Scenic pullout · Big Bend National Park
Find Emory Peak, the South Rim and Elephant Tusk from the road.
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 place
Desert Mountain Overlook“Desert Mountain Overlook is coming up, a quick roadside stop for seeing the Chisos from the low desert. Look for Emory Peak, the South Rim, and Elephant Tusk along the skyline.”
Plays as you drive up to Desert Mountain Overlook 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
Desert Mountain Overlook is a roadside pullout on Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, known for a broad view toward the Chisos Mountains. Pause to find Emory Peak, the South Rim and Elephant Tusk in the skyline. This is a short view-and-read stop; the appeal is the mountain panorama from the road.
Emory Peak lies about 16 miles from the overlook and a vertical mile above it. For a photo, leave some of the open desert foreground beneath the mountains; it shows the distance between the low country and the high Chisos.
The pullout has auto parking and an interpretive panel, and is marked wheelchair-accessible. The panel is across from the parking area. Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive runs 30 miles toward Castolon and Santa Elena Canyon, making this an easy pause on the way through the park.
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
EasyDorgan Sublett Trail1 mi · 30 min · 2.6 mi awayA quick farmstead walk with a big hilltop view.
EasyTuff Canyon Trail0.5 mi · 20 min · 3.1 mi awayA short rim walk with a clear look at volcanic layers.
EasySanta Elena Canyon Trail1.6 mi · 1 hr · 4.6 mi awayCross a shifting creek, then walk beneath towering limestone walls.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayLa CoyotaRuins of a farming community that sold food to miners.
Campground · 1.2 mi awayCottonwood CampgroundA quiet, dry-camping base near Santa Elena Canyon.
Visitor center · 1.6 mi awayCastolon Visitor CenterHistoric adobe, ranger advice, and a wide view over the Rio Grande.
Sight · 1.7 mi awayCastolon Historic DistrictA borderland history stop among Big Bend’s adobe buildings.
Store · 1.7 mi awayLa Harmonita StoreCold drinks and practical supplies along the remote west side.
Sight · 2.1 mi awayCerro Castellan ExhibitA roadside geology lesson framed by a steep volcanic peak.Sight · 2.6 mi awayDorgan-Sublett Historic SiteA Rio Grande farm with a petrified-wood fireplace worth seeing.
Sight · 3.2 mi awayTuff CanyonThree rim platforms reveal pale tuff and a deep, narrow canyon.Parkwolf’s Big Bend ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
