Chisos Basin

The Chisos Basin is a high bowl ringed by the peaks of the Chisos Mountains, and it is cooler and greener than the desert below. The Chisos Mountains Lodge stands in it at 5,400 feet, the only lodging inside Big Bend National Park, with a campground, a store and a visitor center close by. On the west side of the bowl the mountains open in a narrow gap called the Window, and the desert shows through it.

The basin is the starting point for the park's best mountain hikes. The Window Trail drops through Oak Creek Canyon to the pour-off: 5.5 miles round trip from the basin trailhead, with an easy walk down and a 1,000-foot climb back. Other trails climb to Emory Peak, the high point of the park, and to the South Rim, Laguna Meadow and Boot Canyon. Black bears, mountain lions and gray foxes leave their tracks on these trails, and Carmen white-tailed deer, Mexican jays and spotted towhees are common.

The basin is closed. In May 2025 the National Park Service began two large construction projects here, paid for by the Great American Outdoors Act, and closed the Basin Road, the lodge, the campground, the restaurant, the visitor center, the store and the trails that start here. The work was expected to take about two years, and the park plans to reopen areas as they are finished. Check the park's site for the current status before you go. The rest of Big Bend stays open.