Going to big bend ranch state park and National Park, recommendations?

also, we are going in one vehicle, is it not recommended to go on old ore or black gap with only one vehicle? My stepdad was worried about going on any trails in only one vehicle. My truck is lifted 2-3" and I just have my stock jack. Probably will wanna bring a floor jack and jack stands too.

If the trails are pretty moderate and there is a good chance of seeing others around then I feel like we'd be fine.

 

A floor jack is good for the floor, not really for a trail. Good luck.

 

Honestly it's not bad at all we did the trails on stock trucks and had no issues. It's nowhere near as hard as the park says it's pretty easy. It's always good to carry a jack and tools but dont think you'll need it. We did all the trails and no problems. Bundle up it will be cold. Post some pics

 

whats not good about them as opposed to a bottle jack? I know everyone is obsessed with hi lifts but I also get told by mechanics/off roaders that hi lifts aren't as good as a bottle jack. also seen some say to use a floor jack instead of a bottle jack because its easier and more stable.

https://www.ca*****rbibles.com/best-off-road-jack/

this site (remove the stars) recommends the hi lift but says its not recommended for changing tires. I know you can use it in other ways for recovery too though.

then the #2 most recommended jack is a floor jack style model and for off road use.

 

how cold does it get? We will all have winter gear since we will be leaving from minnesota but I was assuming it wouldn't drop below freezing at night, or at least hoping lol. I winter camp too so it shouldn't be an issue. the wind chill is gonna be as low as -55 F here wednesday lol. air temp alone is expected to be -29 F.

 

Then you should be good with the gear. Have fun also now the three government is open so you can make a reservation in big bend calling grounds but do it soon

 

We go there nearly every Thanksgiving. We love it! For an easy hike, look at the window. For a fairly short but pretty vertical (possibly for the family) check out lost mine trail. That's a couple of our favorites because they can each be done pretty quickly. Be sure to go to the hot springs too.

 

getting excited to get out of this cold. It was -30/-55 windchill last wednesday here. Friend let me borrow his roof top tent so I can decide if I wanna buy one.

 

Great looking rig, ya it was cloudy and a little rain here today, temps in the low 70’s.

 

As others have said, the trails in the national park are pretty easy. I wouldn't worry about getting stuck so much as getting a flat. You're driving over lots of rock, so just watch out for the sharp ones. I think @Naveronski had two flats in one trip out there. Check your spare(s)!

 

Yeah, at the state park. Two sidewall gashes in ~20' on the Road to Nowhere.

 

Window view trail, me and my daughter did it last spring break. Super cool trail.

 

How did it go any cool pics

 

It was great, I didn't do old ore road or black gap though. Decided against it because my family wouldn't really enjoy such long bumpy drives. So we mostly just hiked. We did several of the popular ones like the window. also made it to the state park and did closed canyon trail. the state park mountain highway was really beautiful and worth checking out for a day I thought. on the last day we did Emory Peak which wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but would definitely be hard if you are out of shape. At the top you gotta climb about 20 feet up the final tall boulders and there are sheer drops on some sides of it. I hate ladders even so it was pretty scary for me but when I saw a few young kids up there I sucked it up and climbed up it lol.

I really really loved the goat pens camp ground. the camp grounds in the park don't allow fires at all, and the goat pens was very private, open, and allowed fires. they also still had porta-potties so it wasn't as bad as the back country camping.

Here's a few pics, I got a video I am editing and will upload too, but it will focus mostly on the hikes.


Closed Canyon Trail in the state park:



the window:



the goat pens campground:



you can see on the far left way in the background is the goat pen's owners house.

 

so not that great of a video, but if anyone wants to see a bit of what some of the popular hikes are like, and the goat pens campground, here you go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4KGSiDSOlg

 

I said you needed climbing gear for the closed canyon trail. thats not really true obviously as we didnt have climbing gear, but if you want to make it all the way to the end you do. We made it probably 80% of the way only to have to turn back at that narrow drop off. the sign at the beginning tells you to turn around if you can't make it past any part safely, but they do call it an easy to moderate trail which I find funny. its only easy up until it gets too hard hah.

 

Cool video. The rough road is old maverick road and most people think that is the only way to santa Elena canyon if you follow road signs. The paper said most vehicles could do it but I felt like we barely made it in the tundra and I kissed the ground when we got back on pavement.

 

that might explain why I saw some people in an audi that looked lost haha. they made it tho, i was a bit surprised. We knew we could go around on pavement but we just thought it might be fun to at least try a shorter high clearance road. I wish I got some better footage of the road because my video really didn't give it justice, some parts were definitely more than just a poorly graded road. Wasn't anything for my tacoma but after an hour of that it definitely was nice to get back on a smooth road.

 

Heading out there on Friday with my wife for our anniversary. Any trails I should avoid? (I'm 2wd) thanks