Sight · Big Bend National Park
A practical staging spot for Rio Grande paddlers.
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 River Takeout“Coming up is Santa Elena Canyon River Takeout, a small-boat access point on the Rio Grande. It's mainly useful for paddlers, with room for boat trailers and a sheltered picnic table.”
Plays as you drive up to Santa Elena Canyon River Takeout 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
Santa Elena Canyon River Takeout is a small-boat launch and Rio Grande access point along Ross Maxwell Road. It’s for setting up river trips, not the walk-in canyon overlook, which is a separate stop.
A backcountry-use permit is required for every river trip. Ask a ranger about water levels, gear and regulations before choosing a route; low water can change which stretch is practical. Confirm your exact starting and ending access before you go rather than relying on the local “boomerang” label.
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 · 1.1 mi awayCross a shifting creek, then walk beneath towering limestone walls.
EasyDorgan Sublett Trail1 mi · 30 min · 1.1 mi awayA quick farmstead walk with a big hilltop view.
Sight · 0.9 mi awaySanta Elena Canyon OverlookA low river-level view into an 8-mile canyon.
Sight · 1.1 mi awaySanta Elena CanyonThe Rio Grande threads an eight-mile gorge of sheer limestone.Sight · 1.1 mi awayDorgan-Sublett Historic SiteA Rio Grande farm with a petrified-wood fireplace worth seeing.
Scenic pullout · 3.7 mi awayDesert Mountain OverlookFind Emory Peak, the South Rim and Elephant Tusk from the road.
Sight · 3.8 mi awayLa CoyotaRuins of a farming community that sold food to miners.
Campground · 4.8 mi awayCottonwood CampgroundA quiet, dry-camping base near Santa Elena 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.
