Parking
Paved roadside pullout at the Chimneys Trailhead on Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, with room for several vehicles. The access is 12.2 miles from the drive’s northern end.
Overview
About Chimneys Trail
Why go
- Volcanic spires, a natural arch and ancient rock art at the destination.
Heads up
- Mostly exposed walking with no reliable water along the route.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Big Bend map
Full mapElevation2,858–3,176 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 Chimneys 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
Chimneys Trail0:00 / 0:26
“The Chimneys trailhead is coming up, for a desert walk to volcanic spires and ancient rock art. Allow about two and a half hours for the four-point-eight-mile round trip, almost entirely in the open.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Big Bend Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Forest Island Above the Desert
- The Mistletoe Bird
- Burro Spring Trail
- Goat Mountain Observation Point
- 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 Chimneys Trail
The standard out-and-backChimneys Trail is the usual 4.
Chimneys Trail is the usual 4.8-mile round trip from the paved pullout on Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive to a volcanic dike in Big Bend’s open desert. The park’s quick facts give 4.8 miles round trip; its prose rounds the walk out to about 2.5 miles. The mapped line reaches the Chimneys area but is shorter than that published outing, so plan around the full 4.8 miles. The park calls it moderate and estimates about 2½ hours.
What the walk is likeThe route crosses desert grassland and sandy washes on rough rock-and-gravel tread.
The route crosses desert grassland and sandy washes on rough rock-and-gravel tread. It slopes down toward the Chimneys, then climbs back to the road. Most of the walk is exposed, with no reliable water along the route; this is a poor choice for anyone looking for shade or an easy place to refill. Bring enough water and sun protection for the whole outing.
At the formationsThe Chimneys are a volcanic dike that cuts across the desert floor.
The Chimneys are a volcanic dike that cuts across the desert floor. The southernmost formation has both pictographs and petroglyphs, and the oldest images are several thousand years old. On a clear day, the formations look out toward Santa Elena Canyon and several surrounding peaks. A natural arch among the north-side spires makes a good frame for the rocks and open desert.
Ranching history in the desertBarbed wire and fence posts near the route mark the area’s more recent ranching history, set…
Barbed wire and fence posts near the route mark the area’s more recent ranching history, set against a much older landscape and rock art. Take a moment to notice both stories: the painted and carved images on the stone, then the fence remnants that speak to the later ranching era.
If you continue westThe trail carries on beyond the Chimneys to Old Maverick Road: 7.
The trail carries on beyond the Chimneys to Old Maverick Road: 7.5 miles one way from the trailhead, with 5.1 miles beyond the formations. That is a separate through-hike, best with two vehicles or a planned pickup. For the standard visit, turn back at the Chimneys; pets are not allowed on Big Bend trails.
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.
