Parking
Use the paved Chisos Basin parking near Chisos Mountains Lodge and the Visitor Center; trail-specific parking capacity is not published.
Overview
About Window View Trail
Why go
- Paved, wheelchair-accessible loop with benches
- Window and Chisos Basin views in about 30 minutes
Heads up
- A short viewpoint walk, not the longer hike to the Window pour-off
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Big Bend map
Full mapElevation5,361–5,383 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
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 Window View 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
Chisos Basin and Window View0:00 / 0:33
“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 this trailhead in the Parkwolf Big Bend Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Chisos Basin Campground and Amphitheater
- Lost Mine Trail
- Tree Zone Exhibit
- How Corners Become Curves
- 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 Window View Trail
An easy Basin loopWindow View Trail is a paved 0.3-mile loop around a low hill beside Chisos Basin.
Window View Trail is a paved 0.3-mile loop around a low hill beside Chisos Basin. Allow about 30 minutes. It gives you the surrounding peaks and a framed view through the Window, without the longer descent to the Window pour-off. Choose it for a short, accessible walk or a place to sit for sunset light, not a half-day hike.
The paved loopThe trail starts from paved parking near Chisos Mountains Lodge and Chisos Basin Visitor Center.
The trail starts from paved parking near Chisos Mountains Lodge and Chisos Basin Visitor Center. It circles the hill, gently descending toward the far end before climbing back to the start. The path is wheelchair accessible, and benches give you places to pause along the way.
Through the WindowThe west-facing gap in the Chisos frames the valley beyond.
The west-facing gap in the Chisos frames the valley beyond. A broad open space and low wall about 100 meters along the loop make a good place to stop and look. The sun can set near the gap, though its position shifts south through the year, so a centered sunset is not guaranteed.
Know which Window trailThis loop does not go down to the Window pour-off. The separate Window Trail is 5.
This loop does not go down to the Window pour-off. The separate Window Trail is 5.5 miles round trip from the Basin trailhead, with a challenging climb back from the pour-off. Pets are not allowed on any park trail.
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.
