By:
Submission
Went there with family camping for Thanksgiving. There was 22 of us..we stayed at Loop Camp site and it was amazing. It took a little while, about 3 hours from visitors center to get to the camp site, off road, driving down dirt roads, but the ride was worth it. The view was amazing..looking over Rio Grande River and mountains..truly breathtaking 😍👍
GORGEOUS view, really a 5 star view with a large campsite. We had 4 Jeeps and 12 people and there was plenty of space left. At night we saw a jackrabbit and heard a coyote which was very cool; in the morning, we watched a wild horse walk in the river.
Why it gets knocked a star:
It took us about an hour and a half to drive out there from the Castolon Visitor Center, which almost felt not worth it. The roads were boring for those who want the off road experience as it was mostly flat unpaved road, but I suppose that's nice for anyone who doesn't enjoy a lot of challenges when driving. We only stayed for one night, but if you stay for more and want to leave camp, you have to pack up your things because it's so close to the border (which seems silly to me but the rangers said things get stolen so, sure).
There's another site down the road but no one else was out there besides us which was awesome, except for when we heard people talking and got paranoid - turned out it was just from the ranches across the way.
It's a really shity place near the border. If you're going to Big Band looking for mountains and beautiful views simply don't go there. you're going to waste your time in empty desert, lot of wind and noise from Farmers at the other side of the river
Amazing for astrophotography and star gazing. One of the least visited national parks so not too crowded. Campsites and campgrounds book out very early.
Check the lunar calendar and make sure to be there during the new moon. We were there during the full moon and couldn't enjoy the experience to the fullest.
Highly recommend hot spring and canyon trails
Wonderful spot with a great view of the mountains and the river down below. It was a little windy here, which kept the bugs away, and it’s rocky so there is not as much dust as some of the other camps. It’s very difficult to access the river from here, as it’s a bit of a cliff, but the views are spectacular. This seemed to be a quiet spot, I could only hear the water of the river running.
