I’m planning to hike Big Bend for the first time. In January.

The Parks Service recommends:
• Desert Hikes
• Mountain Hikes
• River Hikes
As usual I’ll check with Rangers before deciding which hikes. Local information is critical in the desert. Backcountry Use Permits are required.
I’ll be mostly doing day hikes and one night tenting trips. Water is an issue, I understand, even in winter.
Unless you are walking the Rio Grande, of course.





Besthike.com, founded by intrepid adventurer Rick McCharles, is one of the best hiking blogs on the web. It is a comprehensive listing of the world’s best hikes. Rick not only catalogs the planet’s best life changing hikes but provide descriptions. It is no surprise that Rick includes hikes in the southwest as some of the best hikes in the world. Most of the hikes he recommends are challenging multi-day adventures, such as the Zion Narrows for instance. Rick is continuing to research the best hikes on earth, calling his website a “work in progress.”












