Parking
Use the paved pullout at Burro Spring Trailhead; it has space for several vehicles.
Overview
About Burro Spring Trail
Why go
- White ash and red rhyolite make the short walk more varied than a plain desert track.
- The overlook looks down onto a green spring pocket and out toward Santa Elena Canyon.
Heads up
- The ordinary route ends above the spring; reaching the water means a much harder unmarked descent.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Big Bend map
Full mapElevation3,118–3,316 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Big Bend alerts
- ClosureWeather-related road closuresDo not use these closed roads; NPS lists the closures as in effect until further notice.Official details
- InfoBoquillas Crossing schedule changeBoquillas Crossing is open Friday through Monday, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; NPS says it will not change to winter hours at this time. Check current park conditions before planning a crossing.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Big Bend Tour Guide
Your drive to Burro Spring Trail, narrated.
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 trailhead
Burro Spring Trail0:00 / 0:23
“Burro Spring's trailhead lies ahead, for a desert walk to an overlook above cottonwoods and a palm. Allow about an hour and a half for the two-point-four-mile round trip, over low hills and loose rock.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Big Bend Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Lower Burro Mesa Pouroff
- The Mistletoe Bird
- Why Adobe Needs More Mud
- Chimneys Trail
- 110 audio storiesacross Big Bend’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Collared Peccary, White-tailed Deer, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 45 trails, 64 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Burro Spring Trail
The marked walkBurro Spring Trail is a 2.
Burro Spring Trail is a 2.4-mile out-and-back from the paved trailhead pullout to a viewpoint above the spring. The marked path climbs and dips over low hills, crosses dry washes, and passes white volcanic ash and red rhyolite boulders. Allow about 1.5 hours. Loose-rock patches keep it from being a level stroll, and you turn around at the overlook to retrace the same route.
Look down from the overlookTall cottonwoods—and even a palm—mark the green pocket of Burro Spring below the dry slopes.
Tall cottonwoods—and even a palm—mark the green pocket of Burro Spring below the dry slopes. You can also pick out distant Santa Elena Canyon across the desert. The main payoff is seeing that abrupt change in vegetation from above; the marked trail stops at the overlook, and water levels at the spring vary.
Before you set outThis is a short desert hike with little reason to rush.
This is a short desert hike with little reason to rush. Bring water and sun protection for Big Bend's hot, dry conditions. Pets aren't allowed on park trails.
The harder way to the springYou can continue down from the overlook, but that is a separate, much harder route.
You can continue down from the overlook, but that is a separate, much harder route. The descent is steep and rocky, and the return follows sandy washes without a marked tread. It isn't included in the 2.4-mile out-and-back; only take it if you have a topographic map and are comfortable navigating an unmarked route.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Big Bend
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.
