched the surface of what there is to offer out there. The shear scale of the place makes a lot of what's doable for a ride dependent on where you're staying. I've always stayed down the road in Lajitas at the RV park during the Chihuahuan Desert Dirt Fest in February. From here to get to the far ends of the park you're looking at a 50 mile day minimum...but don't let that scare you - there are desert oasis, petroglyphs, historic ruins, mine shafts & countless forms of geographic eye candy to keep you busy for many, many trips to this amazing park.