Parking
Use the shared Dog Canyon and Devil’s Den roadside pull-off, 3.5 miles south of Persimmon Gap Visitor Center.
Overview
About Devil’s Den Trail
Why go
- A narrow limestone slot and broad desert views from its rim.
Heads up
- Long, exposed approach with faint cairns and difficult route-finding.
Devil’s Den is a 7.5-mile out-and-back from the shared Dog Canyon and Devil’s Den pull-off to the canyon’s south rim and back, about 3.8 miles each way. The payoff is a close view into a narrow limestone slot, with wide desert country around it. It’s a long, exposed walk for a rim view; allow four to six hours and go only if you’re comfortable following a sparse cairned route away from the wash. The park’s separate 4-mile Dog Canyon hike is a different branch, not the mileage for this route.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Big Bend map
Full mapElevation2,539–2,995 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 Devil’s Den 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
Dog Canyon and the Camel Experiment0:00 / 0:31
“Up ahead is the Dog Canyon pullout and Camel Experiment Exhibit, a quick stop with an unusual bit of Army history.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Big Bend Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Candelilla’s Wax Trade
- Lechuguilla’s One Bloom
- Persimmon Gap Visitor Center
- The Smell of Desert Rain
- 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 Devil’s Den Trail
Follow Nine Point DrawThe approach crosses flat desert toward the mountain cleft, then drops into a wash at about 1.
The approach crosses flat desert toward the mountain cleft, then drops into a wash at about 1.5 miles. At Nine Point Draw, take the Devil’s Den branch rather than the fork to Dog Canyon. After roughly half a mile, a cairn marks the tributary route out of the draw; climb out to the right and follow the faint line over a rise. Route-finding gets harder here, so check with a visitor center for current route information before setting out. The mapped route includes the shared approach, the draw connector and the rim line; return by the same corridor.
Stay on the rimThe south rim deepens along the route, and some sections pass close to the canyon edge.
The south rim deepens along the route, and some sections pass close to the canyon edge. The walk ends at a rise where Devil’s Den opens toward Dagger Flats: pale limestone walls drop into a narrow, shadowed ravine, with the desert spread out beyond. The rim is the viewing route; the canyon-floor traverse is a separate technical trip through dryfalls and boulders. The park warns against attempting that descent without a companion and proper gear. From the rim, frame the slot with the surrounding desert, but stay well back from the edge.
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.
