Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive ends at Santa Elena Canyon, where the Rio Grande has cut a limestone slot. One wall is Texas and one is Mexico. A trail follows the river and then drops to the canyon floor.
On the way in, that road passes Sotol Vista, Mule Ears, and Tuff Canyon before the Castolon Historic District. Big Bend is the only national park in Texas.
You sleep inside the park, at Chisos Basin Campground if you headed into the mountains, or at Rio Grande Village Campground for the river night near the east entrance. November through April is the season people sleep at Big Bend. From May through October the heat takes over and Rio Grande Village runs a reduced loop. Cottonwood Campground is closed for the summer and reopens in the fall.
Reserve the campsite before the van. The NPS camping page lists Chisos Basin Campground as open, with reservations required, as of September 2026. Rio Grande Village stays open year-round on reservations, with no first-come sites.
Next door, Big Bend Ranch State Park has primitive drive-in sites with no hookups. Terlingua and Marathon are the towns on the way in.
Caddo Lake State Park
Cypress stands in black water at Caddo Lake, moss in the limbs, and you paddle it more than you hike it. The state park is the bank you sleep on so you can put in again in the morning. Summer brings heat and mosquitoes over the water.
The Woodpecker Hollow loop has full hookups. Mill Pond's water-only sites do not allow motorhomes or trailers. Tyler State Park is the other East Texas overnight people name.
Colorado Bend State Park
In summer you swim in a spring-fed hole on the Colorado River. The walk to Gorman Falls is rough and rocky, out and back to the cascade.
Drive-up sites take self-contained rigs under 20 feet, with no hookups and no sewage disposal on site. If you need more length or sleeping space, look at RV rentals in Texas.
Dallas, Houston, Austin, and El Paso
Dallas has Cedar Hill State Park on Joe Pool Lake for a state-park night next to the metro. Fort Worth runs down to Dinosaur Valley State Park at Glen Rose, where the Paluxy riverbed holds dinosaur tracks. Lake Whitney State Park is on that same north-central map.
Houston has Brazos Bend State Park, levee trails with alligators on the banks. Corpus Christi camps at Malaquite Campground and on the beach at Padre Island National Seashore. South Padre Island is the beach week, with camping at Isla Blanca Park.
Austin has McKinney Falls State Park inside the city limits. San Antonio heads west to Garner State Park on the Frio at Concan.
El Paso camps at Franklin Mountains State Park inside the city. Midland sleeps at Monahans Sandhills State Park, out on the dunes. Amarillo has Palo Duro Canyon State Park and the rim-to-floor drive.
West of El Paso the trip continues in New Mexico. Oklahoma is the north line from Dallas and Amarillo.
Louisiana is the east line from Houston, and Arkansas is the north line from Caddo Lake.