Sight · Big Bend National Park
A low river-level view into an 8-mile canyon.
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
Santa Elena Canyon“You're approaching Santa Elena Canyon, where the Rio Grande runs between limestone walls rising fifteen hundred feet. Stop for the canyon-mouth view even if you don't want a hike.”
Plays as you drive up to Santa Elena Canyon 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
This is a near-river-level overlook at the end of Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, facing the mouth of Santa Elena Canyon. The canyon runs about 8 miles and reaches 1,500 feet deep; in places, its walls narrow to just 30 feet. If you’re already making the drive, it’s a quick way to see the canyon without taking on a hike. Parking and interpretive exhibits are listed at the stop.
The Rio Grande runs below the canyon walls, giving this viewpoint a low angle instead of a rim-top look down. For a photo, keep a strip of river in the frame with both walls; the water helps show their height.
The Rio Grande established its course over basin-filling sediments and older rocks, then cut steep walls into resistant Lower Cretaceous limestone. Those ancient limestone layers are exposed along the canyon, so the view also shows the rock the river carved through.
The Santa Elena Canyon trail shares the access area but is a separate outing. Hikers cross the bed of Terlingua Creek and climb a short, steep bank; depending on rainfall, the crossing can be dry sand, mud, or flowing water. Check trail conditions before choosing it. A popular way to see the canyon’s length is a two- or three-day river trip from Lajitas, outside the park; river trips require a backcountry use permit.
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
EasySanta Elena Canyon Trail1.6 mi · 1 hr · 0.4 mi awayCross a shifting creek, then walk beneath towering limestone walls.
EasyDorgan Sublett Trail1 mi · 30 min · 1.8 mi awayA quick farmstead walk with a big hilltop view.
Sight · 0.4 mi awaySanta Elena CanyonThe Rio Grande threads an eight-mile gorge of sheer limestone.
Sight · 0.9 mi awaySanta Elena Canyon River TakeoutA practical staging spot for Rio Grande paddlers.Sight · 1.8 mi awayDorgan-Sublett Historic SiteA Rio Grande farm with a petrified-wood fireplace worth seeing.
Scenic pullout · 4.3 mi awayDesert Mountain OverlookFind Emory Peak, the South Rim and Elephant Tusk from the road.
Sight · 4.3 mi awayLa CoyotaRuins of a farming community that sold food to miners.Parkwolf’s Big Bend ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
