Santa Elena Canyon is one of the premier Rio Grande river trips in Big Bend National Park and a crown jewel of the park with its 1500 feet canyon walls. It can be enjoyed from the overlook, trail or from the Rio Grande. The canyon runs for about seven of the twenty miles between the Santa Elena Canyon Overlook and Lajitas, a ghost town at the western edge of the park.
Santa Elena Canyon Overlook
A viewpoint of the east side of the Santa Elena Canyon near the intersection of Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive and Old Maverick Road. From Study Butte-Terlingua, the options are to take the unpaved dirt road called Old Maverick Road in a fairly direct route or to travel more than twice as far on the paved Ross Maxwell.
Santa Elena Canyon Trail
A classic 1.7 mile out and back hiking trail into the canyon that descends to the water’s edge. Note: The trail is impassable when the Terlingua Creek floods.
Old Maverick Road
It runs 13 miles from Maverick Junction and the Park’s Western Entrance Station to the Santa Elena Canyon Overlook. As an out-and-back 26 mile unpaved road, it can take 3-4 hours. You can also make Old Maverick Road into a 48 mile loop by combining it with the 30 mile Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.
