Scenic pullout · Big Bend National Park
A quick stop to read the dry wash as a wildlife corridor.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Big Bend Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Big Bend National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Big Bend audio tourRecorded for this area
Balanced Rock via Grapevine Hills“You're approaching the Grapevine Hills Road turnoff for Balanced Rock, a huge boulder spanning two stone supports.”
Plays on the road 0.4 mi from Animal Highways Exhibit in the Parkwolf Big Bend Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Animal Highways Exhibit is a roadside wayside and pullout on Chisos Basin Road, below the Chisos Basin. Its view opens over Green Gulch and the sotol grasslands, making it an easy pause on the climb into the mountains. It's a short stop to read the landscape, not a place that needs a long visit.
The exhibit's main point is that an arroyo can work like a wildlife corridor between desert and mountain habitats. Pockets of moisture and dense brush give animals cover and a place where predator and prey cross paths. Look for tracks or scat in the wash; they can show what moved through after dark, even when no animal is out.
For a photo, keep the low sotol and dry wash in front of the Chisos; that gives the view context for the exhibit's mountain-to-desert idea. Parking and the interpretive panel are at this roadside stop, which is wheelchair accessible. Chisos Basin Road has sharp curves and steep grades; trailers longer than 20 feet and RVs over 24 feet are not recommended.
Wildlife
377 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
329 sightingsCollared PeccaryMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
500 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
985 sightingsRoadrunnerMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
228 sightingsRavenMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
264 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around noonSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Big Bend. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyLone Mountain Trail2.7 mi · 1.5 hr · 3.3 mi awayA sunlit loop around Lone Mountain’s volcanic base.
ModerateLost Mine Trail4.8 mi · 3 hr · 4.4 mi awayA stepped climb to a ridge above Juniper Canyon.
ModeratePine Canyon Trail4 mi · 3 hr · 4.9 mi awayDesert grassland gives way to a shaded canyon and cliff pour-off.
Sight · 2.8 mi awayInvisible Wildlife ExhibitA quick lesson in the wildlife you might otherwise drive past.
Gas station · 3 mi awayPanther Junction Service StationA 1958 Mission 66 station still serving a remote park.
Visitor center · 3.2 mi awayPanther Junction Visitor CenterStart here before the long drives through the park.
Scenic pullout · 3.8 mi awayTree Zone ExhibitStand under an oak where desert plants meet mountain woodland.
Campground · 4.7 mi awayChisos Basin CampgroundHigh-country camping for hikers; road and site size favor smaller rigs.
Sight · 4.7 mi awayChisos Basin AmphitheaterRanger talks bring local stories to a stone stage outdoors.
Lodging · 4.9 mi awayChisos Mountains LodgeStay at the park's only lodge, high in Chisos Basin.
Visitor center · 5 mi awayChisos Basin Visitor CenterA quick Chisos wildlife primer before you head for the Basin trails.Parkwolf’s Big Bend ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
