Scenic pullout · Big Bend National Park
Stone walls from ancient magma, right beside the scenic drive.
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
Fins of Fire“Fins of Fire is ahead, a quick roadside stop for tracing long stone walls across the slopes. The four-picture panel helps you pick out these igneous dikes, some stretching for miles.”
Plays as you drive up to Fins of Fire 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
Fins of Fire is a roadside geology stop on Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, about four miles from its northern end. The view and a four-image panel explain the long, fin-shaped igneous dikes crossing the slopes. Stop if you like being able to read the landscape, not just admire it. For a photo, keep the surrounding slopes in frame so the dikes read as long lines rather than isolated rocks.
The dikes began as magma moving into cracks in older rock about 29 million years ago. It cooled underground; over time, softer rock around it wore away and left the harder igneous walls exposed. Some dikes can be followed for miles across the park.
Many dikes radiate from volcanic centers, and their pattern helps geologists piece together how the Chisos Mountains formed. A reference photo on the panel includes two people, a useful reminder of the walls’ scale. The stop is described as wheelchair accessible, though the surface and distance from parking aren’t specified.
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
ChallengingApache Canyon Trail to Rock Corral7.2 mi · 4.5 hr · 0.4 mi awayA cairned desert hike ends at Sam Nail's stone corral.
EasySam Nail Ranch Trail0.4 mi · 30 min · 0.8 mi awayA quick homestead loop into a shady desert oasis
ModerateOak Spring Trail7.2 mi · 5 hr · 0.8 mi awayThe Window from the west, with a climb and desert views.
ModerateWard Spring Trail2.9 mi · 2 hr · 1.3 mi awayA rocky walk to a spring beneath a wall of volcanic rock.
ModerateCattail Falls Trail3.2 mi · 2.8 hr · 1.5 mi awayA usually small cascade spills into a rare desert oasis.
ModerateUpper Burro Mesa Pouroff Trail3.5 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.7 mi awayA sandy wash and boulder scrambles lead to a slick-rock grotto.
EasyLower Burro Mesa Pouroff Trail1 mi · 30 min · 3.3 mi awayA short wash walk to a 100-foot rock chute.
ChallengingBlue Creek Trail5.8 mi · 4 hr · 3.5 mi awayA red-rock wash walk with a hard climb into the Chisos.Sight · 0.8 mi awaySam Nail RanchA half-mile loop to adobe ruins and a shaded creek oasis.
Scenic pullout · 2.1 mi awayChisos Mountains ExhibitA roadside geology lesson with the Chisos range as its backdrop.
Sight · 2.5 mi awayThe WindowA long hike to a 200-foot pour-off framing the desert.Sight · 3 mi awayLower Burro Mesa PouroffA short wash hike ends beneath a 100-foot rock pouroff.
Sight · 3.7 mi awayHomer Wilson RanchA short hike turns a scenic-drive pullout into a ranch-history stop.
Sight · 3.7 mi awaySotol VistaA west-side panorama with Santa Elena Canyon as a distant gap.
Sight · 4 mi awayWindow ViewA short, paved loop for sunset through the Window.
Campground · 4.1 mi awayChisos Basin CampgroundHigh-country camping for hikers; road and site size favor smaller rigs.Parkwolf’s Big Bend ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
