#4 of 45 sights in Big Bend
Sight · Big Bend National Park
A short, paved loop for sunset through the Window.
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
Chisos Basin and Window View“You're coming up on Chisos Basin, a mountain-ringed bowl with a gap called the Window opening toward the desert.”
Plays as you drive up to Window View 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
Window View is a short, paved loop around a low hill in the Chisos Basin, near the Chisos Mountains Lodge and Basin Visitor Center. It gives you a look across the Chisos peaks and through the Window. If you want the Basin scenery without the longer hike to the pour-off, this is the easy stop. The loop is 0.3 mile and takes about 30 minutes, with about 50 feet of elevation change.
This isn't the Window Trail to the pour-off: that route descends through Oak Creek Canyon and has a steep climb on its return. Window View stays on the Basin's short paved loop. It slopes gently down to the far end, then back up, and is wheelchair accessible. Pets aren't allowed on park trails.
Benches along the loop make it worth slowing down. The Window frames the fading light at sunset, with the peaks around the Basin filling the rest of the view. For a photo, let the dark mountain walls frame the bright gap; the opening is the point of the shot.
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
ModerateThe Window Trail5.5 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayA 5.5-mile canyon hike with a tough climb back to the Basin.
ChallengingColima Loop9.5 mi · 7 hr · 0.1 mi awayA high-country circuit through Boot Canyon and the Chisos peaks.
ChallengingEmory Peak Trail10.5 mi · 7 hr · 0.1 mi awayA full-day climb to Big Bend’s highest summit and wide-open views.
ChallengingOuter Mountain Loop30 mi · 18 hr · 0.1 mi awayThree days from Chisos woodland to exposed desert, with no reliable water.
ModerateChisos Basin Loop Trail2 mi · 1 hr · 0.1 mi awayA shaded Basin loop with Window views and pine forest.
ChallengingSouth Rim Trail12.5 mi · 6.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayA hard climb to the rim, back through Boot Canyon and Pinnacles.
EasyWindow View Trail0.3 mi · 30 min · 0.1 mi awayA paved Basin loop with a clear view through the Window.
ChallengingEntire Rim Loop13.6 mi · 9 hr · 0.1 mi awayBoth Chisos rims and Boot Canyon in a full-day loop.
Store · 0.2 mi awayChisos Basin StoreCold drinks and camp basics, without a detour from the Basin.
Visitor center · 0.2 mi awayChisos Basin Visitor CenterA quick Chisos wildlife primer before you head for the Basin trails.
Lodging · 0.2 mi awayChisos Mountains LodgeStay at the park's only lodge, high in Chisos Basin.
Sight · 0.3 mi awayChisos Basin AmphitheaterRanger talks bring local stories to a stone stage outdoors.
Campground · 0.4 mi awayChisos Basin CampgroundHigh-country camping for hikers; road and site size favor smaller rigs.
Scenic pullout · 1.5 mi awayTree Zone ExhibitStand under an oak where desert plants meet mountain woodland.Sight · 1.7 mi awayEmory PeakA 10.5-mile round trip earns a 360-degree summit panorama.
Sight · 1.8 mi awayThe WindowA long hike to a 200-foot pour-off framing the desert.Parkwolf’s Big Bend ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
