Parking
Use the parking area at Homer Wilson Ranch Overlook on Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, 7.7 miles from its northern end; the trail starts beside the overlook.
Overview
About Homer Wilson Ranch Trail
Why go
- A ranch house and sheep-and-goat line camp make a memorable short destination.
- The accessible overlook wayside explains what you will see below.
Heads up
- Steep rock-and-gravel descent means a harder climb on the return.
- Faint paths through brush make some of the scattered remains easy to miss.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Big Bend map
Full mapElevation4,154–4,259 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 Homer Wilson Ranch 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
Homer Wilson Ranch0:00 / 0:30
“You're coming up on Homer Wilson Ranch Overlook, with an old sheep-and-goat camp in the valley below.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Big Bend Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Sotol Vista
- Upper Burro Mesa Pouroff
- Life Between the Desert Plants
- Why Adobe Needs More Mud
- 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 Homer Wilson Ranch Trail
A short walk, with a steep returnThe Homer Wilson Ranch Trail is a rough out-and-back from the overlook to the Blue Creek ranch…
The Homer Wilson Ranch Trail is a rough out-and-back from the overlook to the Blue Creek ranch line camp. The mapped route to the house is about 0.7 mile round trip; the longer 1-mile figure may include wandering among the scattered remains, which are linked by faint, indistinct paths. The old rock-and-gravel road drops steeply from the overlook, then climbs the bank of Blue Creek to the house. Allow about 30 minutes for the walk and longer if you explore the site. This is the short historic walk, separate from the onward Blue Creek and Dodson routes.
What the line camp preservesHomer Wilson bought foothill land in 1928 for sheep and goats, and the ranch eventually covered…
Homer Wilson bought foothill land in 1928 for sheep and goats, and the ranch eventually covered 45,000 acres. The camp was built for foreman Lott Felts. At the site, look for the ranch house and shady porch, a circular corral with a central snubbing post, dipping vats and an old chicken coop. Some remains sit in thick brush, reached by indistinct trails, so expect a rough historic site rather than a manicured loop.
Access and footingPark at Homer Wilson Ranch Overlook on Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, 7.
Park at Homer Wilson Ranch Overlook on Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, 7.7 miles from the drive’s northern end. The accessible wayside there explains the ranch in the valley below. The trail itself is steep and rocky; its two drainages may flood during the rainy season. Big Bend is hot and dry, so bring water even for this short walk. Pets are not allowed on park 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.
