The iconic Santa Elena Canyon is a must visit for anyone new to Big Bend, regardless of their interest in birding. Terlingua is home to Santa Elena Canyon. Santa Elena is everything the Grand Canyon is but on a smaller, more accessible scale. Santa Elena Canyon, on the Rio Grande in southwestern Brewster County, is one of the most famous canyons in Big Bend National Park. It's a seven mile, two day rafting trip of serenity and surreal beauty on the Rio Grande. In March 2014, Stephanie Latimer took a kayaking trip through this popular canyon in Big Bend. At their full height, the walls of Santa Elena tower 1500 feet above the Rio Grande and are truly a sight to behold. Santa Elena Canyon is at the end of the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive: The Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive is a 30 mile adventure through the Chihuahuan Desert landscape of Big Bend National Park to the banks of the Rio Grande. Imaged in October 2014. To play your stay or for more information on the park and the canyon, you can visit their website here. Find the perfect Santa Elena Canyon stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. With walls upwards of 1,500 feet, Santa Elena Canyon has the tallest cliffs forming this Texas canyon, but it also has something else quite unique, rock-climbing bears. Santa Elena Canyon sits at the western edge of the Park, whereas Boquillas Canyon resides on the eastern edge. SANTA ELENA CANYON. Floating through this spectacular canyon allows you to fall into the rhythm of a multi-day river trip and affords access to places far from the beaten path. Know Before You Go. The area may be very crowded during holiday periods or during the winter “snowbird” season, which is also the time most likely to have favorable paddling conditions. This is yet another rough unpaved and dusty road which I … Its tall, jagged cliffs are to be admired and appreciated. Northern species migrate here for the warm winter climate, while birds from the tropics range this far north to breed in the spring. The views are fantastic, the birding is good, and the cool air inside the canyon is a relief to both people and wildlife. The magnificent canyon keeps its trail occupying a huge area. They all seemed to really enjoy it. The Santa Elena Canyon Trail is only about 1.5 miles long. Once at the put in, with two people per canoe (or three if you have a small child), you’ll be paddling upstream into Santa Elena Canyon where the walls reach skyward 1500 feet. Santa Elena Canyon, on the Rio Grande in southwestern Brewster County, is one of the most famous canyons in Big Bend National Park.It separates the limestone mesas of the Mesa de Anguila on the northern or Texas side of the river from the Sierra Ponce on the southern or Mexican side. Santa Elena Canyon is 8 miles (13km) long and 1,500 ft (450 m) deep. The Santa Elena Canyon Trail leads to one of the narrowest areas of Big Bend National Park where the Rio Grande River meets the walls of the canyon. Trips by canoe or kayak permit even greater study of the length of the canyon. We were told to access Santa Elena Canyon via Ross Maxwell for the scenic drive, and I’m so glad we did! Price:$15 - $30. This trail is located at the end of the Ross Maxwell Scenic drive in the western part of Big Bend National Park. It separates the limestone mesas of the Mesa de Anguila on the northern or Texas side of the river from the Sierra Ponce on the southern or Mexican side. Santa Elena Canyon is one of the crown jewels of Big Bend National Park, and something you surely don't want to miss if you pay the park a visit. You may want to bring wind breakers just in case it becomes windy at the top. - See 640 traveler reviews, 703 candid photos, and great deals for Big Bend National Park, TX, at Tripadvisor. Which is generally the best time to paddle the Rio Grande? 8:00 AM: You’ll load up in our van for the hour long ride on Ross Maxwell Scenic drive to the end of Santa Elena Canyon which is the put in for this trip. Santa Elena Canyon is considered the premier river trip in the park, with 1500 ft. sheer canyon walls of limestone rising up from the waters edge. This canyon is a 1500-foot gash that runs for eight miles in the uplift that forms the Sierra Ponce Mountains in the southwestern corner of the park. There are other smaller canyons, springs and hot springs, some sulfur; In other words, add a swimsuit to your suitcase because a good dip is not going to be missing here. Santa Elena Canyon Water Levels. Instead, we did a boomerang trip (put it at one spot – paddle upstream – camp – paddle back to the same spot the next day). This … Saturday morning well before dawn, the workshop group was off to Santa Elena Canyon in the dark to get there in time for sunrise photos. It is an out and back road that begins near the park’s Maverick Entrance and has many vista points, scenic pullouts, educational displays, and short hikes. It is often considered most dramatic place has the tallest cliffs forming the canyon wall up to 1500 feet. We originally planned to do a point to point trip, but the water levels weren’t cooperating. Few sights rival the view upstream into the 1,500-foot gorge known as Santa Elena. The Santa Elena Canyon is fourteen kilometers long and its walls reach heights of up to 500 meters; the best prison for any environmentalist and nature lover. In some places it is only 30 feet (9 meters) wide. Rick G wrote a review Jun 2020. Paddling Santa Elena Canyon Heidi Faller Posted on February 24, 2020 February 24, 2020 Big Bend National Park , Paddleboarding , Texas 2 Comments 561 Views The short hike into Santa Elena Canyon we did the other day was gorgeous but we wanted to go further. The Santa Elena Canyon Trail traces along the base of the canyon walls, before slowly descending to merge with the banks of the Rio Grande once again at the termination of the trail. Arrive early if possible. From there, the trail goes up with steps. Santa Elena Canyon: Don't hike it, kayak it! Select from premium Santa Elena Canyon of the highest quality. I had selected the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive as my route to Santa Elena because the “scenic” part of its title promised more of the eye-candy views I was there for, at least in part. Santa Elena Canyon is majestic, towering canyon walls are much taller than in Colorado Canyon upriver a few miles. There is a popular hiking trail into the canyon. originally posted to Flickr as Santa Elena Canyon: Author: eclectico63: Permission (Reusing this file) This image, which was originally posted to Flickr, was uploaded to Commons using Flickr upload bot on 27 April 2009, 02:53 by Kved. Overview Big Bend National Park, TX has three remarkable slot canyons: Boquillas, Mariscal and Santa Elena.Of these, the trail into Santa Elena is considered by many to be the most scenic in the park. That’s relatively short by hiking standards. Tracking back through Lajitas and Terlingua into the Maverick Junction entrance of Big Bend National Park took us an hour, and put the time at 3:00 pm.

Santa Elena Canyon is a very scenic place to visit with amazing views at the top. It always seems to make it onto our “to-do” hike list, even though the trail is fairly short (about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) RT) and it’s a long way from the main part of the park (42 miles (68 km) from the Panther Junction Visitor Center). Santa Elena Canyon is situated south of Terlingua Abaja. Santa Elena Canyon is one of the major tourist attractions that most of the people never miss visiting while holidaying in Texas.

Further, there is a contrast between the desert and cold temperate ecosystems. To get there we took the Old Maverick Road from the west entrance gate. Santa Elena Canyon is a very scenic place to visit with amazing views at the top. Rio Grande river flows through the canyon and gives the whole scene a picturesque avatar. Santa Elena Canyon is located at Big Bend National Park in Texas. Posts about Santa Elena Canyon written by streamingthruamerica. Floating through Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park should be a bucket list item for any Texan that takes their citizenship seriously. Where the Grand Canyon makes you feel minute as you witness it grandeur and breathtaking views, Santa Elena Canyon is majestic in all its splendor. The trail ends in a small level section at the base of the canyon walls, surrounded by clumps of tall river grasses and reeds, forming a small, intimate canyon beach. On that date, it was confirmed … 1 review of Santa Elena Canyon "One simply can not describe it. One final goodbye to the gorgeous Chisos Mountains. Location. Santa Elena Canyon is a dramatic slot canyon where the Rio Grande River separates the U.S. and Mexico in Big Bend National Park, TX. One MUST experience it. Not only that, but it’s often viewed as a “dramatically beautiful” location. It’s also mostly shaded, making it a nice choice on a hot Texas day, but the area still gets hot in the summer, so make sure you bring plenty of water. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from September until May. Address: Big Bend National Park, TX. Santa Elena Canyon is where the majestic, towering canyon walls really begin. Discover the local area by spending a day checking out some of the local attractions. To get here you will take the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive from Panther Junction, the park's headquarters. Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend National Park: Se anmeldelser fra reisende, artikler, bilder og gode tilbud for Santa Elena Canyon i Big Bend National Park, Texas på Tripadvisor. An absolutely jaw-dropping experience, and unique among rivers in North America, a once-in-a-lifetime experience making the float thru this natural wonder. Opting for a backcountry tour of the Chihuahuan Desert, we turned south onto Old Maverick Road, and turned up the dust behind our wheels on our way to scenic Santa Elena Canyon. The Rio Grande established its present course on basin-filling sediments that covered the rocks and faults we see exposed today. Santa Elena Canyon is a valley in Texas and has an elevation of 2169 feet. Where is Santa Elena Canyon? Whatever the reason, Santa Elena Canyon has been a favorite hike in Big Bend National Park, in part because it’s a prime place to throw rocks into Mexico. Santa Elena Canyon. 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